How To Tell If Your Heart Chakra Is Blocked (And 7 Ways To Unblock It)

Your heart chakra, also known as the Anahata chakra in ancient Sanskrit, is the center of consciousness. This chakra is the bridge or portal linking your higher self to your lower self, or your higher chakras to your lower chakras. 

A chakra, if you aren’t already aware, is a portal, wheel, and center of energy linked to your physical organs and significant body areas. Energy workers, healers, and spiritually open beings have been aware of the power of chakra wisdom and further working with our chakras to actively remove blocks and imbalances. 

What Blocks The Heart Chakra?

So, the best way to understand more about the Anahata chakra is to discover what blocks it. Let’s first look at the main energy and associations, characteristics, and qualities of the heart, what this chakra is responsible for:

• The open and free flow of love, empathy, and compassion.
• Self-love, unconditional (universal) love, romantic love, and platonic love. 
• Acceptance, tolerance, patience, understanding, wisdom, and non-judgement. 
• The ability to receive love and affection, and to give it – ‘healthy attachments.’ 
• A deep connection to nature and the planet, ‘aka’ a recognition (and respect for) Mother Earth and the ecosystems that sustain us. 

One of the major blocks that prevent us from living this way is the fear of love and intimacy. The heart chakra relates to the developmental life cycle of age 21- 28. (Each chakra has a stage symbolic of our life’s journey, and an open and harmonious chakra system creates a ‘kundalini activation’ – the free flow of energy through all seven main chakras). 

Age 21- 28 is the cycle where we learn how to deal with our emotions in a mature way. Relationships come into focus with an awakened heart chakra; these energies focus on emotional terrain, emotional responses, how we attend to emotional needs, and our motivations, inspiration and goals for a greater purpose in life. Also, the currents of thoughts, attitudes, and actions. 

It is in the heart center/chakra where we learn about the power of the heart and the pathways to love. To get to the heart, once must evolve through the survival and security needs of the root, the sexual, sensual, and creative desires and/or addictions of the sacral, and the egocentric or egotistical domination of making a mark in the world in relation to fame, power, success, ambition and social status (the solar plexus). 

Why know this? Because the lower chakras involve our relationship with the external world while the heart chakra is about turning within. This is the true meaning of self-love reflected outwards into universal and unconditional love and the types of love we can feel for others. It starts from within, from the heart. 

Thus, you may be able to already see why blocks begin from a disconnection to self-love and intimacy. 

A blocked heart chakra prevents us from giving and receiving love, there is a fear of commitment as well as a fear of being alone. 

Fear of rejection, loss, betrayal, emotional weakness, vulnerability, and intimacy are common. 

Unhealed wounds linked to love or lack of love in early relationships manifest as jealousy, anger, possessiveness, false pride and ego, codependency, inability to forgive (others or self), inability to follow the directives of the heart, judgement, emotional neediness, being overly critical and demanding, passive aggressiveness, overattachment to people and things, manipulation, self-denial and deception, and constant need for external validation or reassurance. These are some of the key traits of a blocked, weak or imbalanced Anahata. 

Any one of these problems can lead to isolation, grief, depression, paranoia, hatred, spitefulness, and questioning the existence of love. A blocked heart chakra leads to a number of issues and with this comes the overall feeling of disconnection. Disconnection is the breeding ground of loneliness, negative feelings and all aspects of fear, separation, anger and sadness, etc. 

How Can I Unblock My Heart Chakra?

The Anahata is equally about self-knowledge and self-awareness. We begin the processes of learning and developing through life’s challenges, trials, and tests, which then leads to transformation and healing, wholeness, and harmony within and around. 

This energy center is therefore a gateway to higher levels of expression, thought, thinking, and awareness. Emotional wounds, pain and trauma can be perpetuated and continued in a blocked and under or overactive heart, so the clear way to remove blocks is to work on healing our pasts. 

Key ways to unblock your heart chakra are explained below.

1. Meditation, Self-Healing, And Introspection

Meditation and looking back at your childhood and any lingering traumas you may be holding onto is the first step. Journaling, getting out dream diaries that provide insight into your shadow self and wounds, and beginning a meditation practice can unlock hidden memories and emotions. 

As the heart chakra is a bridge connecting the lower and higher energy centers (chakras), distorted or faulty belief systems can hold you back. Blocks and imbalances in the heart can be emotional, psychological, physical, and spiritual, in other words. 

2. Immerse Yourself In Nature

Spending time in nature is a powerful route back to wholeness and harmony. Nature is primarily green with a rainbow of colors, and this is exactly what the heart chakra represents. 

As you will see soon, the primary color for the heart is green, but due to the link the heart has to kundalini energy (because it’s the central, connecting chakra) it also links to the full rainbow color spectrum; white light. 

Divinity flows through an open-heart chakra… And don’t you feel divine and blissful when surrounded by nature?! White is the color of purity and symbolic of light – divine light, as is associated with an awakened and active kundalini. 

You can thus turn to nature for healing and restoration. The natural world promotes peace of mind, calmness, self-knowledge, and purity of thoughts. It also assists in overcoming forgiveness, with a lack of forgiveness and holding grudges or resentments linked to a blocked heart. 

3. Seek A Soulful And Spiritual Connection

Ultimately, every block and imbalance of each chakra can be seen in a blocked heart (due the heart chakra being the bridge between higher and lower and the central energy center). From a soul perspective, a weak heart chakra signifies separation from the self, soul, and psyche. 

