Anahatasana - Melting Heart Pose

Anahatasana, or Melting Heart Pose, is a heart opening posture that does wonderful things for the chest, shoulders and upper back. Anahat means "heart" in Sanskrit, and as the English implies, the heart melts to create a lovely stretch that over time will lengthen the muscles and connective tissues of the chest and create new opening in the shoulder girdle and upper back. It is also a gentle back bend that causes a stretch through the spine.

Coming Into Anahatasana - Begin in Balasana, Child's Pose. Come onto the hands and knees and then begin to walk the hands forward while pressing the underarms down towards the mat. Bring either the forehead or the chin to the mat, depending on how comfortable it is for your neck.

Inside Anahatasana - Lift and spread the sitsbones upwards as you press the heart to downwards. Deeply fill the lungs with each inhale, feeling the stretch through the ribcage as it expands and then lengthen the spine and press the heart little more towards the mat with each exhale to deepen the stretch. Spread the fingers wide and lightly press the palms into the mat to keep the arms activated.

Alignment Points - The hips are stacked over the knees. This alignment provides the basis for the stretch through the entire spine and ribcage. To keep the hips stacked over the knees, be mindful to not move the hips as you bring the hands forward and the chest downward into the posture. If you should feel a pinching sensation in the shoulders, try widening the hands out towards the edges of the mat. That pinching sensation may indicate that you’ve reached a compression point which can be very uncomfortable.

Releasing from Anahatasana - With an inhale begin to lift up from the underarms, walking the hands back till the shoulders are stacked over the wrists. Take a few cat/cows to help release the spine and hips and then return to Balasana to complete your flow. Balasana is a mild forward fold and is an excellent posture to counter the backbend of Anahatasana.

Modifications and Contraindications - This pose can be held for several breaths or several minutes. There are a number of ways to modify this posture. Use a blanket under the knees to make it more comfortable, and perhaps place a bolster or rolled blanket under the chest to allow the body to relax into this posture. This pose can be done with one arm forward and the head resting on the other arm. Be sure to switch arms to even out the stretch to each shoulder. If you suffer from knee or shoulder injuries then refrain from this posture until the injuries have healed. Full Anahatasana could aggravate injuries that have not fully resolved. Be aware of your neck and if it feels pinched at all then avoid bringing the chin to the floor and just let the forehead rest on the mat or let the head hang heavy, releasing the muscles of the neck.

Benefits of Anahatasana - Anahatasana works to open through the chest and shoulders and creates a backbend in the middle and upper back. This posture can help to compensate for a tendency to hunch forward and so over time can help to bring your posture into a more neutral alignment. This posture can also help to ease symptoms of stress in the shoulders and upper back.

Adding in Anahatasana to your practice can be an immediate gauge of the openness of your upper body. At first you may not be able to go very deeply into the posture, yet have patience! The more you practice this posture, the more your upper body will open and the easier it will be to hold your shoulders back and down, resulting in more ease in your overall posture and carriage. Not to mention the work done to your subtle body as you open your heart more and more!

From my heart to yours... Namaste!