Tibetan Singing Bowl for the Heart Chakra

In the most common depiction today, Anahata is green, with pink as its secondary color. However, not all ancient texts depict it this way; some describe its lotus as blue or red. Its symbol is the twelve-petaled heart lotus, with each petal bearing a Sanskrit syllable from kam to tham. At the center of the flower, two intertwined triangles form a six-pointed star representing the union of the masculine and the feminine. Anahata is accompanied by a swift, light-footed antelope. An ancient text also describes a smoke-colored hexagon at its center representing air, with the syllable Yam resting on a black antelope. If you’re looking for a decorative piece, you’ll find engraved bowls in this collection.

Simply strike your bowl, then begin chanting the mantra YAM along with its vibration, either aloud or silently, for 5 to 15 minutes. Or, as is customary, you can repeat it 108 times. Pronounce it with a short, open vowel, much like “yum.”

That duration is not mandatory. YAM is a seed syllable, known in the tradition as a bija, used to awaken Anahata. It is not the only one: another syllable associated with the heart center is Hrim.

According to tradition, a closed heart chakra manifests as difficulty trusting or forgiving, grief, isolation, a feeling of being cut off from others, or greater difficulty with relationships and compassion. Conversely, a balanced heart is described as both open and grounded, with greater inner peace and fuller breathing.

Several complementary approaches are suggested for reopening it: yoga poses that open the chest, breathwork, meditation, mantra, and sound. Your singing bowl fits naturally into this practice, allowing you to sound the note F while chanting YAM.

These signs are points of reference within the tradition, not a diagnosis. A Tibetan singing bowl never replaces medical treatment, and persistent chest pain must always be evaluated by a doctor.

Tradition holds that sages heard an unstruck sound there, arising without two objects striking each other. The Sanskrit name means “unstruck” or “unproduced.” This inner sound is called nada, and the yoga treatise Gheranda Samhita mentions it in verses 77 through 81 of its section on breath. Those verses describe listening in meditation to unproduced sounds, like inner music with no material cause.

The stone most closely associated with Anahata is rose quartz, considered the classic stone for this center. Crystal healing traditions also include green aventurine, jade, emerald, amazonite, rhodonite, and pink calcite.

You’ll notice that these stones share Anahata’s two colors: green and pink. These associations come from tradition, and no effects are promised. If these two colors appeal to you, some bowls in this collection are themselves made of rose quartz.

Anahata occupies the middle position among the seven major chakras. Below it are the root and sacral chakras, followed by the solar plexus chakra. Above it are the throat chakra and the third eye chakra, followed by the crown chakra.

Tradition calls it the bridge chakra because it forms a bridge between the chakras, connecting the body and mind.