Multidimensional awareness and psychic, intuitive, instinctive, and spiritual gifts are less likely to be accessed, and blockages in the heart prevents you from connecting with the throat chakra just above responsible for communication and self-expression, and the third eye and crown chakras. I always say look at the ‘root.’ 

Well, the root is the soul and the other bodies – the emotional, psychological, physical, and spiritual planes – are just layers that seek harmony and unity. The soul is the bridge. And the heart is the bridge between the lower and higher chakras and self, so there is a powerful link here! 

Soul-search, heal your relationships with soulmates and your understanding of them and what they mean to you in your life, and seek out more spiritual connections. It is when we have a blocked heart that we become ignorant and oblivious to some of the key things that stop us from living in harmony with our souls. 

People with a strong heart chakra, for example, pay extra special attention to the well-being of both our planet and our animal brothers and sisters. Perhaps you need to heal your connection to beautiful mother earth and to animals…?

4. Sound Therapy

Sound healing is an almost effortless way back to your heart center. You can use binaural beats, specifically the “love frequency,” nature sounds and other special vibratory effects such as Tibetan singing bowls and bells, shamanic/tribal drumming (acting as a ‘universal heartbeat’) and OM chanting, to reconnect to the power and essence of your heart. 

The love frequency is 528 Hz. There’s also the sound of nature frequency, 432 Hz, which is known to align you with your true self and your higher self. All of these sound healing techniques and tools mentioned can be accessed for free on YouTube (legitimate sources). 

Interesting fact: Anahata translates as “unstruck” or unbroken. It is derived from the Sanskrit name ‘anahata-sabda’ which signifies sound waves and vibrations, the unstruck sound of the universe heard by yogis, mystics, and people spiritually in tune. 

The heart chakra is located in the center of the spine at the center of the chest and heart, and its element is air while the symbol is a lotus with twelve petals. Notice the link to Astrology (12), ‘aka’ wholeness and completion…

5. Heal It With Color

Color healing is becoming increasingly more popular in this day and age. This is due to global awakening of consciousness – people are realizing that knowledge such as that passed on through metaphysicians and holistically-minded people like Nikola Tesla actually had it right. 

“If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.”  Nikola Tesla’s famous words. Light and the rainbow spectrum of color are built from frequencies and sound waves, each with their own unique vibratory essence. 

The colors of the heart chakra are green (primary) and pink (secondary). Green is the general color for all aspects of blocks, imbalances, and internal distortions while pink is for romantic love. Self-love and both sexual and platonic intimacy as well. 

6. Seek Forgiveness And Heal Childhood Wounds

Meditation and introspection have been mentioned, however one specific thing you can do is to initiate a process of healing linked to childhood wounds. 

Remember that the heart symbolizes the developmental age cycle of 21- 28, and this means the three chakras below it, the root, sacral, and solar plexus, relate to our younger years. 

We accumulate a lot of illusions and societal fear, trauma and ‘distortion’ along the way during youth. Childhood wounds born through family and ancestral karmas should be sought to be overcome. 

Secondly, forgiving yourself and others is an instant way to unblock your heart and let love flow. A blocked heart chakra feels like someone or something is pressing down on us and causing stress and pressure. 

We feel disconnection from others, family, friends, loved ones, the world around, and the planet as a whole. There’s a sense of entrapment, because sharing in love and affection is an innate driving force of life; we can’t escape it. 

We naturally seek pathways of family, community, and connection, thus a block through unforgiveness, fear, resentment, grudges, and the like are added pressures, physically and energetically. 

7. Cry, Release, & Let Go

Finally, sometimes you need to let yourself cry and feel. One of the main qualities of the heart is empathy. Empathy is rooted in feelings, emotions, and actually experiencing whatever it is we need to feel and experience. There’s a big difference between ‘understanding’ something rationally or analytically, and feeling it. 

You can make your heart chakra stronger and simultaneously release blocks and imbalances holding you back, through learning to let go. Acceptance is a keyword here. Many people assume emotions are solely linked to the sacral chakra, as the sacral is the center of emotions (sexuality, sensuality, and creativity too). 

Yet, the heart allows (or prevents, if it’s blocked) life force energy to flow up and through the lower chakras to the higher ones. This life force energy is emotional, sexual, spiritual, creative, intuitive, and instinctive – all the things we require to be happy and whole, balanced, beings. 

We don’t explore this in this article, but one thing that is connected here is the power of kundalini healing, awakening, and activation. Learning more about your kundalini will help you to understand why the heart is so important. 

For now, be aware that of all the seven main chakras the heart is the bridge and therefore the center of consciousness. It encompasses the full spectrum of emotions and life themes, so releasing and letting go of “stuff” through the heart can have a positive effect on any and all of your other chakras. We store things, pain, and trauma in the heart. 

Read next: The Secret Connection Between Your Sun And Venus Sign

To Wrap It All Up

When our heart chakras are blocked, there’s a lack of spiritual perception and awareness, a lack of self-awareness in general, and an inability to form close and lasting relationships. We feel cut off from our true selves and this makes us cut off from others. 

Conscious qualities such as mirroring or projecting light and beauty within are lost – one is unable to see others and the world with a higher eye. Fear, irrationalities, illusion, and a ‘separation-mindset’ take over. 

There is an emotional block in addition to a psychological and spiritual one, and the inability to give and thus receive love prevents one from experiencing life to the fullest, from actively engaging with their life. Purpose and meaning can be questioned while self-esteem and confidence suffer too. 

Take back control and power of your life. Unblock your heart chakra! Working on self-love and manifesting a conscious relationship with your ideal partner, through the wisdom of Astrology, will help you to find the balance, inner harmony, and love you deserve.