Your heart is emperor of the body.
Many systems of exercise, such as Pilates, focus too much on forward folding and not enough on backbends.
Opening your heart makes you very happy.
When your heart is open, you can give and receive love.
If your heart is closed, you are either punishing yourself or protecting yourself.
Many people do not know how to open their heart, or feel unsafe if they ever venture out and try.
Backbends like camel give us a glimpse of the ecstasy of opening our heart, even if our only intimacy is with our true selves.
Learning how to open your heart is one of life’s most important lessons. If you don’t learn how to open your heart, then someone else – like a surgeon – will open it for you. Take a breath and try a backbend. Your posture will improve, you will forever change how you relate to the world.
I remember years ago when I first started practicing the Tibetan rites. I thought I had pulled a muscle in my chest, but finally I realized that my heart was more open than it had ever been.
