Heart Openers
The Best Heart Openers in Yoga
By Dennis Bluthardt, Namaste Studios
Heart openers increase access to yoga’s beneficial physiological aspects and allow some people to experience a profound emotional release. Beyond those aspects, practitioners often find that working in heart-opening poses helps them deal with heart issues.
Holding our arms above our heads for any length is more work than many realize until they do some heart-opening poses. Other poses require the flexibility in our chest and shoulders that many do not have, as we haven’t “gone there” in our bodies. But once we begin to go “there” (figuratively and metaphorically), we start to notice what else is “there.”
The sensation of “letting go” is frequently tied to an emotional release and an opening at our physiological center. As a beginning yogi, working on this has profound benefits. Cultivating the physical benefits of this also has worthy psychological benefits.
When we sit and, despite assurances from some companies, using a ball doesn’t alleviate this, our energy system is out of alignment. Even maintaining a so-called “correct” (upright) posture at your desk does not change the angle and physiological slumping that the downward force of gravity has on us. The body is aligned upright with a straight spine (tailbone/feet pointing directly down, top of the head pointing directly up). Suppose we have a hunch from curling over our keyboards for several hours daily. In that case, we will be dealing with nonalignment and a torqued spine, which causes a host of systemic and locomotive physical problems. It also dramatically affects our psychological ability to focus and brings an added distraction from trying to breathe correctly.
In yoga, we work out these issues and the psychological parts of our bodies by focusing on these areas in poses that we hold for longer than is often comfortable. Why? Because we feel better when we are through. And there is a reason for this.
On a psychological level, keeping our chins down and our chests curled in to protect our heart chakra (the heart chakra = love; compassion) is a typical, utterly human way to greet the world. (And isn’t that why so many of us do yoga, to learn and pass that salutation?) It’s a self-defense posture that many have had for years.
We focus on our heart chakras in yoga, especially in heart-opening poses. This feature, ignoring all the health reasons above, will change your life.
Understanding Heart Openers
Heart openers are a group of yoga asanas that primarily stretch the chest and shoulders. Examples include Camel Pose, Cobra Pose, Bridge Pose, and Mountain Pose. The term “heart opener” refers to the part of the body that the asana helps you access physically. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you are opening your heart to love (although you might be); instead, the asanas usually expand your chest, making it possible for you to open and lift your heart or the front of your torso to the ceiling (as opposed to pointing downward toward the mat). In yoga philosophy, an open heart is also the seat of Anahata, the heart chakra or energy wheel.
Our hearts are the vehicle for our voices in the world. While heart openers are technically any pose that expands your chest and keeps the muscles in your shoulders back and down, heart openers, in general, make space for introspection and open us up to a connection between our mind, body, and spirit. They can evoke feelings of openness, pleasure, and happiness. Since most of us spend our days hunched over our computers or with our eyes glued to our phones, heart openers are crucial to counteract all that sitting and slumping.
Even our anatomy-driven concept of a heart opener opens us up to the world around us.
So, whether you salve a broken heart or awaken to new possibilities, seek poses that open the chest, underarms, and shoulders. These poses can be challenging, but the work is worth the exploration.
The Benefits of Heart Openers
Heart openers improve posture and flexibility. Hear openers will also increase the capacity of your lungs. Sitting for too long makes us slouch, and chest and shoulder stretching poses counteract that by opening the heart. When your heart opens, your spine cannot return to its natural, upright position. An upright spine means better posture, likely to be seen on the outside and felt on the inside. When you adopt this physiological “trick,” your body will appear physically different and allow your lungs to expand properly. When your lungs can adequately expand, this means only one thing: better breathing.
Heart openers are also very good at developing the chest and shoulders. And for releasing tension there. Some people store stress in these areas, so you might carry a tension headache without knowing. What a chest and shoulder stretching practice will do, if done right, is return your chest and shoulder anatomy to its natural “off” state.
There is something else that is generally quite uncomfortable for some people but worth mentioning briefly: heart openers. Heart openers will also cause you to feel self-consciously open. Like the feeling of vulnerability. For some people, heart openers are a safe way to release their emotions. These poses also teach your body to breathe and stand in the parasympathetic nervous response to stress and are best practiced outside of working hours.
Top Heart-Opening Yoga Poses (Asanas)
Camel Pose (Ustrasana) embodies heart opening, and the front side of your body, including your chest, abdomen, and quadriceps, are all extended. Start this pose with your knees on your mat and shoulder-width apart. Your arms can extend behind you as you inhale, lift from your diaphragm, and reach for your heels. It is a fantastic pose that promotes flexible vertebrae and stretches your front side. Your internal organs benefit, too, because it aids in digestion, relieving stress, and curing vs. combatting anxiety.
