Heavy Heart

My heart is heavy.  Unbearably heavy.  Painfully heavy.  But, with this weight brings awareness to my heart.  I am conscious of it's presence and the weight that emotions bring to this vital organ. 
I regularly practice hot yoga.  It is my medicine, my therapy, my passion.  My yoga teachers always tell us, "Lead with your heart.  Your heart should be the highest point on your body."  Easier said than done, like most everything in yoga.  But this mantra has really encouraged me, challenged me, inspired me.  Again, like most everything in yoga, it can be applied outside of the hot room. 
I've been known my whole life to pretty much live with my heart on my sleeve.  Over the years, it's been down-played and criticized for being a weakness of mine.  This mindset has made me insecure about my natural, God-given, state of being and left me resisting my natural instinct to "lead with my heart". Our society makes us think that those who lead with their heart, who live a "heartfelt" state of being rather than a "head" state of being, are week, over emotional, and not strong.  We are taught to "buck up", to go head first, and think with our head not our heart.  While I know there is a time and place for using our wonderful, extraordinary, and brilliant brains, my point is that there is also a balance and importance in learning to also live through our hearts.  I often tell my 5 year old, who has also received my "gene" for living her heart on her sleeve, to "buck up buttercup"-I also want to teach her to "lead with her heart" and let her beautiful heart shine.s
I believe that there is undoubtedly a resonating strength and beauty to those that "lead with their heart".  While our heart, metaphorically speaking, is the most sensitive place where we hold all of our raw human emotions, and sensitive feelings, it is also literally the most important muscle in our body.  It is, after all, our life line as it pumps blood and oxygen from our toes to the crown of our head. I think that our life, our prana, our yoga practice, would all benefit if we learn to "lead with our heart" and "let our heart be the highest point on our bodies".
In my yoga practice, we are standing and bending and holding these intense, hard poses. The room is hot, our muscles are shaking, our breath is challenged.  One naturally tends to curl into these challenging positions and the heart disappears. But, if you "lead with your heart" in these positions and in your prana, your pose is the strongest, the most open, and in perfect form.
Let your heart shine.