The Sacral Chakra is instrumental in developing flexibility in life as it regulates the flow of emotions and thoughts. It is the center of sexuality, our emotions, sensations, pleasures, movement and nurturance.
At the 1st chakra, we gained the basic understanding of our bodies, our groundings and things associated with one. We move there from the element earth to the powerful element of water.
Where the 1st chakra’s purpose is to hold on and structure, the 2nd chakra’s purpose is to let go and create flow.
Name – Svadhisthana (meaning “sweetness”)
Mantra (Seed Sound) – VAM
Element – Water
Purpose – Movement + Connection
Color – Orange
Location – Lower Abdomen (Sacral Plexus)
Identity – Emotional
Orientation – Self-gratification
Demon – Guilt
Energy Focus – Desire, Pleasure and Sexuality
Sense – Taste
Symbol – Lotus with 6 Petals
Planets – Moon and Mercury
Animal – Makara and sea creatures
Corresponding Verb – I Feel
Feelings are the way we obtain important information about our overall well being. Our emotions are the way in which our body + soul are communicating. A culture that frowns upon emotional expression or considers sensitivity a weakness is abusing our “Right to Feel”.
You have the right to feel whatever you’re feeling – it’s about being conscious of your emotion and unscrambling the pieces to understand exactly “why” you feel it. You’re responsible for finding the root cause off your emotions. (You can quickly find the root cause of your emotions with the Sacral Chakra 27 page workbook included in the 2nd Chakra Box)
When our right to feel is challenged, we become numb, disconnected, and out of touch with our being. As we prolong the right to feel, it becomes difficult to know what we want, or what gives us pleasure in life. Being intimate with our feelings is where healthy sexuality is expressed. If you can identify with feeling “disconnected”, numb, lost, or confused, your Sacral Chakra is imbalanced.
Flow like Water
As we enter the second chakra, we encounter the watery realm of emotions and sexuality. Our associated element has shifted from earth to water; from solid to liquid. Movement and flow are the essence of the sacral chakra’s purpose within the chakra system.
Because it is the element of water, the Sacral Plexus corresponds to bodily functions having to do with liquid – circulation of the blood, urinary elimination, sexuality, reproduction – as well as the qualities of water such as flow, formlessness, fluidity and surrender.
In many cultures, the Moon is the symbol of femininity and fertility. The average menstrual cycle length is approximately 28-30 days, while the lunar orbit around the earth takes 28 days, or 29.5 days from one Full Moon to the next.
The Moon rules the unconscious, the mysterious, the unseen, the dark and the feminine, which gives this energy force a very distinct power of its own as we move from our depths outward to create change in the world.
Like the Moon’s pull on the tides, our desires and passions can move great oceans of energy.
Allow the energies of the Moon to keep you in tune.
The Tao symbol we often refer to as Yin Yang symbolizes two halves that complete wholeness. These two Polaris forces represent masculine and feminine, earth and heaven, receptive and creative – change is produced by the constant interaction of these forces, fluctuating around a state of balance.
This ancient symbol is a reminder that life is a balancing act and most fulfilling when we learn to embrace it’s dualities, just like the Sacral Chakra.
The law of Gender (mutable) : The last of the seven universal laws tell us that “gender is in everything; everything has its masculine and feminine principles.” This universal law is evident not only in human beings, but also in plants, minerals, electrons and magnetic poles to name but a few. Everything and everyone contains both masculine and feminine elements.
Among outward expressions of feminine qualities are love, patience, intuition, and gentleness and of masculine qualities are energy, self reliance, logic and intellect. Know that within every woman lie all the latent qualities of a man, and within every man those of a woman. When you know this you will know what it means to be complete.
Since our society “rewards” more of the attributes that are concerned with the male energy, like achieving, setting goals, powering through and dominion, most women have been taught to bring out their male qualities, but have forgotten or even suppressed their female qualities. This is easy to understand when you think about the life of a typical American woman. Most likely, she will have to juggle between jobs, children, a partner, taking care of the household, and the list goes on and on.
Most of these activities are concerned with “doing”, which is a male quality. There is often little time left in the day to bring out the Yin or female energy, which is concerned with allowing, opening, intuition, nourishing, resting and receiving (“Being” versus “Doing”).
Ask yourself – “Do I honor both my masculine and feminine traits?”
Emotional Intelligence: the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one’s emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships sensibly and empathetically.
Theres 5 factors to getting in the flow with our emotional intelligence
☽ Self Awareness – understanding yourself
☽ Empathy – identify with others
☽ Self Management – control your emotions
☽ Relationship Management – manage your interactions
☽ Self Motivation – the ability to move past your emotions
Ask yourself – “Am I lacking emotional intelligence?”
