Simple tools to live from the heart

Living and leading from the heart enables and empowers us to see beyond the limitations and old stories of our past. Life can be glorious - filled with simple pleasures, deep connection and magical synchronicities. We can learn to see all the ups and downs of this human experience as a gift - an opportunity to learn, feel gratitude and evolve.

Instead of acting from the fear and reptilian 'fight or flight' reactions of our mind, if we have a regular practice of connecting to our heart, we can let our nervous system soften into it's natural state of feeling safe. From a heart-centred place, our mind, body and soul can once again access the wisdom of our highest self - the self that is connected to all that is and all that ever will be. We can allow a life of purpose to flow through us. We can receive without forcing and trust - with the deepest knowing - that all will be well.

The heart has a magnetic field 10 x bigger than our brain. But more than that - and unmeasurable it has a higher consciousness of wisdom that we are only just starting to realise and tap into.

Phew - those are some bold statements! They're how I feel about life, but they may not land for you, so feel free to ignore. Or better still, try some of these techniques and see if you notice beautiful things start to happen for you.

Breath techniques

I find the easiest way to connect to our heart's wisdom is through breath. I've shared some benefits of breathwork in the Breathing Right blog. It really is so simple - you can do it anywhere, without other people noticing, and it can take just a couple of minutes.

Regular practice is important though - it's better to do it every day for a few minutes than once week for an hour.

Give yourself permission to stop and become conscious of your breath. Four seconds in and six seconds out (or any combination where you are breathing out for slightly longer than you breath in is good). I usually breathe through my nose and imagine I am breathing in and out of my heart centre - conveniently placed in front of the lungs! Sometimes if you are in a high stress situation or feel like you have just too much energy and you need a big release, then a big breath in through the nose and out through the mouth can be really helpful. You could even raise your shoulders up to your ears and then let them drop with the exhale. Make some noise! - it's so liberating! And of course doing this in nature (barefoot) - can supersize the whole experience.

After the big sighs if required, put your hand on your heart and this will help you to consciously connect to your heart as your breathe. Heart coherence meditation then encourages you to think of something you are really grateful for, or that you love. This brings you into a powerful state of heart coherence and regulation physically, mentally and emotionally. I've also found that thinking of something you're really proud of yourself for can help with feelings of worthiness and confidence.

There are lots of other techniques - dance, sound, cooking - anything that helps you get out of your mind, and I'll share more in other blogs.

Empowering Heart techniques

Once you get used to connecting with your heart through breath, you can then learn to use this heart connection in other ways.

A practice that I find incredibly helpful and empowering is to connect with my heart when I am in a difficult conversation, potential conflict situation or when I feel my mind spiraling into a negative thought pattern. Say I have to present at a meeting, I'm sensing a weird vibe from someone, or I have to attend a networking event. I might start to feel myself overthinking all the bad things that could happen - if I do that, I'll literally be thinking things into reality.

Yes - that's a thing. We literally think things into being. It's probably one of the biggest 'things' we can learn to be conscious of. And once we are conscious that our mind is creating these negative thoughts, we can train ourselves to do something different.

As soon as you become conscious of a negative thought pattern or old story - give yourself some time and space to connect to your heart. The breath can literally 'trick' your mind into thinking all is well. Once you are in a calm and regulated space, picture instead a positive outcome. See that taking place and feel what that feels like. Even better than that (because it allows even greater and unlimited possibilities ) - just simply ask for the very best possible outcome for yourself and the greater good to take place. Say thank you for the very best outcome. Smile - feel that sense of excitement from connecting with your heart, that the very best outcome is going to evolve.

This can take some practice - in fact it must take practice. So that it becomes innate behaviour and muscle memory. So that every time you even start to be conscious of a negative thought pattern coming in, you catch yourself.

You don't actually push these thoughts away - because there's a lesson in them coming up. You connect to your heart and ask - is there anything I need to know about why this has come up for me? Sit with it while breathing in and out of your heart. It will usually boil down to an old limiting belief about yourself, a fear based on something that you learned from the age of 0 - 7 that you can most certainly be free of. Or if you find yourself triggered by someone - like a little jealousy / envy, it's usually because they're doing something that you think you should be doing. Thank them. And instead of focusing on other people, get back on track with your bigger vision - your heart led vision of what you want to be achieving.

Living a life of purpose, alignment and joy from our hearts is simpler than you think - it just takes practice, and heart!