by Kaisa Kapanen: The second chakra, also called the Sacral Chakra is related to creativity and it governs the emotional and sensual parts of our lives…

The Sanskrit word svadhisthana means “one’s own space“, and this orange colored chakra helps us to find our own voice and pleasure centre in life. It’s located near the tailbone, and symbolized by a lotus with six petals. It teaches us to enjoy life though our senses, to play more and to go with the flow.

A balanced sacral chakra shows in the ease with which we connect to our feelings and express our emotions. When this chakra is open, it is easy for us to experience each moment as it comes, and to remain flexible in life. As the second chakra governs the passion and creativity in life, it provides us the ability to think outside the box, to be confident in what we can create, and to be strong in our expression.

Imbalances in the Svadhisthana chakra

In a world that rewards rational thought more than emotions, we can easily lose the connection to our body and the svadhisthana chakra can get unbalanced. We may feel guilt and shame when it comes to our emotions and physical desires, or feel like we need to control our emotions and appear more rational in life. 

With an overactive svadhisthana chakra one can feel highly emotional, suffer from mood swings or addictions to people or substances. If, on the other hand, one has difficulty expressing feelings and emotions, or difficulty to enjoy intimate experiences, the sacral chakra may be weakened.

A blocked svadhisthana chakra can manifest physically as menstrual issues for women, pains in the lower abdomen or issues with the sacroiliac joint.

Balancing the Svadhisthana chakra

The sacral chakra encourages us to enjoy every moment as it unfolds. It provides a chance to let go of control, and truly feel the world through our senses. We can practice connecting with our emotions and physical needs, familiarizing with our likes and dislikes, and trusting that we get all we need from the world around us. We can start to express our feelings clearly to others, and stand open towards intimate relationships. Leaving some space for spontaneity in life is also beneficial, since this helps us with going with the flow instead of always planning everything to the last detail.

Hip opening yoga poses are a good way to bring more openness into our body. Especially long held Yin-poses are helpful in getting to the deeper tissues and releasing tension held subconsciously in the pelvic region.

The element of the svadhisthana chakra is water, so spending some time close to, or near water can be balancing. We can also surround ourselves with beautiful things such as art, music or nature to enjoy the world around us through our senses. Visualizing color can also bring more balance into the body. You can visualize a warm, orange color around your naval area to intensify a blocked chakra, or the color blue to calm an overactive sacral chakra.

Working with the svadhisthana chakra will allow us to truly connect with ourselves, and to feel the world around us without analyzing or over-thinking about it too much. Instead we can just experience and taste life as it is!