Sacral Chakra
Six-Petaled Lotus
Color: Orange
Element: Water
Body: Hips, Reproductive Organs, Bladder, Lymphatic & Circulatory Systems
Crystals: Carnelian, Tiger’s Eye, Citrine, Amber
Affirmation: I feel
Svadhishthana, aka the Sacral Chakra, roughly translates to “where your Self dwells”, with “sva” meaning self and “hishthana” meaning seat/home or established. Exploration of sexuality, creativity and emotions emerge at this chakra. Located around your persons’ genital area, it’s not only related to sexuality but creation overall. The cycle of birth-death-rebirth, art, ideas and thoughts are fundamental here. The sacral chakra rightly represents the element of water, considering our emotions and are fluid and our pelvic area can be referred to as a “bowl” that overflows with this energy. This chakra starts flourishing around six months and continues until two/three years as children begin to learn to express feelings, wants and needs.
A blocked sacral chakra can expose itself as boredom or lack of inspiration, low sex drive and self worth, jealousy and addictive behaviors. The creative energy is trapped. An excess is almost like clairvoyance, being so in tune with everyone else’s emotions that it can be hard to decipher their own and take on other’s emotions. Dependancies, whether they be sexual, social or personal, fester to existence. While on the other hand, a deficiency manifests as repressed feelings, internalized guilt and introversion on an unhealthy level, where social interactions feel awkward and cold. Imagine a water dam being a block, the overflowing water being the excess and a drought being a deficiency.
Restoring the svadhisthana chakra involves reconnecting with water. Take a nice bath, go for a swim or relax around a river or the ocean. Even flowing movement like dancing and ashtanga yoga can help awaken this chakra. Stabilizing postures and hip openers like Bow, Crescent Lunge, Reclined Cobbler’s and Happy Baby can feel like a revival. The color orange embodies this area so eating orange foods truly helps boost the energy. On a deeper level, working through feelings like guilt, shame, or any emotion that’s part of the six-petaled lotus results in healing. We cannot heal what we cannot feel. - John Bradshaw.
A balanced sacral chakra has a healthy expression of emotions and sexuality. An authentic sense of connection to others can be felt as well as a general enjoyment of life. A person can feel very deeply without going into hysterics. It shows appropriate and stable boundaries while simultaneously feeling sexually, physically and emotionally free.
Here are some journal prompts for use to help work with your second chakra more closely:
What inspires me?
How do I express my creativity?
What makes me feel tense, insecure or withdrawn?
Am I a sensual and sexual being?
What does it mean to me to be prosperous?
How do I define intimacy?
Next: Solar Plexus
