The Energetics of A Broken Heart | Vital Roots 006

The story of a broken heart arrives in your life through many different avenues. As a young girl I was exposed to the classic symbol of a broken heart due to mismatched ‘love’ and you probably were too.

I think this narrative is the most pervasive messaging girls receive about the vulnerability of their hearts. How weak the heart must be if it breaks when the guy you’re into doesn’t see you the same…

What is a broken heart, really?

Being that I am interested most in encouraging the total potential for all humans, I can very easily carry the world on my shoulders… and in my greatest weakness, I have a tendency to be attached to the outcome of my most benevolent visions for the world. Change requires patience in my life, the virtue that is most tested for me every day.

I see your capacity beyond the wounds, and I want the absolute best for you in the ‘end’. Of course, this is idealist and reality (the here and now) seems to have more of an extreme-peaks-&-valleys type rhythm.

The tendency to be attached to the outcome can be sneaky and has rooted itself deeply in my heart at various times throughout my life. This can express itself as the little child who tantrums when they don’t get their way, as well as the woman who is torn up over feeling responsible for someone else’s healing. In either case, the heart is left quite broken when reality doesn’t match the ideal.

To me, a broken heart can feel heavy, incomplete, grief stricken, angry, sad, empty, tense, and withdrawn. A broken heart pulls the shoulders in to hide away and to try to protect its remains. There is the energetic heart, the spiritual heart, and the physical heart all entwined… so, when there are many pieces to gather together, how do you heal the broken heart?

Surely, to be of service to others and be the greatest expression of the woman you are here to be – you, me – we have to heal ourselves first. That is nearly a cliché at this point, though it is very true and I was poignantly humbled by this reminder just yesterday. As the body is always oscillating and modulating, you are not heal-ed… rather you are heal-ing and that is the nature of life. Always changing, always shifting, adapting, transforming, wounding and healing.

The first herbal friend I come to when I feel heavy with a broken heart is Motherwort, Leonurus cardiaca, and as you can see it has to do with cultivating the heart of a lion. Not only is a broken heart referring to a circumstance that directly affected the physical, spiritual, or energetic heart… a broken heart can also be the symptoms of a greater issue influencing a restless state of the nervous system.

A lion hearted woman is both sure of herself (self-nurtured) and loyally devoted to the world around her. This balance can be difficult to maintain over time, let’s be real!

While not an herb for pregnancy, Motherwort is one of the most useful plants for both preparing your body for pregnancy and postpartum. In each of these seasons, Motherwort encourages self-regulation in a seemingly magical way… often aligning women more closely with the moon’s 28~ day cycle and improving a woman’s emotional boundaries between herself and others.

Leonurus cardiaca holds its signature correspondence in its name. Motherwort is a cooling, bitter nervine sedative with an affinity for the cardiovascular system. The person most relieved by motherwort tends to have a ‘fluttery heart’, palpitations, and a pattern of nervous cold sweats corresponding with an increase in heart rate. When you come across motherwort at the time of flowering, beware, because while its beautiful, tiny red and pink flowers are enchanting the seed pods are comparable to thistle.

This is a visual and also visceral signature that reminds us of its nervine and protective qualities. To me, motherwort helps a woman in particular develop a strong and stable container within herself which is often seated in the uterus. The sharp pain that results when you grab a motherwort seed pod encourages you to set your protective defenses while softening into a soothed relationship with yourself first and foremost. Just like a woman healer or practitioner who can be deeply involved in others’ energies, a mother can have the tendency to care more for others than for herself.

Motherwort’s energetics encourage healthy boundaries between the mothering of others and the mothering of self, whether literal or otherwise.

Here’s to the strength of the lion’s heart within you today…