Should we be more closed-hearted?

When I was taking my yoga teacher training back in 2007, every year on Valentine’s Day my mentor would teach her annual heart-closing class. 

She believed that everyone was always talking about heart opening and that sometimes, it was better to close your heart instead, as a form of protection and self care. 

While there was something about that idea that always felt off to me, I had to admit that it was a lovely class, and everyone left exuding an air of peace, calm, and as though their own cup was overflowing. 

So every Valentine’s Day, the question comes up for me again: could we benefit from being more closed-hearted?

Do we need to be more closed-hearted or do we need to stop saying yes to things we really want to say no to? 

Do we need to be more closed-hearted or do we need to create more boundaries around who and what we give our time and energy to?

Do we need to be more closed-hearted or do we need to make sure we're taking care of ourselves more than we're taking care of others so we're never giving from an empty cup?

As I’ve explored this question over the years, I’ve come to believe that the answer is not to be more closed-hearted, but instead to create boundaries that will allow us to feel safe and protected being open-hearted. 

And the key to making all of that work is to trust ourselves.

To trust ourselves to create boundaries that feel aligned with our needs.

To trust ourselves to uphold these boundaries.

And to trust ourselves, to be flexible in our boundaries and allow ourselves to modify or change them completely as we grow and change.

Part of creating aligned boundaries, upholding them and knowing when it’s time to change them, is being able to listen to the guidance of our hearts and knowing when our heart is saying yes and when our heart is saying no. 

So this Valentine’s Day I wanted to share my Heart Connecting Meditation to help you practice and get even more in tune with hearing the guidance of your heart.

If you’d like to give yourself some holistic self love this week, join me this Thursday at 1 PM ET for a free 30-minute Heart-Based Self Care session. Click here to register.