Svadhisthana - The sacral chakra

This week, I discuss the next chakra in our journey upwards - svadhisthana, or the sacral chakra.

Change is a fundamental element of consciousness; it is what commands our attention, awakens it and makes us question things. Without change, there can be no growth, movement or life. Our minds grow dull without change. Change is produced by the constant interaction of yin and yang energies.

The navel is situated at the top of the chakra and energetically connects one to the pure creative energies that nourish one's being. The chakra lies in the region of the lower abdomen, lower back and sexual organs.

Orange is the colour most frequently associated with this chakra. The energy of the second chakra resembles the aura that surrounds the body. Like the chakras, the aura (which is another energy system), also has 7 layers. Donna Eden says in her book Energy Medicine, that the layers of the womb chakra are like concentric spheres. At the centre is the essential essence of a person - pure, beautiful and glorious. This chakra is where soul and body embrace.

When people meditate and contact the true, pure essence within, they are often making contact with the energy contained within the deepest layer of the second chakra.

Whilst muladhara seeks to hold on and create structure, svadhisthana seeks to let go and create flow. The element of this chakra is water, and corresponds to bodily functions that deal with liquid; the circulatory system, urinary elimination,the reproductive organs as well as the sacral plexus nerve. On a more subtle level it governs our emotions, sensations, sexuality, pleasure and movement. The properties of water relate to dealing with this chakra; being fluid, flowing, formless and surrendering.

When the sacral chakra is open, we are in touch with our feelings and are able to express them. Creativity flows freely. When this chakra is closed, or blocked, we are not in touch with our emotions and feelings. There may be stored, stuck or unexpressed emotions from the self, or others.

The emotions that tend to be unstable when this chakra is blocked are those that are over-sensitive and insecure. These emotions include guilt, embarrassment, shame, anger, distrust, impatience, nervousness, holding onto things from the past, being uptight, frustration, numbness, neediness, detaching from oneself, depression, blaming others, punishing others, denial of the self, tension and fear. People with a blocked sacral chakra tend to be very hard on themselves, have feelings of guilt and blame for seemingly no reason, which can lead to feelings of isolation and withdrawing from life.

Humans naturally tend to move away from pain and towards pleasure. Sometimes, we get the two confused and seek pleasure in things that are actually harmful to us (such as sexual exploitation, drugs, alcohol and spending money frivolously). There are pleasurable things that allow us to further explore the body as a temple, to feel fulfilled and have a foundation for love, creativity, power and meditative concentration, which, according to Anodea Judith, are all aspects of this chakra.

Pleasure invites us to expand whereas pain causes us to constrict. Sensation is a valuable information source for all levels of consciousness. Sensations are the building blocks of our emotions and feelings. Pleasure is essential for the health of the body, rejuvenation of spirit and the healing of our personal and cultural relationships.

Emotions promote the evolution of consciousness through the body, moving energy out of the unconscious, through the body and into the conscious mind. This changes the body, cleanses and heals it. The emotions are deeply connected to movement.

By restricting movement, we suppress emotions. Conversely, when we move, we free the emotions that cause tension (like water). An absence of tension creates a harmonious flow through the body and mind, allowing deeper connections with others.

Sexuality is a sacred ritual of union through the celebration of difference. It also embodies all 7 chakras. A sexual union where all 7 chakras meet is a merging of the urge for life, to create, for individuality, love, expression, expanded consciousness and spiritual union. Sexuality is a life force.

Unfortunately, society tends to either exploit or repress it these days. This can lead to negative outlets like violence, rape, crude pornography, as well as addiction to sex, drugs or alcohol. The more stringent the taboos about sex, the more violent the culture tends to be, and vice versa.

Some spiritual practices encourage celibacy. Under the right conditions, it can help to open the path to altered states of awareness. However, it must be done with training in a technique that can channel this energy, such as yoga, martial arts or meditation. Without this training, celibacy may create nervousness and anxiety instead.

