Ritual Cacao & Yoga – Heart Opening on the Yoga Mat
Ritual Cacao is a doorway - it amplifies everything that follows. Perhaps that’s why so many people are discovering it for their yoga practice. Both Cacao and Yoga invite you to become conscious, to feel yourself deeply, and to enter into a more intimate connection with your inner being. While Yoga works through breath awareness and mindful movement, Ritual Cacao gently opens your heart, creating a sense of connection and grounding. Together they can create a space for mindfulness, introspection, and reconnection with your true self.
In this article, you’ll learn why Ritual Cacao complements your yoga practice so beautifully and how you can integrate this heart-opening plant medicine into your yoga routine.
By Leni & Anna in Cacao Blog
October 28, 2025
What Is Ritual Cacao?
Ritual Cacao, often referred to as ceremonial cacao, originates from the indigenous plant medicine traditions of Central and South America. Unlike industrially processed cocoa, it is made from high-quality cacao beans and produced with great care to preserve its natural compounds. It contains no additives and is rich in antioxidants and theobromine—a gentle stimulant that energizes the body without creating restlessness. That’s why many people also enjoy it as an alternative to coffee.
Of course, there is much more to learn about the history and profound effects of cacao. If you’d like to dive deeper, you can explore more here.
Why Does Ritual Cacao Complement Yoga So Well?
Although Yoga and Ritual Cacao come from different cultural roots, both invite you into mindful awareness of yourself and the world around you. Yoga is an ancient practice that originated in India and aims to bring body, mind, and spirit into harmony. The word Yoga literally means “union” - with oneself, with life, and with the Divine. There are various paths within Yoga, such as Bhakti Yoga (the path of devotion), Karma Yoga (the path of selfless action), Jnana Yoga (the path of knowledge), and Raja Yoga, which includes the practices of Asana, Pranayama, and meditation - those most commonly practiced in the West.
In classical Yoga, asanas (postures) are not only for physical flexibility; they are tools to calm the mind, activate life energy (Prana), and prepare the body for meditation. The ultimate goal is to find inner stillness through presence and mindfulness.
From the Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 6, Verses 20–21)
“When the mind becomes still through the practice of Yoga and merges into the Self, the Yogi experiences a joy beyond the senses—a joy arising from the depth of being.”
Ritual Cacao can serve as a beautiful bridge here - Cacao opens the heart, calms the mind, and makes you receptive to whatever wants to arise in the moment. Drinking Ritual Cacao mindfully fosters a loving connection with yourself just like Yoga.
In combination, they create a special space for inner reflection and connection: While Yoga centers and clarifies you, the heart-opening energy of Ritual Cacao deepens the emotional and sensory experience of your practice. This synergy is especially powerful with gentle styles such as Yin Yoga, soft flows, or Yoga Nidra.
How Ritual Cacao Supports Your Yoga Practice
Imagine this: You’re sitting on your yoga mat. The day may already be behind you or perhaps you’re gifting yourself this mindful pause. In front of you, a warm cup of Ritual Cacao that you’ve prepared with care. This is your time for your body, your mind, your heart. Maybe before meditation, maybe after a strong practice. The first sip grounds you, bringing presence, connection, and softness.
- Grounding & Presence: Ritual Cacao helps you arrive more deeply in your body. Especially after a full day, it brings the softness you need to ease into your practice or to integrate and absorb it afterward.
- Heart Opening: The heart-opening quality of this plant medicine can support access to your Anahata Chakra - the energy center of compassion and connection.
- Intuitive Body Awareness: Cacao slows the mind, making you more attuned to the subtle messages of your body. You move and feel with more mindfulness, gentleness, and connection.
- Deepened Meditative States: Whether in meditation, Pranayama, or Yoga Nidra, Cacao can help you transition into stillness more consciously and experience it more deeply.
Heart-Opening Yoga Ritual with Cacao
- Take your place on the mat and find an upright, comfortable seat. Prepare your Ritual Cacao beforehand so you can begin your yoga practice with it. Here’s a recipe and some tips.
