In ancient Vedic stories, a lotus appears to represent various forms of love. From the creation of the universe to the budding of wisdom, a blooming lotus shows us how all beauty, abundance and life thrives upon divine love. This yummy practice is designed to inspire the lotus of your heart to blossom.

Cleanse and bless a heart-opening space.

As within, so without — to help the lotus of your heart open, make your space a garden of nourishment. If you feel called to tidy up and clean, do so with loving intention.

You may enjoy blessing and energetically clearing the space with sound, such as a bell tone. The more vigorously you sound the bell, the stronger the vibrations will purify the akasha, or the subtle energy of the room.

Lay out a yoga mat for your practice, and collect some cozy blankets, pillows, plus any yoga props you have.

Gather Heart Supporting Allies 

Draw upon heart-supporting crystal allies such as jade, emerald, ruby, rose quartz, rhodochrosite, rhodonite, malachite and green fluorite. Or simply call on your favorites.

Light a candle and add some fresh flowers, rose petals or greenery to your practice space. This is the perfect time to tune into your heart chakra and set an intention. Visualize your heart as a quiet lotus bud on a still pond.

Move through Heart-Opening Postures

Warm up your body with some stretching on your mat to get your prana (vital energy) flowing. Continue warming up on all fours, taking alternating Cat and Cow (Chakravakasana) postures. Moving into Cow first with an inhale, lift upward using your pelvis, bringing your chest forward and dropping your belly. Rounding and arching your back into Cat, exhale. Alternate Cat/Cow with each breath, imagining the petals of your heart fluttering with each breath.

After several rounds, extend your legs back into a high plank, bend your elbows and lower down to the ground. With feet extended, draw your palms to both sides of your upper rib cage. Press your palms into the mat and slowly lift your chest using your abdominal muscles into Cobra (Bhujangasana). Let your breath lengthen your spine and open your chest gently, like a soft breeze on the pond. Hold for several breaths as you visualize your heart’s bud just beginning to open.

Rise back to all fours, then sit back on bended knees to prepare for Camel pose (Ustrasana). Have blocks or bolsters handy at your sides. On your inhale, lift your rear and lengthen your spine into a tall kneeling position, with knees hip distance apart. As you exhale, lean backwards, letting your chest rise and keeping your shoulders rolled back. Use blocks or bolsters to prop your hands, and hold for a few breaths as your heart’s lotus reaches for the sunlight. Slowly rise up and out of this posture.

Deepen with Heart-Healing Breathwork

Reclining Bound Angle Pose (Supta Baddha Konasana) is a deliciously restorative pose. You can lean back on your mat with a bolster, blanket or pillow to support your back and head. Bend your legs into a butterfly pose, and prop your knees and thighs with blocks or blankets. Breathe here as long as you like, perhaps holding a crystal or two in your palms.

The heart chakra is a bridge between your upper and lower body. It can be helpful to visualize the flow of prana through the gateway of your heart. Each inhale fills your heart with new life before the air reaches your belly, and the exhale unlocks any stagnation as it moves up and out. Inhale the kind of love you crave — compassion, sweetness, tenderness, passion. Exhale your resistance. Repeat.

The bij or seed mantra “yam” is a powerful layer you can add to this practice. You may be called to chant out loud, or you can repeat the mantra in your mind as you breathe.

Massage + Mudra to Bloom Your Heart’s Lotus

Find the center of your chest bone, or sternum, with your fingers. Gently tap this region, imagining the lotus petals of the heart receiving your touch on their velvet surface. Massage this point with circular motions, soothing any tenderness.

Illustrations by Jamila Colozzi

When your heart feels strengthened and ready, bring your palms together at its center. Keeping the thumbs and little fingers touching, pull your three middle fingers apart, “blossoming” your hands into Lotus mudra (gesture).

Sink into a supported Savasana to complete the practice by extending and relaxing your legs, keeping a pillow or blanket under your knees and head. You may wish to place a crystal on your heart center as you surrender into stillness.

Closing Tea Ceremony

Your heart is a sacred portal. Honor the blooming of your lotus with a cup of heart-supporting tea such as rose, lavender, tulsi, saffron or chamomile.

“The one who loves all intensely begins perceiving in all living beings a part of himself. They become a lover of all, a part and parcel of the Universal Joy. They flow with the stream of happiness, and are enriched by each soul.” 

–Yajur Veda

Jamila Colozzi

Writer 

@jamilacat