The process of heart awakening can be a painful one, on an emotional and physical level. There are many layers and levels to heart awakening. Most people find the initial stages to be painful in the center of the chest. Usually, some kind of life-changing event or even a triggering event will cause the heart to break open. These can be events we perceive as either positive or negative. People may notice a variety of symptoms as the heart opens up and expands, including chest pain, heart palpitations or the heart "skipping around." People will often notice that they become emotionally sensitive or even volatile as the heart begins to explore new levels of experience, feeling and perception.
As the heart continues to expand however, the pain may become less focused in the center of the chest and may expand into the breasts to the point where they start to ache or have sharp pains. This is different than the pain experienced before the start of menstruation, as this pain will linger around after menstruation has ended.
Of course, in the spirit of awareness and caution, I have to advise anyone who's experiencing symptoms to see a health care provider if they suspect something else might be contributing to their breast pain. Always be safe loves. I'm not a doctor and I cannot advise you medically. Just giving you my point of view. ;) Beyond that, there are many things which can cause physical pain as a result of the heart awakening and expanding. Some things which can trigger heart awakening related breast pain, include:
New love or deepening love
Soul expansion
Old grief and emotional pain resurfacing
Frustration from not feeling honored
Feelings of guilt
Fear or anxiety
Disappointment in relationships
Feeling unsafe in giving or receiving love
Of course, this is not an exhaustive list. But let's look at each of these individually.
New Love or Deepening Love
This can happen a lot for people who are on the journey of Divine love/Divine partnership. These relationships can be so powerful in their essence of pure love that they cause the heart to burst open. This can cause some physical pain starting in the center of the chest and later radiating into the breasts later on.
Soul Expansion
This journey is one that creates constant expansion. It's important to remember that as your soul expands, your emotional body will respond by purging out that which doesn't align with where you are currently. This will allow your heart to expand further and sometimes, you can feel it in the breast area.
Old Grief and Emotional Pain Resurfacing
A common cause of breast pain resulting from heart awakening is old grief and pain resurfacing. This can be the pain from a previous heartbreak or a loss of any kind. My hypothesis is the emotions can get tangled up in the energies around the breasts and get kind of stuck.
Frustration from Not Being Honored
If you're in a relationship and you feel as though you are not being fully appreciated or honored, this can cause the heart to contract and close in an attempt to protect itself. If your heart has opened enough but is still working to heal some old patterns related to self worth for example, this may cause some pain in the breast area.
Feelings of Guilt
Have you ever done something you felt guilty about? Or maybe you felt a certain way and said to yourself you shouldn't be feeling that way. This can cause the heart to become heavy with emotion and possibly contract.
Fear and Anxiety
People that have issues with anxiety know how common it is to have chest pain. I know all too well. However, once you start opening your heart on deeper levels, the energy flow through the heart steadily becomes more seamless and graceful. This is part of "living in the flow" and your heart is an important part of this process. Letting fear and anxiety set in without properly nurturing it can cause the heart energies to contract and may cause some pain.
Disappointment in Relationships
Not much needs to be said about this. When you feel let down, ghosted, betrayed or anything of that nature, the heart can try to close up to protect itself. This leads us to the last point below.
Feeling Unsafe in Giving or Receiving Love
If you feel unsafe in giving or receiving love, the heart is not allowed to breathe or expand as it is meant to. If you've already opened your heart past a certain point but your sense of self hasn't been strengthened enough to keep your heart open, you may close your heart to avoid future disappointments.
What have you noticed is a common factor in most of these?
The heart opens but then contracts to close itself and remain safe. The contraction seems to be what causes the pain. If your heart is already closed however, you might not feel any pain at all. Any pain inflicted on a closed heart will hurt emotionally, but the heart doesn't have enough depth to hurt physically in the way I mentioned previously. Of course there are exceptions, since any deep form of loss can lead to physical pain and illnesses because of the stress they create in the body. For this blog however, we're focusing on people that are awakening their hearts and are experiencing pain as a result.
So What Can You Do?
There are a few tools and techniques you can use to help ease the pain and even get to the root of it so you can transmute the energy. Here are some simple ways to ease your pain:
Work with Crystals: Dark green and pink crystals work well. I recommend green aventurine, malachite and jade for the green stones. Seraphinite is also good for removing emotional clouds from the heart which can cause you to "explode" in public. For the pink stones I recommend rose quartz (of course), rhodochrosite and highly recommend mangano calcite for really sharp emotional pain. Another crystal for uplifting the heart energy is tanzanite but stay at home when you use it...it can cause some intense purging. Selenite works well for helping smooth out the flow of energy within the heart as well as between the heart and the other energy centers.
Work with the Water Element: Visit an ocean or lake. Listen to waves crashing upon the shore. Make it clear how you want the water element to help you heal.
Try EFT: This is a technique I recommend to all of my clients who are working on clearing old emotional pain and patterns. EFT can help you get to the origin of your pain. Use your intuition to guide your "script" as your body will tell you the emotions its harboring through what you are guided to state. Also, give yourself time to process whatever comes up after each round.
Pick Up Your Pen: Journaling! I recommend journaling whether you're in pain or not. In this case, journaling can help you gain clarity on the emotions you're feeling and why you're feeling them. To really tune into your pain, focus on the part of the body that is hurting you. Imagine yourself sinking into the pain...feel it as intensely as you can. How does that physical pain translate into words? Is it disappointment? Frustration? Fear? Write whatever word comes up first in your journal. From there, try to expound upon the emotion and get details as to where this might have come from. It takes practice, but once you get used to it, you'll be a pro.
Practice Body Awareness: This is basically like journaling but without the journal. Set an intention aloud to journey into the area that is hurting you. From there, remain open to any visions, impressions, symbols, etc. that may emerge. Keep in mind that Spirit may send you signs way after your attempt at this exercise, so keep your eyes peeled.
Rest: Plain and simple. Rest helps your body, mind and spirit reset. I have literally felt heavy emotions dissolving as I sleep. So if your body is calling for more sleep, listen.
Have patience my friends. Healing requires it. You may not see results overnight but you will see results as time goes on. Happy healing!
Much love,
Saiedah