The ancient science of Ayurveda describes the human body as both physical and energetic. Every human being has seven chakras which act as interfaces that relay information between the body of flesh and bone and the subtle, energy body that operates our sensory and emotional response systems.
In this article, we give a detailed overview of the second chakra.
What are the Chakras?
Thinking of the human being’s nervous system as a powerful radio station provides a helpful analogy for visualizing how it works.
First, imagine the spine as a radio tower. Sensory information is transmitted to the spinal column via the five senses, which act as satellite receivers. Then, this information is sent up the vertebrae to the central control room, the brain, where it is displayed on the screen of the mind.
The chakras are energetic filters that direct the in-out flow of feeling and perception, based on your personal genetic program. When your chakras operate at peak performance, you feel amazing. However, when they are overworked, obstructed, or repressed, you experience various physical and mental ailments.
By adopting healthy habits and cutting out harmful lifestyle choices, you can bring your chakras into balance and experience a huge boost in happiness and well-being.
The Second Chakra at a Glance
Each of the seven chakras has defining features that make it unique. Below is the profile of the sacral chakra, known in Sanskrit as स्वाधिष्ठान (svadhisthana), or “one’s proper place.”
Physical location: The lower abdomen, hips, and pelvis. By bringing your awareness to the sacral plexus, or the bundle of nerves low in your belly, you can feel the energy of your second chakra.
Developmental stage: Six months to two years. As an infant starts to crawl, speak, and explore their environment, they slowly learn what they like and don’t like. As they decide how they will interact with the world around them, their self-identity begins to take shape.
Chief domains: Movement, pleasure, feelings, and desires. The sacral chakra influences how we relate to our emotions and regulates our sexuality.
Emotional challenge: Guilt. If a child’s pleasure-seeking is frustrated, or if they are excessively punished, they may develop a low sense of self-worth. They may think, “I do not deserve pleasure.” This can result in repression, addiction, and other forms of self-loathing. Another common outcome is that the child becomes angry and rebels.
The second chakra is fully healed when one finds self-worth, attains emotional maturity, and gives up their rebellious tendencies.
Element: Water. The well-being of the sacral chakra regulates the emotions and sensations that flow through the nervous system. This chakra determines how well we are able to adjust to the fluid circumstances of life.
What a Balanced Sacral Chakra Feels Like
A person with a healthy second chakra has a playful approach to life. They know how to enjoy the moment at hand, and they take pleasure in their work and relationships. They are acquainted with the full spectrum of human emotion, and they are in touch with their personal feelings and needs on a day-to-day basis.
When your second chakra is balanced, you are able to embrace change without compromising your core values. In the face of hardship, you respond with lightness and grace. In this way, you smoothly navigate difficult circumstances.
An active sacral chakra makes you feel vibrant and emotionally fulfilled. It gives you a childlike excitement for life. You laugh often, and those you love laugh with you.
Sacral Chakra Rights & Identities
In her book Eastern Body, Western Mind, Dr. Anodea Judith explains that each chakra has a right and an identity.
The sacral chakra deals with the right to joy, pleasure, and an emotionally rich life.
It governs our affective identity and our need for self-gratification.
Symptoms of Imbalance
Chakras display two distinct types of imbalance: they’re either too open or too closed. This causes the chakra to be either over-stimulated or suppressed. In some cases, a person’s energetic body may oscillate between the two types of imbalance.
An Over-stimulated Sacral Chakra
A person with an excessive second chakra over-identifies with their feelings. They are dramatic people who often become the center of attention due to their emotional outbursts. They may experience frequent and intense mood swings, and the “rush” of these feelings creates a thrill for them, like an emotional roller coaster.
Although those with an overdeveloped sacral chakra exhibit such strong emotions, they are often out of touch with their own feelings. Due to their hyper-sensitivity, they are easily influenced by the moods of the people around them. They have difficulty distinguishing their own emotions from the feelings of others.
An over-stimulated second chakra creates a need for constant movement and stimulation. It leads to an addiction to instant gratification, weak emotional boundaries, and codependent relationships.
A Suppressed Sacral Chakra
Persons whose second chakra is weak or diminished are averse to feeling. The contracted sacral chakra limits their emotional experience, creating a deadened sense of reality. They often deprive themselves of pleasure, and may be judgmental of enjoyment of others. Such suppression of natural feelings is accompanied by a mechanical or lifeless approach to daily activities.
A deficient sacral chakra can cause a person to isolate themselves from others and prevent them from opening up in intimate relationships. It leads to a mentality of apathy and pessimism, and it stifles one’s ability to enjoy life.
Sacral Chakra Health Issues
The chakra system reveals that all illnesses are at least in part psychosomatic. In other words, the condition of your mental well-being and subtle life will always impact your physical health.
These are some of the health issues that can arise in a person whose sacral chakra is out of balance:
- Reproductive or menstrual disorders
- Clinical depression or bipolar disorder
- Sexual issues, whether related to arousal, desire, orgasm, addiction, or pain
- Lower back pain
- Problems with the knees and joints
- General lack of flexibility
How to Activate & Repair Your Sacral Chakra
If you recognize in yourself some of the symptoms of an imbalanced second chakra, there are many things you can do to help restore it to balance.
Here are some steps you can take to heal your sacral chakra:
- Get in touch with your feelings and needs. The Center for Nonviolent Communication publishes comprehensive lists of feelings and needs. Try printing these out and keeping them with you throughout the day. Lists like these are helpful for facilitating introspection and gaining more awareness of your emotional body. Periodically ask yourself, “How am I feeling right now? Is there a need I have which isn’t being met?” It’s just as helpful to learn to recognize positive emotions as it is to identify negative ones.
- Take music lessons. Music is a powerful conduit for emotion. Playing an instrument can be a way to express your feelings if you’re not comfortable doing so in other ways.
- Join an addiction recovery program. Addictions can wreak havoc on your career, relationships, and overall quality of life. Second chakra issues contribute to an addictive personality type. There are many programs, such as the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, which can help you overcome addiction and connect you with others who are on the path to recovery.
- Start a journal. Journaling is a helpful practice for getting to know yourself on a deeper level, which is an important component of emotional health and well-being.
- Try laughing yoga. Laughter is by nature therapeutic. It sends a signal to your brain to release endorphins, which helps to relieve stress and pent up negativity.
Below, we list affirmations which help to strengthen and nourish the second chakra. In addition, chanting and meditating on the Sanskrit syllable, VAM (pronounced like “o-vum” with a nasal intonation on the “m”) will balance this chakra. You can also try out chakra meditation.
Affirmations to Restore the Sacral Chakra
“I am eternal. I am a spark of pure bliss.”
“My sexuality is a gift. My sexuality is sacred.”
“God / The Universe wants me to be happy.”
Learn More About Your Other Chakras
Root | Sacral | Solar Plexus | Throat | Third Eye | Crown
Sources
Eastern Body, Western Mind — Anodea Judith VEDA Online Encyclopedia
