Open Your Heart This Valentine’s Day

Guest Blog by YogaVibes Instructor Gail Corvette

As butter lies hidden within milk,
The Self is hidden in the hearts of all.
Churn the mind through meditation on it;
Light your fire through meditation on it:
The Self, all whole, all peace, all certitude.

 —Amritabindu Upanishad

My first yoga bio (for the World Yoga Center in NYC in 2006) read “what began as cross training for this classically trained ballet student has turned into an amazing journey into the heart through Anusara Yoga.” In Anusara Yoga, we believe in intrinsic goodness—seeing the good in each and every being. I like to think of it as seeing others though the loving eyes of the heart rather than the judgmental thoughts of the head.

Easier said than done, right?! It is easy to open your heart to a romantic partner on this day to celebrate that kind of love. We share things in common, have a spark of attraction and want to be together. In fact, I’ve heard that intimacy can be translated into “Into Me I See.”

But can you really see the “me” or Self in others who aren’t your Valentine? Even in those with whom you disagree or have seemingly nothing in common? That’s where yoga comes in. Breathe, step back from petty differences, and see the bigger picture of the divine nature of everyone. We can remember that everyone wants to be happy, that God lives in them as them, even with all their differences in upbringing, circumstances, opinions and worldview. It certainly takes practice but simply that pause to open the heart can strengthen your empathy and compassion muscles.

I still get a chuckle when I remember my former minister’s benediction which was something like “Go In peace and bless all those you love and all you find difficult to love.” My favorite translation of Namaste, which you will hear when you practice my Wisdom Class on YogaVibes, came from an Anusara teacher, Stacy, years ago: “When I am in my heart and you are in your heart, we are one.”

Namaste this Valentine’s Day.