An open heart is a courageous heart. Sometimes it is not so easy to open your heart, yet it is worth it. Because with an open heart we enter into relationship with our inner world and with the people around us. But how does heart opening actually work? In this blog post you will find valuable impulses to strengthen your connection to your heart. You can look forward to journaling questions for reflection, a simple exercise for more heart-head coherence, and tips to strengthen your heart chakra.
By Leni in Cacao Blog
March 12, 2026
Trust your heart,
for it has already been beating,
before you were able to think.
At Cacaoloves.me we would like to devote ourselves even more to a topic that is very important to us: heart opening. Our heart is more than a physical organ – it is an inner compass that guides us onto the path of our truth. Heart opening is our mission - for a shift toward a loving and compassionate world, and this begins within us, within you.
When you open your heart, you open yourself to life itself
We believe that we make all important decisions from the heart, or at least that we should. As children this was still completely natural for us: we act according to our intuition and step into the world with an open and courageous heart.
Through different experiences and challenges in life it can happen that we protect and close our heart. There is nothing wrong with this at first - the ability to protect ourselves is valuable and allows us to gather strength in moments of retreat. Our heart always wants the best for us and also takes on a protective role.
However, if this protection leads to us feeling lonely, unable to truly trust anyone, experiencing life as cold and heavy, or no longer feeling true joy, it is worth questioning and consciously strengthening the connection to our own heart.
Because when we close our heart out of fear of pain, we not only keep unpleasant feelings away, but also the vibrant and loving emotions. And is that not what we all long for – aliveness and love? Opening the heart may initially feel unfamiliar or even threatening. Perhaps you know this feeling – a deep mistrust toward life itself?
How can I strengthen the connection to my heart?
As always, everything here also begins within ourselves. We may learn again to open, to trust life and to love. Then we too can be loved and appreciated by the outside world and draw people into our lives who meet us with love and goodwill. Before we begin building a stable and loving relationship with ourselves, we may first take a look at what it currently looks like. For this, I invite you to check in with your heart every morning for the next 14 days. After waking up in the morning, stay in bed for a moment, place both hands on your heart, breathe mindfully and attentively into your heart space a few times and ask:
Heart, how are you?
What do you wish from me today?
If you feel resistance at the beginning of this exercise or cannot perceive clear impulses, do not let this discourage you. It takes time and mindful devotion to restore the loving connection to your heart space – especially if you have unconsciously blocked it in the past.
Be ready to receive the messages completely free of evaluation and judgment. Perhaps your heart tells you in the morning that it does not want to attend an appointment and that you need rest. Perhaps it tells you very specifically: “A bath would do us good, a walk in the forest, today we absolutely need sunlight,” etc. Even small impulses that may seem trivial to the mind can be very important for you.
After some time, when you already know and understand the voice of your heart a little better, you can for example arrange a date just with yourself once a week or once a month. Make it as beautiful for yourself as you would for a loved person. (You should also be that for yourself). In addition, you can create a list of things that make your heart dance, such as going into the forest, dancing, making music, sports… and schedule time in your calendar each day exactly for these things.
Journaling Questions for the Heart
Journaling is also a wonderful tool to create more connection to your heart. Questions you can ask yourself here include for example:
- What makes your heart grow bigger with joy?
- How much do you already listen to the voice of your heart in everyday life?
- Do you trust the guidance of your heart?
- Which relationships in your life nourish your heart?
- Which relationships drain your energy?
- Which things make your heart feel tight?
- How do you define love for yourself?
- What are you deeply grateful for in your life from the bottom of your heart?
About the Anahata Chakra – Your Heart Space
Our heart chakra is also called the Anahata Chakra and is, in a way, our main life center. It is located in the middle of your chest at the level of the physical heart.
On an emotional level, themes such as compassion, (self-) love, harmony, forgiveness, gratitude, and healing are located in this energy center. But so-called “shadow themes” such as envy, dependency, jealousy & Co. also have their origin here when the heart chakra is in imbalance. On a physical level, organs such as the heart, the lungs, and our skin are connected to this chakra.
