A Valentine's Day Special Heart-Breath Meditation

On Valentine's Day we focus on heart-centered things: our loved ones, objects of our desire, passion, romance, and meaningful or even sweet, silly gestures. But what a great excuse of a day it is to listen to our hearts. V-day is a great day to sit with the unstruck sound and the poetry of the anahata chakra, better known as the heart chakra.

This is a good day to sit quietly, and to be still, and to breathe. This is a day to listen to our hearts. Valentine's Day is a good day to focus on pranayama, as the heart center is also the breath center. This is a day to remember all of our loved ones who have expanded our hearts and enriched our lives by the love they have shared. This is a day to acknowledge our connection to all of humanity by being a considerate citizen of the earth.

Here is a Valentine for you. The beautiful mantra from the ending of the Heart Sutra in Mahayana Buddhism.

Gate Gate Paragate Parasumgate Bodhi Svaha
Gone Gone Everyone Gone to the Other Shore, Awakening

Heart-Breath Meditation

• Sit on the floor with your hips comfortably supported or sit in a chair with your back straight.
• Place your hands on your thighs with the palms facing upwards.
• Begin by taking slow, gentle ujjayi breaths until you feel still and centered.
• Cross your hands over your heart center and take 3 deep breaths.
• On your next inhalation, open your arms out to your sides in sync with your breath, expanding your energy and attention out to your fingertips.
• With your exhalation cross your hands back over your heart center, changing which hand is on top.
• Repeat for several rounds.
• Return your hands to your lap and sit quietly.
• Om Shanti.