Swadhisthana or Sacral chakra
By Susan Ni Dhubhlaoich
We continue our Journey through the Chakras moving upwards from our Root, our foundation, into Swadhisthana, our sacral chakra.
Not sure what a ‘chakra’ or energy centre is? Read this post first.
Swadhisthana, our second primary chakra, from the Sanskrit Swa meaning ‘self’ and ‘adisthana’ meaning ‘established’ is loosely translated as the ‘dwelling in a place of the self’.
Physically, the sacral chakra is located in the lower abdomen. It is two fingers beneath the belly button.
Imagine a straight line from the crown to your tailbone. At the top of the lower abdomen, visualise Swadhisthana – a cone-like, triangle shape radiating out forwards and backwards from this point.
The colour of Swadhistana is bright, radiant orange.
Physical Body Layer
Our sacral chakra governs our bladder, kidneys, the adrenals and our lower back physically. This is similar to the Root chakra. But Swadhisthana is also the High Commander and Chief of our reproductive organs. The triangle shape is reminiscent of the womb (in many ways regarded as the ultimate home of creativity.)
This perhaps explains why the Root and Sacral energies are so different.
Muladhara we associate with the dense, heavy qualities of Earth, stability and solidity. Swadhisthana is governed by the element of Water and all that is fluid inside us. Swadhistana invites freedom, creativity, flexibility, sex and pleasure. Little surprise then that fish, sea creatures and the crocodile are all animal symbols of our second chakra.
Put simply, energetically Muladhara is more masculine. Swadhisthana is more feminine.
Emotional Body Layer
In the Emotional body, Swadhisthana is about FEELING free to express yourself creatively and sexually. It means play, pleasure (sexual and otherwise). When healthy and in balance, it means respecting your body and taking care of its needs.
We know that if we experience stress in any layer of the body (physical, mental, emotional, energetic), we either slow down, stagnate or go into overdrive. Strong emotions, in particular, tend to get stuck in our system on a vibrational level.
Imbalances in the Sacral Chakra can manifest as a sense of guilt or discomfort with creative or sexual expression.
Or reproductive issues.
Or tightness and gripping in the lower back.
Or simply how we respond to a changing situation. Do we go with the flow? Dig our heels in? Reject?
Or how we relate to money. Do we trust that money will flow towards us? Or do we hoard and withhold?
To bring Svadhisthana into balance
The easiest thing is to Try Something NEW – in any area of your life! Jump out of your routine. Spice things up. Find a new way to do things. Small or Big.
In our yoga practice it might mean embracing a new mantra – Today I Go with the Flow
Or spending time in
- EkapadaRajaKapotasana (One leg pigeon)
- Baddha Konasana (Butterfly)
- Upavista Konasana (Wide Leg Seated Forward Fold)
- Utkata Konasana (Goddess)
- Sufi Grind (Seated pelvic tilts / hip circles)