- Graceful movement
- Emotional intelligence
- Ability to experience pleasure
- Nurturance of self and others
- Ability to change
- Healthy boundaries
DEFICIENT 2ND CHAKRA –
- Rigidity in body and attitudes
- Frigidity, fear of sex
- Poor social skills
- Denial of pleasure
- Excessive boundaries
- Fear of change
- Lack of desire, passion, excitement
EXCESSIVE 2ND CHAKRA –
- Sexual acting out, sexual addiction
- Pleasure addiction
- Excessively strong emotions, ruled by emotions (hysteria, bipolar mood swings, crisis junkies)
- Oversensitive
- Poor boundaries, invasion of others
- Seductive manipulation
- Emotional dependency
- Obsessive attachment
PHYSICAL MALFUNCTIONS –
- Disorders of reproductive organs, spleen, urinary system
- Menstrual difficulties
- Sexual dysfunction; impotence, premature ejaculation, frigidity, nonorgasmic
- Low back pain, knee trouble, lack of flexibility
- Deadened senses, loss of appetite for food, sex, and life
NEEDS + ISSUES –
- Movement
- Sensation
- Emotions
- Sexuality
- Desire
- Need
- Pleasure
Developmental Stage – 6 months to 2 years
Developmental Tasks – Locomotion
Basic Learning Rights – To feel and have pleasure
Traumas and Abuses –
- Sexual abuse (covert or overt)
- Emotional abuse
- Volatile situations
- Neglect, coldness, rejection
- Denial of child’s feeling states, lack of mirroring.
- Emotional manipulation
- Religious or moral severity
- Physical abuse
- Alcoholic families
- Restriction of normal movement
- Inherited issues-parents who have not worked out their own issues around sexuality, untreated incest cases
- Movement therapy
- Emotional release or containment as appropriate
- Inner child work
- Boundary work
- 12-step programs for addictions
- Assign healthy pleasures
- Develop sensate intelligence
- Energy tool kits
- Seeking Knowledge through guides, books, podcasts, etc.
- Sacral Chakra Box
“Sex has to be a part of your spiritual life, it has to be something sacred. Sex has to be something not obscene, not pornographic, not condemned, not repressed but immensely respected, because we are born out of it. It is our very life force. And to condemn the life force is to condemn everything” – Osho
Sexuality is a sacred ritual of union through the celebration of difference.
Sexuality is a powerful life force, yet we live in a culture where this element of our lives is either repressed or exploited. We’re educated in a lot of areas, but sexuality is not one of them! Sexual/relational/intimate education is learned in the ancient practice of Tantra.
Tantra is the sacred dance of reuniting duality – of restoring that which is separate into oneness again. The result of this is an ecstatic experience of unity – with ourselves, our partners, and the universe around us.
The Chakra System was brought to life from Tantric philosophy. Tantrism, in reaction to the dualistic nature of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, teaches the body is sacred and the sense can bring enlightenment, ecstasy, and joy. Westerners often believe Tantra is just sexual practice, even though Tantric philosophy is far wider in scope, and embraces a combination of many yogic and Hindu philosophies, of which sexual union is only a small part.
The passage of energy between the couple engaged in sexual activity is far more than an exchange between the genitals. A couple face to face have all their chakras aligned between them. Through the intensity of sexual excitement, each chakra vibrates more intensely, and passage of energy between one body and another is enhanced and woven together at all levels. Whether the couple then chooses to focus this energy at a physical, mental, or heart chakra level becomes a matter of mutual choice.
Sexuality is the ultimate expression of the many issues associated with the Sacral chakra – movement, sensation, pleasure, desire, emotions, and polarity.
When you deny your sexuality and pleasure, you transform it’s power to the demon of guilt. To reclaim your 2nd chakra is to reclaim the right to feel and our right to healthy sexuality. Sexuality is a healthy expression of intimacy; Pleasure and joy with sensitive boundaries and a true sense of connection. Denying the body intimacy and sexual release is denying some of the greatest pleasure the body can experience.
While sexuality is repressed in most cultures around the world, it is no surprise that 1 in 8 couples (or 12% married women) are struggling to get pregnant. That’s 7.4 million women who have received infertility services!
The Sacred Plexus rules our reproductive system, which is the gonads in our lymphatic system – the uterus and ovaries in women and the testes in men. This is a direct result from an imbalanced 2nd chakra. Sexual repression, it’s a real thing.
Deep Lunge Anjaneyasana
Benefits – Opens second chakra by stretching hip flexors and quadriceps; Promotes balance and steadfastness; Energizing; may relieve sciatica; Excellent for athletes and runners; Stimulates the sacral + heart chakras.
Child’s Pose Balasana
Benefits – Promotes digestion and massages lower organs; Calms and quiets the nervous system; Cools the body down from practice; Brings deep connection with self.
Pigeon Pose Eka pada kapotasana
Benefits – Opens the second chakra and releases stagnation from the hip joints; Energizes the whole body; Promotes spinal flexibility and is good preparation for backbends; Stretches thighs, groins, back, and psoas; Opens the chest and shoulders.
Ask yourself the following questions:
Am I suppressing my sexuality from experiencing sexual abuse?
Does my religion or family suppress my sexuality?
Does my religion or family make me feel guilty for feeling pleasure?
Do I excessively seek pleasure through sex?
Do I sexually act out?
Am I addicted to sex?
Do I feel emotionally dependent on others around me?
Do I feel guilty when feeling personal pleasure such as enjoying dessert, massages, sex, or masturbation?
Do I only feel pleasure while Im high or drinking?
Am I struggling with infertility?
Have I recently had a miscarriage or abortion?
Do I physically have excess fat in my lower abdomen?
Have I experienced sexual abuse in my life that I have not fully healed from?
Do I struggle or have been diagnosed with hysteria, bipolar mood swings, or emotional meltdowns?
Did you answer “yes” to a few of the above questions? If so – its time to give yourself the love and pleasure you deserve!
Listen to the chanting during meditation, while you fall asleep, or simply to relax and align with your sacred center.
