The Second Chakra - The Sacral Chakra

THE SECOND CHAKRA : The Sacral Chakra

‘The center of emotions, sensuality, sexuality, pleasure and creativity. This Chakra helps with our body awareness and aids us in our sense of strength ad grounding into the physical body.’

Location: Lower Abdomen

Colour: Orange

Sense: Taste

Element: Water

Note: D

The Sacral Chakra is symbolised by a white lotus within which is a crescent moon with six orange petals. The Sacral Chakra vibrates at a similar frequency to the Root Chakra, and is also related to survival however it is more on  an emotional/ gut instinct level. The Sacral chakra is connected to our emotional body, ruling creativity, intuition, fertility, relationships and sensuality. Unlike the masculine energies of physical gratification of the Root Chakra, the Sacral Chakra has a more feminine feel, celebrating the union of two people. It is connected to our sense of taste, and thus the emotional relationship some people have with food.  The sacral Chakra is connected with emotions, the element of water, the moon, yesod on the tree of life and the lower astral plane. 


Physically: It governs sexual organs, large intestine, lower vertebrae, pelvis, hip area, bladder, appendix, reproduction
Mentally: It governs creativity
Emotionally: It governs joy
Spiritually: It governs enthusiasm


Symptoms that Sacral energy is…


Balanced:
You find it easy to access and share creativity. You are able to give and receive love comfortably and are able to sustain healthy loving relationships (including emotional and sexual intimacy) People with balanced Sacral energies tend to be confident about their body image and trust their instincts about other people. They tend to have a strong and regenerative physical body. 
In Excess:
When your Sacral Chakra is too open you tend to have boundary issues - i.e. you smother people or get too deep in a relationship. You feel everyone else's emotions and absorb them as your own. You are more likely to struggle with depression, and hold on to grief  for extended periods. You are likely to hold onto grudges or keep memories of when you have been mistreated  or bad relationships. You become overly attached to possessions and the things you have created, such as your home or children.
Deficient:
When your Sacral Chakra is out of balance it can lead to sexual dysfunctions. It becomes hard to attract and maintain love relationships. Further, eating disorders can be a symptom of an imbalance.  You are likely to feel flat and lifeless, cold or distant, out of touch with your emotions or sexuality. Life is lack lustre, and may feel a little black and white - empty of emotion, passion and love.

Physical symptoms of lack of sacral chakra energy are:

Kidney problems, urinary tract infections, chronic lower back pain, sexual disorders, infertility, gynaecological problems, dysfunctional menstrual cycles and problems with the intestines and gall bladder. Eating disorders, addictions, low self confidence, dependancy issues, low libido and unbalanced emotions.


How can you balance this chakra?

1. Hip-opening yoga postures.  If you’ve ever taken a yoga class, you’ve likely heard a teacher say at least once that we store emotional and physical tension in our hips—hence yoga’s many hip-opening postures. This directly connects to your sacral chakra. If you doubt at all the validity of this, notice where you grip or clench your muscles the next time you’re in a stressful situation. It’s likely your throat area (another emotional center) and your hips and lower abdomen. Remember also that your hips move in many directions— even though many people think of hip-openers as external rotation only. While it’s ideal to do a few postures that stretch your hips through their full range of motion, holding one pose and focusing on completely letting go is a great place to start. My personal favorite is cow pose, but bound angle is another ideal asana to hold and breathe into.

2.  Dance like no one’s watching. Dancing is one of the best—and easiest—ways to open your sacral chakra. So close the door, turn on your favorite music, and move. For double the cleansing effects, get out with friends as you move your hips to your favorite rhythm.

3. Tone up. While learning to let go of unnecessary muscular gripping and tension is ideal for chakra health throughout your body, it’s also important to take care of your body and keep your muscles strong and healthy. One of the main reasons to have a physical yoga practice is to make the body a fit—no pun intended—vehicle for the spirit and to prepare your body for seatedmeditation (another reason for hip-opening postures), and the lower abdominals are frequently an area that people let go. Some of my favorites for strong lower abs are boat pose (really hug the knees in towards the chest), pendant pose and yogic leg lifts.

4. Visualize orange. Orange is the sacral chakra’s color. Imagine a bright, healing orange glow filling up your entire lower abdomen—keeping in mind that we’re three dimensional. I have SI joint problems and often focus specifically on this region, so feel free to send your breath—and the color orange—to any particular area of disease or tension. (Courtesy of Mind Body Green)

5 Tips for balancing your sacral chakra:
1. Get support on any emotional issues going on in your life. This may include finding a form of therapy such as counselling or energetic healing, etc.
2. Try not to keep feelings bottled up, but find safe ways to express and release emotions. eg. talking to a friend, chanting, dancing, painting, writing a journal.
3. Find a regular practice to help keep you emotionally balanced eg. meditation, yoga, chi gung, relaxation exercises, chakradance etc.
4. Create opportunities for pleasurable feelings in your life. Find the time to do things you really enjoy; create some ‘you’ time everyday; spend time with positive and uplifting people.
5. Create an emotionally calming environment in your home by cleansing your personal space with incense and burning candles.  Moon Meditation:
Imagine you are standing at the edge of an ocean. Directly above you is a luminous full moon, lighting the sky with a soft glowing light.You feel bathed in this gentle light and feel it calm and relax your senses. Take a deep breath and tune into the moon’s connection to all living waters.…the movement of the tides of the ocean; the flow of blood within your own body. As you become more in tune with the moon you feel more connected to her wild and sensual feminine spirit. Everyday ways to balance your sacral chakra:
Experiment with playing in the sacral chakra – swim, play in water; wear orange clothes or bring the colour orange more into your life (the colour of the sacral chakra); take relaxation baths with candles and oils; drink lots of cleansing and nourishing fluids; take pleasure in cooking meals and really tune into the smells and tastes; surround yourself in beauty (art, flowers, music, colour – whatever makes you feel good); invoke your inner child and play!

Try opening this Chakra by using colors, scents and crystals:

Gems/Minerals: Orange crystals - Carnelian, Amber, Orange Calcite and Orange Kyanite

Scents: Bergamot, Cardamom, Clary Sage, Neroli, Orange, Patcholi, Rose, Sandalwood, Yland-Ylang


You can also balance your sacral chakra by using positive affirmations such as:

- I love and enjoy my body.
- I have healthy boundaries.
- I am passonate
- I feel pleasure and abundance with every breath I take.
- I value and repeat my body
- I am open to touch and closeness
- My sexuality is sacred.
- I am at peace