Love. Self-love. Compassion.

Symbol: Green lotus flower with twelve petals.

The two upper triangles in the centre represent both material and spiritual worlds as well as masculine and feminine elements.

The heart chakra is the fourth chakra. In Sanskrit it is called Anahata and means ‘undamaged’. Your heart chakra is located in the centre of the chest near the heart. It is closely linked to your physical heart and to the feeling of unconditional love, compassion, balance and healthy liberation. If you feel your heart beating faster in certain situations or with certain people, it could be the body's signal that your heart chakra is out of balance.

A harmonious and balanced heart chakra contains unconditional love for yourself and your relationships. It provides you with a more generous view of the world, a greater desire to be in the present and a natural kindness to yourself and others.

An underdeveloped heart chakra can cause low self-esteem. You don’t dare to show your vulnerable side or show love to others. Receiving love from others can also be difficult.

An overdeveloped heart chakra can give the feeling of lack of energy and create challenges in difficult relationships. It is important to help and care for those around you, but first you need to be able to love yourself. If you only care about others, you will burn yourself out.

Create balance in your heart chakra: Feel your emotions. Cry and laugh. Both are equally important in sending energy to your heart chakra. Focus on being generous, extrovert, compassionate and kind. And give love to yourself. This must always come first.

To create perfect balance in your heart chakra, you also need to create a feeling of being grounded in your root chakra, well-being in your sacral chakra and personal strength in your solar plexus chakra.

Gemstones that support your heart chakra: Rose quartz. Rhodonite. Ruby. Green aventurine. Sodalite. Grey agate. Green jade.