The sacral, or Svadhisthana, chakra is the next stop as we make our way through the chakras and the physical body.
It is located in the lower abdomen (a few fingers below the belly button), but some people find it helpful to picture it in the body's centre rather than at the front. Picture a line that passes through the exact centre of the body, from the very top of the head to the very bottom of the body (the perineum). The second chakra is located at the uppermost point of the lower abdomen and extends in a cone shape forward and backward from that point.
Svadhisthana is a term borrowed from Sanskrit that means "home" or "residence" and refers to the area around one's root chakra. However, this chakra's energy is distinct from that of the base chakra.
Svadhisthana's Components
Element:
The sacral chakra controls your internal fluids and the element of water. This is the power hub for all things sexual, sensual, financially rewarding, and liberating. People often refer to it as the "seat of the emotions," and from my own personal experience, I can attest to the accuracy of this statement.
The Human Body:
The reproductive system, the bladder, the kidneys, the adrenal glands, and the lower back are all connected to the sacral chakra.
Affective Structure:
When the svadhisthana chakra is in harmony, you are able to play and experience pleasure without stifling your creativity or your sexuality. Consideration for and satisfaction of one's physical needs.
Psychological Physical:
Consenting to the unrestricted transfer of money to and from you. The ability to shift one's perspective and adapt to new circumstances without becoming rigid. Having the freedom to experiment sexually and creatively without shame. Confidence in one's own value and the capacity for improvisation and play.
Imbalances
Stress on any level of the body (physical, mental, emotional, or energetic) can cause a person to stall, stop moving forward, or go into overdrive. It's possible that a traumatic sexual experience from your youth is still having an impact on your present and future happiness. Vibrationally, we can get stuck on a strong emotion.
Learning about the chakras and the different layers of your body can help you identify areas of imbalance and stagnation.
The Sacral Chakra Checklist
Do you enjoy expressing yourself sexually and artistically without inhibitions? Or are you feeling remorseful or uneasy?
Is there a feeling of looseness or tightness in your sacrum and lower back?
Do you have the ability to adapt to new circumstances?
How often do you hydrate yourself?
Have you ever had problems with your period or reproduction?
Where do you stand with money?
Symptoms of a sacral chakra that is overactive
For example, "with [overactivity in] this chakra, you exhibit being consumed by and drowning in emotions," "being emotionally tempestuous," and "using escapism to avoid life," as described by Covington.
Some of the symptoms of an overactive sacral chakra, as described by Covington, are:
feelings of being submerged in one's own feelings
feeling the highs and lows of emotion
avoiding reality through escapism while exhibiting pathological levels of affection and sexual expression
According to Konst, extreme fluctuations in mood are a sign of an overactive sacral chakra.
She warns that you might try to regain composure by acting manipulatively and controllingly toward others. "Imbalances can show up on both ends and cause emotional outbursts or apathy and disconnection," the author writes.
Aligning the sacral chakra
There are a plethora of things you can do on and off the mat to stimulate your chakras, and the process is remarkably straightforward.
What else can you do?
Use orange, the colour associated with this chakra, when you're trying to unwind or focus your mind. The use of orange underwear is also recommended.
Creating sound vibrations through singing mantras. The vedic bija mantra is the letter combination VAM. Just like chanting OM raises your vibration, so does chanting VAM, only in a more sustained way.
The Kundalini mantra ONG NAMO GURU DEV NAMO can be chanted or recited. It means "I humbly submit to the infinitely creative energy that is the Divine Channel of Wisdom."
Shakti Mudra is the mudra for the second chakra. Place your hands together at heart level and press the tips of your little and ring fingers together. The thumbs should be tucked between the index and middle finger, inside the palms. Then, either wrap your thumbs around your middle and index fingers and press their knuckles together, or keep them apart.
Focus your thoughts on the fluidity within you, and imagine purifying waves passing through your body.
Water is the most important beverage to consume throughout the day.
Learn to move and dance more with your hips, and let your artistic side out more often.
Experiment with new things, whether in the bedroom or elsewhere. To learn and feel at ease with new methods, it helps to shake things up and try something different now and then. But don't mistakenly claim it as your own or cling to it; instead, give yourself permission to move on. You'll discover a brand-new you, one who is adaptable to any circumstance and unafraid of growth and change.
Yoga asanas for the sacral chakra
The best way to restore harmony to your chakras, in my experience, is through specific yoga poses like:
Pose of the Sword (Baddha Konasana) (Butterfly pose)
You can either do a full Upavista Konasana (Wide Angle Seated Forward Bend) or a modified version of it where you lean your buttocks against the wall and your legs up the wall.
Tossing of the pelvis
Lotus of Kundalini, the Sufi Pulse (seated pelvic circles)
As far as the chakra system is concerned, the sacral chakra is number two. Psychologists believe it controls your sexuality, your ability to express yourself creatively, your emotional state, and more.
Like the other chakras, it can become blocked and out of balance according to most traditions.
Meditation, affirmations, and the use of essential oils and crystals are just some of the supplementary therapies that can help heal and balance the sacral chakra. None of these methods, nor the very existence of chakras, has been proven by science, but they are generally accepted as safe additions to a healthy lifestyle and conventional medical care.