Solar Plexus Healing

In Hindu tradition, the seven chakras govern energy flow through the body. A blockage or an unbalanced chakra can cause both physical and mental symptoms, including chronic illness or psychological disturbances. The solar plexus chakra is one of the most commonly blocked chakras and can be the root of a number of common complaints.

Why Healing Solar Plexus Chakra Imbalances?

The solar plexus chakra, known in Sanskrit as Manipura, is the third chakra and is located in the area  above the navel and solar plexus. It is the chakra primarily associated with self-esteem, confidence and willpower.

A balanced Manipura chakra allows you to have control over your thoughts and emotional responses, set healthy boundaries, and be at peace with yourself. Its physical association is with digestive function.

Symptoms of the Solar Plexus Imbalance

Chakra imbalances occur as either an excess of energy or an energy deficiency. Symptoms associated with excessive energy in the solar plexus chakra include:

• Controlling, intolerant, or excessively competitive behavior
• Overeating and overindulgence
• Fatigue or excessive laziness

Symptoms of energy defiency include:

• Insecurity, anxiety and fear
• Low body weight and poor appetite
• Lack of confidence and poor self-image
• Inability to focus and lack of organization

Stomach ulcers, indigestion, diabetes, eating disorders and other illnesses tied to the digestive system can also be symptoms of an unbalanced solar plexus chakra.

How To Heal Your Solar Plexus Chakra

Healing the solar plexus chakra is a simple process, but it may take some practice. Most people have built up a blockage over many years, so chakra balancing will take time. There are some solar plexus chakra healing exercises that are easy to practice every day.

The chakra color associated with Manipura is yellow, which means that bananas, sunflower seeds, yellow peppers and cheeses are good solar plexus chakra healing food. Spices for the solar plexus chakra are ginger, chamomile, mint, and cumin.

Meditation can help with opening Manipura. A simple exercise is to simply envision a brilliant yellow sunflower over your solar plexus chakra. This can be even more effective with the use of chakra stones. Solar plexus chakra healing stones include yellow stones like citrine, amber, yellow tourmaline and tiger’s eye.

Aromatherapy can also be helpful for Manipura chakra healing. It can be used while meditating or doing yoga, or by itself at any time. Citrusy essential oils like orange and grapefruit are good for healing the solar plexus chakra, as are chamomile, mint and ginger.

Regular yoga practice is ideal for chakra balancing. Asanas that focus on core strength are perfect for Manipura healing. Warrior Pose is the easiest yoga asana for opening Manipura. Holding it for a few minutes every morning will begin to open your solar plexus. Other helpful asanas are Boat Pose (Navasana), which strengthens the core, and Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskar). Engaging in structured risk-taking during your yoga practice, like doing a challenging pose or gently pushing yourself a bit more, can also help balance Manipura.

Finally, since the solar plexus chakra is associated with the sun and fire, simply getting outside can help. Meditating or doing yoga outdoors on sunny days will maximize your healing practice, but simply going outside for a walk or doing a little sunbathing will help open your solar plexus chakra.

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Solar Plexus Blockage

A blockage in the third chakra, also known as the solar plexus chakra or Manipura, can be especially serious because it is where our sense of self originates. Chakra imbalances are difficult to avoid. When you face a difficult or traumatic situation, the coping skills you develop to get through it may cause disruptions in your energy and prevent you from healing fully.

Symptoms of a Blocked Solar Plexus Chakra

A healthy solar plexus chakra allows you to know yourself and live with confidence and strength. Someone with a balanced solar plexus chakra will be able to set boundaries and be assertive without being aggressive. It allows you to know yourself, judging yourself and others fairly but not critically.

