Blocked
Guardedness, resentment, or giving until there is nothing left.
Chakra 4 · Anahata · Green
Heart chakra
Governs love, compassion and connection.
Sanskrit nameAnahata
LocationCentre of the chest
ColourGreen
ElementAir
Seed soundYAM
When it is working. Open without being porous. Able to give and to receive.
When it is not. Guardedness, resentment, or giving until there is nothing left.
What is suggested. Saying the affectionate thing out loud instead of assuming it is understood.
Blocked, balanced, overactive
Most guides describe only two states. The system actually names three, and the third is the one people miss — a chakra can be too open as easily as too closed, and the symptoms look nothing alike.
Balanced
Open without being porous. Able to give and to receive.
Overactive
Loving without boundaries, staying in situations out of compassion, giving until depleted.
What is traditionally suggested
Practice
Saying the affectionate thing out loud instead of assuming it is understood.
Movement and yoga
Backbends, chest openers, anything that puts the sternum forward.
Food and colour
Leafy greens and green vegetables.
Worth being plain: none of this has been shown to affect anything measurable. What it reliably does is give you a reason to move, eat deliberately and sit still — and those three do have evidence behind them, whatever the framing.
14 stones in our reference
Stones assigned to the Heart chakra
| Stone | Composition | Mohs | Traditionally |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bloodstone | Chalcedony (cryptocrystalline quartz) with inclusions of red iron oxide | 6.5–7 | Carried for courage and endurance, particularly by athletes and soldiers |
| Emerald | Beryllium aluminium silicate (Be₃Al₂Si₆O₁₈) coloured by chromium or vanadium | 7.5–8 | Linked to loyalty, growth and honest speech |
| Alexandrite | Beryllium aluminium oxide (BeAl₂O₄) — chrysoberyl coloured by chromium | 8.5 | Associated with adaptability and holding two truths at once |
| Ruby | Aluminium oxide (Al₂O₃) — corundum coloured by chromium | 9 | Associated with courage, appetite for life and decisive action |
| Peridot | Magnesium iron silicate ((Mg,Fe)₂SiO₄) — gem-quality olivine | 6.5–7 | Linked to lightness, release of resentment and fresh perspective |
| Spinel | Magnesium aluminium oxide (MgAl₂O₄) | 8 | Associated with renewal and recovering energy after depletion |
| Opal | Hydrated silica (SiO₂·nH₂O) — 3 to 21 percent water by weight | 5.5–6.5 | Linked to imagination, emotional range and creative flow |
| Tourmaline | Complex boron silicate with variable aluminium, iron, magnesium, lithium | 7–7.5 | Associated with protection and grounding, especially the black variety |
| Rose Quartz | Silicon dioxide (SiO₂) with trace titanium, iron or manganese | 7 | The standard stone of self-compassion and open-heartedness |
| Malachite | Copper carbonate hydroxide (Cu₂CO₃(OH)₂) | 3.5–4 | Associated with transformation and refusing to repeat a pattern |
| Jade | Two distinct minerals — nephrite (calcium magnesium silicate) and jadeite (sodium aluminium silicate) | 6–7 | Linked to steadiness, good fortune and long-term thinking |
| Fluorite | Calcium fluoride (CaF₂) | 4 | Associated with concentration, sorting priorities and mental order |
| Aventurine | Quartz with platy mineral inclusions, usually fuchsite mica | 6.5–7 | The traditional stone of opportunity and taking a calculated risk |
| Rhodonite | Manganese inosilicate (MnSiO₃) | 5.5–6.5 | Associated with repair after conflict and forgiving without forgetting |
This list is not written out by hand — it is pulled from the gemstone reference by matching chakra assignment, so it stays consistent with every stone page on the site. Composition and hardness are measurable; the chakra assignment is tradition.