The heart center stands for the connection between body and soul and is the place where we can both give and receive love. An open Anahata Chakra enables us to live compassionately, authentically, and in harmony with ourselves and others. In shamanism, the heart is often seen as a bridge between the physical and the spiritual world. It is the sacred space, the seat of the soul, in which we resonate with our own essence and with the forces of nature. Many rituals and healing methods aim to open the heart in order to heal old wounds and reconnect with the original life force.
Some people have closed their heart due to painful experiences from the past but wish to come more into feeling again. Here it is important to understand that once we close our heart, we close it to ALL feelings - the seemingly positive and the seemingly negative feelings - and this blocks perception and therefore healing.
We invite you to open your heart again and again little by little, to be courageous, so that your heart chakra can return to a natural balance and you can enjoy life with all its facets more and more. After all, that is why you are here in this world!
Heart-Head Coherence Exercise
With this small exercise you can strengthen the connection to your heart and bring head and heart back together again:
- Find a quiet place and sit comfortably and upright.
- Place one hand on the back of your head and the other hand flat on your heart.
- Close your eyes and connect with your heart and your head.
- Now begin to inhale for 4 seconds and exhale for 4 seconds.
- While doing so, imagine a bridge of light forming from your head to your heart.
- You can do this exercise for 3-5 minutes and then sit in silence and feel into it.
8 Tips to Strengthen Your Heart Chakra
Your heart chakra is naturally connected to your heart, and here too there are various ways to strengthen it:
- Eat plenty of green fruits and vegetables such as kiwi, spinach, broccoli & Co.
- Breathe deeply into your heart and open it through physical exercises, such as stretching your arms to the sides.
- Wear rose quartz as a gemstone on your body or place the stone on your heart while meditating.
- Show your love toward yourself and others, for example by telling yourself or your loved ones how much you appreciate them through words or small gestures.
- Allow yourself to feel ALL emotions again.
- Ask yourself again and again in everyday life what your heart wishes from you.
- Practice small daily gratitude rituals and reflect on what you are grateful for in your life.
- Drink our heart-opening ritual cacao and, for support you, try out our "Ostara Cacao Ritual: Heart Opening for the Spring Equinox".
What does Heart Opening mean?
In connection with Ritual Cacao, the word heart opening appears again and again. It is often assumed that this means we feel light and good. That can and may happen. But heart opening is so much more. For me it means that all feelings are allowed to be present. This is exactly what Ritual Cacao supports.
Feelings that would otherwise be pushed down come to the surface and are allowed to flow. Feelings want only one thing: to be felt. If you are ready for that and allow it, they usually disappear just as quickly as they came. Of course, this can still be frightening, especially when feelings arise that you may have been suppressing for years or decades. Many of our participants at cacao rituals describe that they were able to face topics there that they had not wanted to look at for a long time. They feel that someone is there holding them, and that is exactly how it is. That is why people often speak of Mama Cacao. This refers to the holding, motherly energy that accompanies us on the path of heart opening.
Heart opening is different for everyone, yet it is exactly what the inner being needs most in that moment.
An open heart is a courageous heart
It takes courage to open your heart. As described above, when you turn toward your inner world, not only beautiful feelings rise to the surface but also pain and everything the human emotional spectrum has to offer.
Nevertheless, I can tell you, as someone who kept their heart closed for a long time in order not to feel all the pain of the past, it is worth opening up. Every day I choose again to soften, to open, and to feel. It is not always easy. Yet life becomes richer in experiences and aliveness because of it.
Only then was I able to form deep connections with other people and above all maintain them. Are there moments when it becomes too much and I want to close myself again? Absolutely. But the voice of my heart has become louder, and I am humble enough to listen to it. And this voice says:
“It’s worth opening up.
It's worth feeling, touching and being touched.
All of this for a loving world that begins within you.
Be courageous and follow me! Your heart!"
If you would like to travel deeper with the power of Ritual Cacao and enrich your heart through it, I can highly recommend our book and our monthly gathering.