In many yoga practices, Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana) is a standard pose (like Child’s Pose). You will lie face down, identical to Child’s pose, but turn your hands underneath your shoulders and root your palms to the top of your yoga mat. You will keep your elbows tucked close to your body as you gently lift your chest. Behold, the king cobra! This pose also strengthens your vertebrae and promotes the opening of the chest cavity, which, in turn, stimulates the opening of the heart. It may also help combat fatigue and give healthy attributes to lung function.
Bridge Pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana) is categorized as a “restorative” pose but helps strengthen the backside of your body, activating the glutes and the posterior chain. This pose is nearly identical to the Wheel Pose but advanced as you progress, starting with the Bridge Pose first. The pose fosters bountiful circulation due to increased heart rate, given the bent knee articulation and interweaving hands beneath your back. As with most inverted poses, this pose can help you transition from drowsy to active. Additionally, it can combat the loss of energy and fatigue. Bridge pose typically can help you with nervousness, trembling, hives, and anxiety by focusing on strenuous exertion and muscle control.
Above, you will see the heart-opening Fish Pose (Matsyasana) and an Up Dog, or “Up Dog Pose/” (Urdhva Mukha Svanasana). Again, Up Dog is a pose that needs no introduction because you are familiar with it but may find it unfamiliar because of Up Dog vs. Cobra.
Both poses are involved in every salutation you do in yoga, helping your heart and body feel their best for inhale and exhale transitions when going into more advanced poses. Fish Pose is a peak pose, meaning you do it last because it stimulates the body as an advanced pose. Both poses will help with symptoms of fatigue because the body is invigorated and stimulated through the opening of the heart and chest (which is why activating full respiratory diaphragm function is vital to control).
So, pay close attention to your abdomen, shoulder placement, and spine, and breathe deeply through both poses. Try visualizations, such as “I’m the sun,” some “I’m in the desert,” a day at the park, etc., to help make the experience more balanced and well-rounded when transitioning through these poses. That’s key: get your mind into the pose by method of rule and order. When all rules and order apply, move on to the next pose in your progression.
Tips for Practicing Heart Openers Safely
If you have ever attempted Camel Pose or Wheel Pose without warming up, you understand why.
“Ustrasana” or “Urdhva Dhanurasana” might not share the exact literal translation of “heart opener.” Still, the chest, shoulders, and spine must all be flexy and ready to bend to support these poses safely. Therefore, you could strain these areas without adequately warming up and potentially cause an injury. And yoga is supposed to decrease life’s worries, not add to them!
But on a happier and more positive note, a strategic warm-up encourages proper blood flow within your body upon interaction. It also promotes flexibility from the start of practice, so finding a good pose with alignment might be easier to tackle overall.
With that theory, yogis likely channel Cat/Cow Pose, Bhujangasana, or (my favorite as of late) Setu Bandha Sarvangasana before transitioning to something profound. Poses like Marjaryasana/Bitilasana or “Cobra Pose” engage the spine and open the heart, as they are just as crucial for binds, pulses, circles, wants, and other forms of relief.
Adding posture variations into your practice would ground you in many ways. Not only would you get to stretch, but you would also be balancing your body on the mat in the process. And who is paid $15 for 75 minutes of continuous practice? Unfortunately, that’s not you, but it is only around $.20 per minute and around $.80 per class, which would be your choice at the end of the day; but eventually, the why will outweigh your why not.
Heart openers are an essential part of yoga practice, offering numerous benefits for physical and emotional health. These poses, including Camel Pose, Ustrasana, Cobra Pose, Bhujangasana, Bridge Pose, or Setu Bandhasana, stretch and strengthen the chest, shoulder, and spine muscles. By opening the front, or heart, part of the body, you can improve posture, increase the capacity and function of the lungs, and stimulate good circulation.
All these factors can and will contribute to increased overall health.
Along with their physical benefits, heart-opening poses can offer different benefits, this time for emotional release and self-development. By making ourselves more open and stretched out, the opposite of the fetal position (or closed-off, protective stance), we can develop self-acceptance and increase confidence in our self-expression. Heart openers will help us to face life’s challenges in a calmer, more unrestricted way. Namely, we will be better equipped to self-soothe and face our anxieties head-on rather than indulging in self-medicating practices or disordered, binge, or stress-related eating habits.
Level up your practice by including some heart-opening poses within your regular practice. You could dedicate one whole practice to heart openers or a few poses in a sequence to some chest- and shoulder-opening movements. The results will be astounding, and your body, mind, and soul will love you for it!
Please do share your experiences with heart-openers in the comments. What are your favorite poses, and how have they affected you?