Since it plays such a fundamental role in self-confidence, an imbalance in the third chakra can cause many problems. Some common symptoms of a blockage include:

• Low self-esteem
• Inability to set or maintain boundaries
• Codependency
• Lack of self-control
• Depression or anxiety
• Addiction

The solar plexus chakra is also important for physical health. It is closely tied to digestive health, but a blockage can cause an issue with other systems as well. Common physical symptoms of a blocked third chakra include:

• Ulcers
• Poor digestion, gas, nausea
• Hypoglycemia
• Diabetes
• Asthma and other respiratory problems
• Arthritis
• Organ problems, especially in the liver and kidneys
• Nerve pain and fibromyalgia
• Difficulty gaining or losing weight

Solutions for a Blocked Solar Plexus Chakra

Clearing the blockage in your third chakra and allowing energy to flow freely through it will help return you to health. It is best to try to do daily healing work because falling back into old patterns can allow the blockage to form again.

Working with a Reiki practitioner or other energy healer can be a good way to start your healing journey. They will be able to help break up the blockage and can help locate other blockages or imbalances in your energy.

At home, meditation is the most effective way to break up a blockage. Everyone possesses healing energy, and you can harness it using visualization. The third chakra is associated with the color yellow and with fire, so imagine a golden healing flame just above your navel. As you breathe deeply, feel it dissolving any hurt or pain you are storing in your third chakra.

Surrounding yourself with things associated with Manipura will help as well. Wearing yellow, eating yellow foods, and wearing gold jewelry or gold and yellow gemstones can help open your third chakra. Spending time in the sun and doing yoga exercises that strengthen your core are also good for healing Manipura.

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The Solar Plexus Chakra

“Radiate your power in the world,” could say the solar plexus chakra. Characterized by the expression of will, personal power, and mental abilities, the energy of the third chakra or Manipura in Sanskrit is mobilized when we assert ourselves in the world. Discover its key characteristics and how to make the most of this powerful energy center.

Introducing the Solar Plexus or Manipura chakra

Let’s start by exploring the basics, including the location, color, and symbol of the solar plexus chakra. Then, we are going to look at possible signs of imbalance in the third chakra and what to do to heal your solar plexus center and restore its balance to its optimal state.

Chakra Key Elements

First, we’re going to look at the Solar Plexus chakra basics:

• Location: In the solar plexus area (upper part of the belly, where your diaphragm rests); it is the third chakra from the bottom in the traditional system counting 7 chakras
• Color: Yellow (higher frequencies of this chakra can turn into golden yellow)
• Symbol: A circle with 10 petals in which is inscribed a downward-pointing triangle
• Original name in Sanskrit: Manipura
• Element: Fire

Additional elements used in modern energy healing practices are healing crystals and aromatherapy. If you’re curious, here’s a list of the most common ones:

• Solar Plexus chakra healing stones: Citrine, tiger’s eye, yellow tourmaline
• Essential oils: Chamomile, bergamot, cedarwood, rosemary are amongst the most popular soothing oils

Main Chakra Meanings

The main meanings associated with the third chakra are:

• Will, personal power
• Taking responsibility for one’s life, taking control
• Mental abilities, the intellect
• Forming personal opinions and beliefs
• Making decisions, setting the direction
• Clarity of judgments
• Personal identity, personality
• Self-assurance, confidence
• Self-discipline
• Independence

When the Solar Plexus chakra is open and the energy in this center is balanced, these functions naturally find a clear and effortless outlet. However, in case the flow of energy is disturbed, whether because the Manipura chakra is overactive or blocked, symptoms may range from energetic and emotional to physical.

Chakra Element: Fire

The Manipura chakra is traditionally related to the element of fire, though some contemporary healing movements connect it to the element of air. It has a connection with the sun, heat, the energy of light, all forms of power.

Chakra Color: Yellow

The Solar Plexus chakra is most commonly represented with the color yellow. Since it’s associated with the element of fire, it is also sometimes depicted with yellowish red.

Chakra Location: Solar Plexus

The most commonly accepted location for the third chakra is at the solar plexus level, between the navel and the lower part of the chest. That’s why it’s often referred to as the “solar plexus chakra.” Some traditions place it more loosely in the navel area.

