Physical heart
Locus beneath the left breast
The physical heart — anchor for the descent of attention. The Athonite hesychast manuals direct attention beneath the left nipple, to the upper part of the left chest, as the bodily anchor for the gathering of the nous. Theophan the Recluse stresses that the physical locus is a pedagogical anchor, not a metaphysical claim: the heart of prayer is the spiritual heart, but for beginners the bodily attention prevents the prayer from drifting into the head's discursive activity.
Point 2 of 4 in Hesychast Prayer of the Heart
Cross-tradition overlaps
No overlapping points are registered for this point.
Sources
Theophan the Recluse, The Art of Prayer (secondary_translation)
Symeon the New Theologian, The Three Methods of Prayer (primary_canonical)
Symeon’s Third Method of Prayer gives a bodily discipline for gathering attention inward: seated stillness, bowed head, regulated breathing, and direction of the nous toward the body’s interior and heart. The text documents the method’s somatic anchor without establishing a modern anatomical treatment of the cardiac organ.