The Sacral Chakra - Svadhishthana

ORANGE – balances the red of the physical energy with the yellow of the mental energy.

The second Chakra, Svadhishthana, is linked to taste in the broadest sense - your likes and dislikes.  It is the seat of creativity, pleasure, attraction and, in particular, sexuality.  The sacral Chakra is also the seat of our emotions.

This Chakra is the most feminine of the 7 Chakras.  It is profoundly connected with fertility and is ruled by the moon, which pulls not only the seas and oceans, but also the waters within our own bodies. 

A balanced sacral Chakra is characterised by physical fluidity and grace. People with a balanced sacral Chakra tend to be friendly, open and trusting, in touch with their feelings and able to express them, willing to see the positive rather than the negative, and able to turn problems into challenges.

When this Chakra is out of balance nothing and no one is ever enough.  Life has no constancy.  You feel fragmented and volatile.  Your desires dominate and oblige you to seek satisfaction through the senses – sex, food, material possessions, status.  An out-of-balance sacral Chakra brings about guilt, self-pity, manipulative behaviour and envy.

If the Chakra is too open you may forget your own needs and occupy so much with the needs of others that you end up feeling like a martyr.  Lack of balance can also give rise to sexual problems, jealousy and obsession.

In essence, it is sexual expression – the most powerful and fundamental of your creative energies - that characterises the sacral Chakra.  It guides our sexual identity, our ability to bond with a partner and to take pleasure in our sexuality. 

When in balance it gives us profound sexual and emotional happiness.  It is worth reflecting that the word “sacral” comes from the same root as “sacred”.  Sex is not meant to be a casual, meaningless event, but nor is it meant to induce guilt.  Rather with openness and empathy, it is something that brings great joy and pleasure.

This Chakra is situated in the bowl of the pelvis, directly over the ovaries and testes.  It governs the spleen, reproductive organs, kidneys, bladder and all the bodily fluids.  In order to find lightness and balance in this Chakra we must seek to balance the pelvis. 

If you are not using this energy internally then you need to be expressing your sacral energy externally through writing, drawing, painting, singing, anything that encourages your creativity and encourages the energy to flow strongly and smoothly. 

To enhance tour ability to feel this chakra in alignment then work with the following yoga poses to seek a balance through this centre:

• Virabhadrasana II (warrior 2) - this pose strengthens your legs and brings greater awareness of how your legs interact and stabilise your pelvis. 
• Upavista Konasana (seated wide angle pose) - this pose helps you to find the balance in this Chakra, because you can feel how the position of your pelvis influences your ability to find a neutral spine.
• Bhujangasana (cobra pose) - in this pose you do not want to feel any pressure in your lumbar spine.  Internally rotating the legs widens the lower back and creates space so that you can then lengthen  your tailbone down toward your heels. This action balances the Chakra and supports the back bend in your thoracic spine.

Furthermore to energise and encourage greater balance to the sacral Chakra, try wearing orange, investing in some carnelian gemstones and keeping them close to your sacral area of the body, connecting with the moon and keeping a journal to write and express your emotions.