Closely connected to the digestive system, especially the gastric and hypogastric plexi, its main function is to help transform matter into energy to fuel your body. It governs metabolism and is commonly associated with the pancreas.

Chakra Symbol

The main elements of the Solar Plexus chakra symbol are:

• A circle with ten petals
• An downward-pointing triangle

The inverted triangle represents the fire element and the transformative power of this energy center. Fire turns matter into energy that can be used to propel, move forward. The ten petals are often represented with the color blue, like the blue color of the flame.

What does Sanskrit name “Manipura” mean?

The most common Sanskrit name for the Solar Plexus chakra is “Manipura”, which means “city of jewels” or “seat of gems”.

The third chakra is also referred to as:

• Solar Plexus chakra
• Manipura
• Manipurak
• Nabhi
• The “power chakra”

The word “nabhi” can be translated as “navel”.

What the Solar Plexus chakra is known for

The Solar Plexus chakra is associated with the following psychological and behavioral functions:

• Expression of will
• Intellectual abilities
• The “accounting mind” that categorizes everything, assesses the pluses and minuses in life
• Personal power
• Ability to establish ideas and plans into reality
• At higher levels, it conveys wisdom

The main function of this energy center is to provide actual momentum to move forward and realize personal desires and intentions in the world. It plays a fundamental role in the development of personal power. It feeds one’s direction in life and the actions taken in order to reach your goals. It influences preoccupations about social status and self-image.

Signs your Solar Plexus chakra may be out of balance

On one side, a balanced solar plexus chakra makes it easy to find balance between your personal power and harmonious relationships with others; on the other side, an imbalanced third chakra could undermine your self-esteem and social life.

When the Solar Plexus chakra is balanced, you may:

• Be assertive
• Exert your will in a way that leads to the expected results somewhat effortlessly
• Have harmonious relationships with your surrounding

Imbalances in the third chakra can manifest as:

• Excessive control and authority over your environment and people
• Or the opposite in case of deficiency or blocked energy: Feeling of helplessness, irresponsibility
• Being obsessed with minute details, seeing life through a filter of plus and minuses while losing sight of the whole picture
• Being manipulative
• Misusing your power
• Lack of clear direction, lack of purpose or ambition
• Making plans or having a lot of ideas without finding efficient ways to realize them

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Overactive Sacral Chakra

If your sacral chakra is overactive your life may be rife with issues of excess and conflict, from thriving on drama to problems with addiction and unhealthy relationships.The key to restoring balance is to familiarize yourself with the signs of an overactive second chakra. When you recognize and understand the issues, learning how to balance the overabundance of chakra energy is made easier.

Signs of Overactivity in the Sacral Chakra

Although signs of an overactive sacral chakra generally manifest in non-physical ways, physical symptoms can occur. For instance, you may experience a persistent sensation of warmth in your lower abdomen when energy flow through the chakra is excessive. An overactive sacral chakra can also significantly impact the function of the reproductive organs, bladder, and lower back. Among the most common physical ailments are:

• cysts
• urinary issues
• kidney problems
• lower back pain
• gynecological problems

When your sacral chakra is overwhelmed, you yourself may feel overwhelmed. You may experience emotions more deeply than normal, have severe mood swings, or seemingly thrive on conflict and drama. Oftentimes, the excess of emotions can also lead to poor personal boundaries making you overly dependent on others or even obsessive.

Non-physical signs of an overactive sacral chakra can include:

• anxiety
• mania
• aggressiveness
• arrogance

Considering the sacral chakra influences sexuality, an overactive sacral energy center can contribute to promiscuity, sex addiction, and feelings of detachment or viewing others as mere objects to achieve sexual gratification.

Individuals with an overactive sacral chakra may also develop addiction to alcohol, drugs, or other unhealthy substances or engage in high-risk behaviors. Additional issues can include excessive eating and an unhealthy focus on one’s body image.