- Connection: Close your eyes and place one hand on your heart. Feel your breath flowing naturally through your body. Inhale through the nose, exhale softly through the mouth. If you wish, hold your cup of cacao between your hands, feel its warmth, and silently set an intention for your practice, such as: “I connect with my heart and allow what wants to flow”, or “I open my heart and invite in ease, love, and connection”.
- Mindful Drinking: From this place of presence, take your first slow sips of Ritual Cacao. Feel how Mama Cacao and her energy touch your body, spreading warmth through every cell and gently opening your heart space. With each sip, you arrive more fully and prepare for your heart-opening yoga practice.
- Cat–Cow: Come into a stable tabletop position, hands under shoulders, knees under hips. Inhale: Let your belly drop toward the mat, lift your chest and gaze slightly forward - feel your sternum open (Cow Pose). Exhale: Round your spine, draw the chin toward the chest (Cat Pose). Flow at your own rhythm, perhaps with closed eyes, guided by the breath. This movement gently opens the heart from within and releases tension in the chest and spine. Repeat 10–12 rounds.
- Anahatasana: From tabletop, walk your hands forward until your chest sinks toward the earth. Keep the hips over the knees, rest your forehead or chin on the mat, and extend your arms forward. Breathe deeply into your chest, imagining your heart melting into the earth. This pose lengthens the spine and opens the front of the heart space and Anahata Chakra.
Optional: Rest your forehead on a bolster for support. Hold for about 1 minute or as long as feels good. - Seated Cat–Cow: Gently return to a comfortable seated position. Feel your connection to the ground beneath you. Inhale: Lift the chest and heart forward and upward. Exhale: Round the spine, chin gently toward the chest. Let your breath lead the movement. With every inhale, your heart expands; with every exhale, you release and soften. Repeat 10–12 times in a relaxed rhythm.
- Supported Fish Pose: Lie back and place a bolster, cushion, or two yoga blocks under your upper back so that your heart can open and the chest gently arches upward. Let your arms rest wide beside you, palms facing up. Breathe softly and deeply, imagining your heart expanding and shining with each inhale, and releasing all heaviness with each exhale. Stay here for 2–3 minutes.
- Savasana (Final Relaxation): Remove the bolster or blocks and come to rest on your back. Bring your awareness to your breath, allowing your body to sink deeper into the mat with each exhale. Focus your attention on your heart space the center of your chest. Feel your breath flowing through it, creating light and spaciousness with each inhale, peace and surrender with each exhale. You might visualize a warm green or pink light - the color of the Heart Chakra -spreading from your chest outward, into your shoulders, arms, and beyond, until it surrounds your whole being. Rest in this connection for a few breaths.
- Closing: When you’re ready, gently bring movement back into your body. Wiggle your fingers and toes, stretch, and move in any way that feels nourishing. Come back to a seated position and place your hands over your heart. Take one deep breath in, feeling your connection to your heart. Stay here for a few more moments, resting in that feeling of love and presence.
Enjoy your heart-opening yoga practice!
Ritual Cacao & Yoga – Frequently Asked Questions
If you’re practicing a gentle sequence, you can drink your cacao before or even during the session. For more dynamic styles, such as traditional Hatha Yoga, it’s best to enjoy cacao afterward. Drink it mindfully, set an intention, and tune in with yourself.
It’s very simple: you can incorporate Ritual Cacao into your yoga sessions at home or in the studio. For example, to open a gentle Yin Yoga class, or at the end of a session to help students integrate their practice. Ritual Cacao also pairs beautifully with guided meditations, deep relaxation, or Yoga Nidra. A special highlight is hosting longer cacao rituals for special occasions such as Full Moon, New Moon, or seasonal celebrations.
Cacao harmonizes particularly well with calm and restorative styles such as Yin Yoga, Restorative Yoga, or gentle slow flows. In these styles, its heart-opening and grounding effects can unfold most fully.
Not necessarily - your time on the mat is already an act of mindfulness. You can drink cacao without a formal ritual; sometimes a few deep breaths are all it takes to connect before you take your first sip.