For those that wall themselves off, a sexual relationship could be the most enlightening experiences that they can engage in. Celibacy can help enforce separateness and sexuality can open the way for dissolving boundaries.

The chakra system came out of the tantric philosophy. Tantra teaches that the body is sacred, that the senses can bring enlightenment, ecstasy and joy. It embraces many yogic and Hindi philosophies. Sexual union is only a small part of Tantric philosophy. Tantra means "a web" or "a loom", as well as "essence". It is the sacred dance of duality. Its purpose is to attain liberation from limited consciousness, as is the purpose of any other aspect of yoga.

Nurturance means caring for, feeding with energy, love, and touch. The simple act of touching is of extreme importance to the healthy functioning of the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual bodies. We can all nurture. We all need it. It is the healing aspect of svadhisthana.

Clairsentience is the psychic sense of this chakra. It is the ability to sense others’ emotions, which is experienced as a subtle feeling. Some people may feel the emotion but do not understand that the source of these emotions come from somebody else and are not their own. Others do not recognise the emotion yet their bodies and actions still respond. People that experience clairsentience may experience it as abrupt mood changes, as they take on the mood of others around them. Often, these people will have an aversion to parties and crowds.

Knowing the difference between your own emotional needs and someone else's helps to tune out unwanted emotions from others. Grounding can greatly assist in this regard.

There is a high and a low side to every chakra – for svadhisthana the high functioning aspect is the ability to enjoy, whilst the low side is suicidal depression and heavy emotional conditions. The low functioning of this chakra leads to neediness, selfish, self-gratifying consumption at the expense of others. A person that has an open sacral chakra has a lot of joy and contentment in their life. They tend to be creative and sexually attractive.

Sharon Gannon of Jivamukti Yoga says that we can purify our creative and sexual relationships by letting go of anger, blame and resentment. By seeing that the way other people treat us is a reflection of how we have treated others in the past (and how we treat ourselves). Only then are we able to develop the humility that we need in order to overcome the oh-poor-me victim mindframe, which keeps us in a constrictive, negative identity of smallness. Forward bends allow us the opportunity to self reflect and heal ourselves by letting go of resentful feelings that we may harbour against past sexual or creative partners. Whilst in a forward bend, we can look back to the root cause of the feelings, and disconnect with the associated perceptions. Eg. Think of a person with whom you have had a romantic, sexual or creative partnership (one where you feel that unresolved issues lie). As you inhale, internally say “Blessings, thankfulness and love to -” and as you exhale, say the name of that person.

We can further help to heal imbalances in Svadhisthana by chanting the mantra “VAM” and concentrating on the physical location of this chakra (+/- 2cm below the navel). Wearing orange clothing can also be beneficial, as well as eating orange food. Here is the link for Stephanie Snyder's yoga set for balancing svadhisthana.

We can set intentions before practising yoga or meditating, such one of the following: Letting go of old emotional stories; unlocking creativity; going with the flow; releasing rigid thoughts or ideas; releasing grief, fear, guilt, shame or rage stuck in cell tissue; allowing joy and happiness into my life; letting go of compulsive behaviour; healing loving relationships; understanding and cultivating healthy boundaries.

May you find peace and tranquillity inside yourself.

Om, shanti, shanti, shanti.

#svadhisthana #sacralchakra #orange #sacralplexusnerve #water #gowiththeflow #movement #sexuality #pleasure #circulatorysystem #blockages #body #chakraenergysystem #chakras #colour #change #creative #emotional #emotions #fear #feelings #friends #frustrating #imbalance #lettinggo #meditate #physical #sensations #spiritual #yoga #depression #numbness #anger #shame #guilt #blaming #love #power #pain #consciousness #healing #celibacy #boundaries #tantra #nurturing #clairsentience #psychicsense #enjoy #contentment #reflection #vam #forwardbends