Cleansing an overactive sacral chakra

Located in the lower abdomen, the sacral, or navel, chakra rules your ability to relate to the world around you. It governs your ability to interact with others and develop, nurture and maintain healthy relationships. Being mindful of making the right choices to curb unhealthy behaviors helps cleanse and heal the sacral chakra.

Because of its close association with the digestive system, adopting a healthy diet and getting plenty of exercise might be particularly helpful in balancing the second chakra’s energy flow.

The chakra is aptly associated with the color orange, a hue representing energy, creativity, and pleasure. To balance an overactive sacral chakra, you may surround yourself with its opposite color, blue.

If, after making lifestyle changes, you still feel out-of-balance, consider incorporating other energy healing techniques, such as aromatherapy, yoga, meditation, or Tai Chi. Long-standing and severe energy imbalance can necessitate consulting with an energy healer to help restore balance and healing.

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Yoga for the Sacral Chakra

The sacral, or second, chakra is seated just below the naval in the lower abdomen. Associated with creativity and birth, the sacral chakra is governs the reproductive organs, bladder, and kidneys. Also known as the Swadhisthana chakra, the second chakra is represented by the color orange for its characteristics of creativity, stimulation, and determination. When the second chakra is balanced, you are productive, focused, and accomplish all you set out to do.

Yoga for One Chakra (Sacral Chakra), Yoga for All

Adopting a regular yoga routine as a supplement to a healthy lifestyle benefits your overall well-being, and especially your chakra system. Yoga asanas, or postures, can dispel chakra blockages and boost healthy energy flow through the body’s energy centers. When you focus on specific chakras, the health of the entire chakra system benefits.

  All yoga poses improve the body’s strength, stamina, and flexibility. Taken from the Sanskrit word asanam, meaning “seated posture,” asanas for the Swadhisthana chakra nurture inner acceptance of life as it is; such as feeling feelings for what they are and recognizing them as such.

To open and balance the second chakra, introduce forward bends, standing, seated, and twist asanas to your practice. Here are some examples of beneficial yoga poses for the Swadhisthana chakra:

• Wide-Angle Seated Forward Bend (Upavistha Konasana) — As this pose stimulates the abdominal organs it also strengthens the spine and opens the second chakra.
• Cow Face (Gomukhasana) — This seated and twist position stretches your chest, arms, shoulders, legs, and core to stimulate and balance energy flow through the second energy center.
• One-Legged King Pigeon (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana) — This variation of the pigeon asana stimulates the abdominal organs while stretching the chest, shoulders, and abdomen to allow for the healthy flow of energy through the second chakra.
• Bound Angle (Baddha Konasana) — Bound angle stimulates the abdominal organs to dispel energy imbalance and open the second energy center.
• Revolved Triangle (Parivrtta Trikonasana) — A variation of triangle, this asana stimulates the abdominal organs to activate the sacral chakra while stretching the spine, hips, and legs.
• Full Boat (Paripurna Navasana) — This seated asana strengthens your core which allows for activation of, and healthy energy flow through, the second chakra.
• Chair (Utkatasana) — Adopting this standing pose, which strengthens the abdomen and stimulates abdominal organ function, allows for the opening and activation of the second chakra.

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The Sacral Chakra Symbol

An explanation of the sacral chakra‘s symbol meaning is best conveyed as the energy and strength necessary to nurture and sustain life.

Symbol of the Maiden, Mother, Wise Woman

The sacral chakra is governed by the Hindu goddess, Parvati. As represented by her devotion to her husband, the Lord Shiva, Parvati is the goddess of power, fertility, and fidelity.

All aspects of the goddess figure are encompassed in the second energy center — which is home to the energies directly associated with the development of life. From young maiden and sexual being to nurturing mother and wise woman, the image of the goddess figure embodies the sacral chakra’s attributes of creativity, sexuality, pleasure, and relationships.

