Moving to the beat of the heart

Moving to the beat of the heart

Chakras 1-3 and 4

Last week we discussed the lower three chakras. The lower three are the foundation for maintaining life. As we move up your dog’s chakras, the higher we go, they become more and more connected and responsive to cognitive, reasoned and spiritually intuitive function. The fourth chakra is the heart chakra. The heart, the organ within the chest is responsible for pumping the blood to the lungs for rebirthing and then out to the body for some well deserved R and R, Refreshment and Refurbishment. The heart is in its own protective pouch, the pericardium. It is nestled and protected by the soft tissue of the lungs, the bony cage of armoring, the ribs, layers of muscles and fascia connective tissue.

Heart brain

There are some interesting new insights from anatomical and physiological scholars that several of the organs have their own brains, resources, and proprietary systems. One of these is the stomach (digestion and 3^rd chakra), another is the vestibular system (eyes and 6^th chakra), and the heart (4^th chakra).

There is a clear connection between what we think and feel and how our body functions. We are rediscovering –and validating– what the ancients knew: the heart is the seat of wisdom. And, it is the seat of more than that!

Knowingness

The true intent of the heart has never been far away from the way we describe it in popular culture. We say things like, “You knew in your heart it was true.” And, “Listen to your heart.” The Heart implies a wisdom that is grounded in intuition. Knowingness. How is it that the heart, at the 4^th level of spiritual development has a clearer grasp of the truth of what is happening than the brain? It is drawing on the raw power of the gut (3^rd) which has been fueled by the 2^nd and sprouted by the 1^st. It is more aligned with your Source energies from below than the “higher” cognitive interpretations from above.

Heart and love

We connect the heart and love. We speak of a full heart, a heart brimming with happiness, a lonely heart, a sad heart, broken heart. It too, is drawing on the raw power of the gut (3^rd) which was fueled by the 2^nd and grounded by the 1^st.

Heart and courage

People do all sorts of courageous acts. Some of them demonstrate superhuman strength or speed or senses. They are just the “right” thing to do at the time. And they usually are not completely thought through. It is like walking, carrying a bowl of soup filled completely to the rim. If you watch it and think about not spilling, it will. It you look straight ahead and think about where you are going, it will not spill. Courage is like that. If you think about it, it is a lot less likely to happen. Courage is this intangible exposition of our intuitive, reptilian instincts (1-3) channeled and marshaled by love, conviction, and understanding (4).

Heart intelligence

A couple of years ago, I took a Watsu® WaterDance™ workshop in Florida with the instructor, Minakshi. One evening as I was scanning her library of paperbacks, I discovered a book about the HeartMath Institute (HMI). This is an organization that has conducted extensive research on the power of heart intelligence. They describe Heart intelligence as intuition and the energetic connection between all things. It is the flow of intuitive awareness, understanding and inner guidance we experience when the mind and emotions are brought into coherent alignment with the heart.

Dogs have heart

When we describe dogs, we use the terms, devoted, unconditional love, courage, best friend, soul mate, etc.

Palpate the heart

During the PetMassage_TM, when we palpate the ribs under the forelegs, we can feel the beating of the heart. We can feel the ribs and chest moving with the breath. We can support the blood flow and lymphatic movement back toward the heart with various manual techniques. We can check if the heart activities are coordinated with the rest of the chakras using the skills of dousing, pendulum assessment, and kinesiology, muscle testing.

Behavioral perspective

How would you know if the heart chakra were compromised? The heart is one of the predominant movers of fluid in the body; so it follows that if circulation is too much or too little, if fluids are out of balance, pooling as in edema, or scant as in cramping or numbness, it could be a heart issue. If the dog is grieving the loss of another dog or an important person in their lives, that is a heart issue.

The heart, we need to remember, is not always about sadness or dysfunction. It is also about abundant love and support. If the dog is blissfully happy, tossing her rubber toys high into the air, that is a heart issue, as well.

PetMassage_TM facilitator

In fact, that’s the energy that I like to project when I PetMassage_TM dogs. If they are not there yet, I fake it ‘til they make it. I visualize and focus on wellness, on balance, on harmony and grace. Whether you believe it or not, your body produces the hormones that will support your words, your thoughts, and your intentions. Dogs can, of course, smell the chemical shifts in your skin, your eyes, your hair, your respiration and heart rate. They know what you are thinking. This is how I see my role as the PetMassage_TM facilitator.

I am the leader. I lead the dog with bodywork supported by visualization. I move the dog from their abyss of dysfunction to function, darkness to light. Observing, balancing and connecting the dog’s body systems: 1^st chakra to 2^nd. 2^nd to 3^rd. 3^rd to 4^th, and so on.