The Sacral Chakra in Yoga
he sacral chakra, Svadhisthana, develops when you are six months to two years old. This is the age when children discover their emotional identity, communicating primarily through emotions. Screaming, crying, laughing, showing disgust, surprise- it’s all about expressing their feelings! During this time, they also begin to crawl and explore their outer world, encountering pain and pleasure.
Once your basic needs are met, the root chakra acts as a solid container to hold the water of the sacral chakra. Filling your cup with your desires, the 2nd chakra is all about having the right to feel and experience deep pleasure.
Svadhisthana, sacral chakra, is oriented with self-gratification; it’s the time to discover what feels good and what doesn’t. It’s about finding your flow, your creative energy and following what lights you up!
As Fritz Perls says, “Lose your mind and come to your senses.” Let’s tap into our emotional world and see how we can activate the water chakra.
Article Topics
Svadhisthana Sacral Chakra
- Sanskrit Name: Svadhisthana, meaning “one’s place”
- Chakra Location: Lower back, abdomen, genitals
- Element: Water
- Color: Orange
- Function: Pleasure, creation, and feeling
- Governs: reproductive organs, urinary system, womb, pelvis, hips, inner thighs
- Seed Sound: Vam
- Mudra: Shakti mudra (Tuck the thumb in the middle of your palm and bend the index & middle finger over the thumb. Touch the tips of the ring and pinky finger together on each hand.)
When Balanced
The element of water reminds us to move gracefully with life. You’ll feel satisfaction in Svadhisthana when you swim with the current instead of against it. If you follow your creative urges and nurture your desires, you’ll keep this chakra balanced. It’s a healthy sexual life and a deep connection with your body and your emotions. This is where it’s key to have boundaries and not get lost in your emotional world. The 2nd chakra thrives when you are adaptable and flow with each changing phase of life!
When Underactive
Imagine a cup with holes in it and the water leaking out. Deficiency may look like being out of touch with your feelings, avoiding pleasure, or punishing yourself for feeling your sensuality. You mustn’t cut off the prana or life force that naturally wants to move through you. You mustn’t cut off the flow; you’ll start to feel rigid and numb in your body. Lacking passion and excitement for life, you may be a sign that there are some blocks in the Svadhisthana chakra.
Physical Ailments
If you have any pain or symptoms in the body parts governed by your sacral chakra listed above, this will help you determine if you need to do some sacral chakra healing. Even emotional blockages may be screaming to be released. To move the energy from your hips, you can try exercises like pressing your hips forward and tailbone back and then swaying the pelvis forward with the tail tucking under to move the energy from your hips. Repeating this movement continuously will help to activate the water chakra.
When Overactive
Imagine a cup that’s overflowing. If your emotions rule you, then the container of the root chakra won’t be able to hold everything. It’s necessary to feel, but not to let the emotions and desires runneth over! Being overly sensitive, overindulgent, or having an addictive personality are signs that this chakra is being overcompensated. An overactive sacral chakra may look like being highly sexual and even seductive, letting your sexual desires take precedence in your life.
Feel Your Feelings
Although we appear solid on the outside, did you know that 60% of your body is water? The sacral chakra is water, as is your emotional world! Water helps us to purify and move through things.
You must feel your emotions as they come up and don’t store that energy in your hips! Feelings are meant to be felt and moved out of you. So cry! Laugh! Allow the expression to cleanse and balance your sacral chakra.
If expressing yourself is challenging, add physical movements like dancing, shaking, or moving the hips to unstick the energy. Another tip is to get into a body of water and move freely. See how this helps you to open up!
Life is Your Playground
The sacral chakra is all about pleasure! Find what you enjoy, and do more of that! Follow those creative urges and detach yourself from any expected outcome. The more we can enjoy the process and play with life, the better! You know what happens when we play? We laugh, we smile, we enjoy! This raises your vibration and makes your energy magnetic. The chakras open up, and the prana easily flows through you.
7 Asanas to Activate the Sacral Chakra in Yoga
You can create sacral chakra-themed classes or practice these asanas to help you liberate your body and flow. Bring the element of water into your practice by moving gracefully and fluidly from one pose to the other.
- Prasarita Padottanasana (wide-legged forward fold)
- Ananda Balasana (happy baby pose)
- Malasana (garland pose)
- Baddha Konasana (butterfly or bound angle pose)
- Utkata Konasana (goddess pose)
- Utthan Pristhasana (lizard pose)
- Eka Pada Rajakapotasana (mermaid pose)
Affirmations That Invite Flow
Affirmations are a beautiful way to bring awareness into each of your chakras. I’ve hand-picked five affirmations to help you flow with life. These can be your intentions in your next yoga practice or posted as a daily reminder on a mirror in your house. Let it be the first thought that enters your mind in the morning!
- “I deserve pleasure in my life.”
- “I embrace and celebrate my sexuality.”
- “I move easily and effortlessly with life.”
- “I feel my feelings as they arrive, without judgment.”
- “Universe, show me how good it can get!”
In Closing
The chakra system operates at its best when all your energy centers are open and flowing. When you can relax about your needs being met at the earth chakra, you have more energy to enjoy the pleasures of life at the water chakra.
The demon of this chakra is guilt- so if you notice yourself feeling guilty about that last purchase you made out of a desire, or you’re beating yourself up for that sexual rendezvous you had, this is your reminder that it’s okay to let life be pleasurable.
The sacral chakra permits us to discover what makes us tick! Tick, tick, tick; don’t waste another moment living a mediocre life. Open your sacral chakra and let life show you how good it can get!