Symbol Meaning

The second chakra, also known as the Swadhisthana chakra, which is Sanskrit for “vital force,” is usually symbolized by a 16-petal lotus flower. It is important to note that in some depictions of the chakra symbol, a 6-petal lotus flower is used instead. Traditionally, the lotus flower image is symbolic of the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.

Regardless of the number of lotus petals in its image, all sacral chakra symbols are in agreeance on the color — which is varying shades of orange, from its brightest hue to rustic orange with red undertones.

Symbolic Animal Associations

Due to the feminine quality of sacral chakra energy it is frequently associated with the element of water. That being said, the sacral chakra symbol is often represented by water-dwelling animals, like fish or the crocodile.

According to Hindu tradition, the sacral chakra is governed by the alligator. Revered as an elder of the animal kingdom, the alligator represents the duality of strength and weakness in all living creatures — including humans. Its outer scales may be rock-solid, but the alligator’s underbelly is one of its most sensitive, vulnerable areas.

The alligator offers lessons in what it means to be patient and wise when it comes to making decisions. Its clear, sharp vision is a nice metaphor for the necessity of venturing forth with confidence beyond the comfort of self-imposed boundaries to pursue dreams and embrace change in order to grow.

Additional symbolic meanings of the alligator include:

• resilience
• strength
• intuitiveness
• honor
• bravery
• creation

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Sacral Chakra Blockage

Sacral Chakra Blockage

A blocked sacral chakra can make you feel like you’ve lost control of your life and unable to retake hold of the reins. Sacral chakra energy is directly related to, and is nurtured by, that of the root chakra. Considered feminine in quality, sacral chakra energy — located in the lower abdomen — is what gives you the ability to be open with and nurture yourself and others.

When your second chakra energy is blocked

As it governs your ability to relate to other people and the world around you, the sacral chakra also helps keep your emotions and ability to cope with life on an even keel. When sacral energy flow is blocked, you can become unemotional and experience uncertainty, insecurity, and an inability to cope with life’s changes.

Feeling detached and rigid in your routine to the point you’re unable ride out life’s ups and downs is a sure sign the sacral chakra is blocked and in need of clearing and healing. A lack of self-esteem or self-worth stemming from a sacral chakra imbalance can also contribute to finding one’s self in unhealthy, and sometimes abusive, relationships.

Symptoms of Sacral Chakra Blockage

Physically speaking, when your sacral chakra is blocked you may experience a range of symptoms that are generally confined to the lower abdomen, back, and reproductive and digestive organs.

Among the most common physical symptoms:

• constipation
• back pain
• urinary and kidney infections
• gynecological cysts
• abnormal menstruation
• infertility
• impotence

Sacral chakra imbalance frequently manifests as emotional and psychological difficulties, including:

• depression
• low self-esteem
• insecurity
• detachment
• jealousy
• fear

Considering the sacral chakra directly influences sexuality, it is not unheard of for a decline in sexual interest and performance to become an issue. Sexual dysfunction, including premature ejaculation, an inability to achieve orgasm, and low or nonexistent libido, is a good indicator there is an imbalance of the sacral chakra.

Clearing Sacral Chakra Blockages

In addition to adopting healthy lifestyle changes, such as a healthy diet and regular exercise, incorporating some form of energy healing can be beneficial for restoring balance to the sacral chakra.

Introducing essential oils associated with the sacral chakra, such as Ylang-Ylang or Sandalwood, to your home or personal space can offer a boost to sacral chakra healing.

Regularly meditating on the sacral chakra and/or the color orange can also help clear negativity and restore balance to the energy center.

If you feel drawn to the use of crystals to restore balance, consider introducing orange carnelian, citrine, or amber jewelry to your wardrobe.

When the sacral chakra is balanced, you feel in harmony with life. You are able to express yourself creatively and to mature with each new experience life offers — both good and bad.

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