Sacral Ground

Hmmm…. Money on the mind?
Fertility or sex issues goin’ down?
Over emotional?
Wanna control everything?

Weird, but they are kinda related.
Well, it’s time to check out your second Chakra: Sacral Chakra.

(and btw, I get that the phrase is ‘sacred ground’. I couldn’t think of a clever title, although I would argue that the sacral area is sacred ground :))

Quick Recap:

Each post, I am posting about the individual Chakras. Each Chakra has a color, location, sense, element, Sanskrit translation, bodily systems, health issues due to blockage, development period, principles, and archetypes.

The idea is to have all Chakras balanced, so that your life energy can flow easily top to bottom, bottom to top. By breaking each of them down, you can see areas where you may have blockages or areas that appear to be working well. Chakras are our life energy… you are giving away or adding to that energy all the time. The idea to maintain the right amount of energy, so the flow can occur in the body, resulting in a balanced, happy life :).

CHAKRA 2: SACRAL CHAKRA (Svadhisthana Sanskrit)
The Emotion Chakra
Sexuality, Sensations, Creativity, Relationships, Money, Power and Control, Ethics

This Chakra is developed during the first 6-24 months of your life. It is the time when you are learning about exploring, creativity, sensations and relationships. The shadow feeling here is guilt. Trauma, sexual abuse, or emotional abuse resulting in guilt can occur if second Chakra is not developed.

Basic Rights: Basic Right to experience and feel pleasure
Color: Orange
Mantra: Vam
Element: Water
Sense: Taste
Location: Below abdomen, Lower Abdomen, Genitals

Sanskrit: Svadhisthana (Dwelling Place of Self)
Systems: Reproductive Organs, Hips, Sacrum, Bladder, Low Back, Body Liquids
Archetype: Prostitute (exchange of sex, exchange of money)
Excessive Sacral Chakra Energy: sex addictions, overemotional, obsessive, attached, alcohol/heroin addictions
Deficient Sacral Chakra Energy: lack of interest in pleasure, follow rigid boundaries, relationships are difficult, no interest in sex
Balanced Sacral Chakra: Fluidity and grace, depth of feeling, sexual fulfillment, ability to accept change,

Physical Ailments (symptoms of poor Sacral Chakra):
Chronic Low Back Pain
Sciatica
Ob/GYN Issues
Sexual Issues
Urinary Problems

2nd Chakra Activities and Foods address fluidity, creative expression, and exploration.

Activities: Artistic activities, creative and emotional expression, pleasure exploration (eating, dancing, kissing, sexuality), pregnancy, hot salt baths, swimming, steam room. Yoga Focus: Hip openers, emotional release, psoas muscles, lower abdominals, lunges, and opening the lateral body.

Foods: Liquids (e.g. detox teas, fresh-squeezed juices, soups, broths), More water and less salt with a focus on electrolyte balance. Steamed veggies, orange-colored foods.

Foods to Avoid: All junk food, salty food, highly processed food. Fried food, high fructose corn syrup, soda and energy drinks, excessive amounts of caffeine and coffee after 2pm.

Suppressing emotions can lead to emotional eating. Take pleasure in food without overindulging. Enjoy each bite. Eating can be a sensual and nurturing experience.

Questions within Second (Sacral) Chakra and how this Chakra may be impacting you and your life:

Do you need to be in control, or can you let it flow?
Do you express emotions easily?
How do you define creativity?
What are you innate talents?
Are you a controlling person?
How is money affecting your life?

The Second Chakra connects us to others through feeling, desire, sensation, and movement. This Chakra brings fluidity, grace, depth of feeling, sexual fulfillment, and the ability to accept change. The second chakra is about exploration. It is developed in the 6-24 month phase in your life… or the time you are crawling, putting things in your mouth, etc. You are exploring, being creative, moving away a bit from your foundation (tribe) from the first Chakra.

And why money? And how is it related to relationship and exploration and free flow? Money, like love and sex in a relationship, like ideas and thoughts in creativity… are exchanged. Are shared. Are given, are taken.

Creation is founded in second Chakra. Whether it is (quite literally) creation of life (i.e. babymaking) or creation of ideas, it stems from this Chakra. If you are carrying around guilt from something or someone, it may be affecting this Chakra. If your source of stress is from relationships or money- again, this Sacral Chakra area- may be showing the physical symptoms through infertility, sexual dysfunction, lower back pain, or kidney stones.

Or your hips just may be tight. When I first started doing yoga, I noticed my hips were so tight, and as I would be in pigeon pose, as the instructor spoke, I would just start bawling. My emotions were stored in my hips. As I loosened up, the physical helped the emotional side of my being. And that is the beauty of Chakras- the physical and the emotional are tied together.

While there are a million ways to deal with the symptoms of these things with modern science and medicine… try looking deeper – at the potential emotional causes that may be draining the beautiful, loving energy from this area. Engage your creativity, let go of control, and go with the flow a bit more. Resolve relationship and money conflicts. Perhaps you will start to see these conditions melt away.

*all Chakra material from Mukti School, Wendy J Yoga, and Anatomy of the Spirit, by Caroline Myss, PhD