2nd Chakra: Sacral (Swadhisthana)

Chakra aka Orange Chakra

Addressing Our Emotional Needs and Desires

   Whilst many of us like to feel as

though we are in touch with our emotional sides, and are in control of the emotional ups
and downs that go along with a modern, busy life, at some point in our lives we will no
doubt realise that this is quite often not really the case. Our emotions are more often than
not a hectic, unruly maelstrom which govern our actions – sometimes for good, sometimes
for bad. We are distracted by them, we are often compelled to act selfishly and heartlessly
by our desires for pleasure and self-gratification, occasionally at other peoples’ expense. On
the other side of the scale, many of us repress our emotions, ignore what our hearts and
feelings tell us. We are all born with an innate ‘gut instinct’ for what is right and wrong,
what we need in order to be happy and complete, and yet so many people around the world
shut off their emotional sides, becoming little more than automatons in search of money
and material successes, or other pleasure principles which have little to do with nurturing
our emotional needs.

As human beings, we all need closeness, emotional nourishment and intimacy with other
people. However, in today’s busy and emotionless world, our relationships are often
threatened or hindered not just by the coldness of others towards ourselves, but by our own
hesitance and inability to open our feelings towards those we need to be close to. Nowhere
is this more true than in our romantic and sexual relationships, when it is all too easy to
become closed and emotionless to our partners, leaving them feeling unloved and
unwanted, and often unable to return the affection we all require in order to live a balanced,
happy emotional existence. The modern world is in some state of sexual crisis, with
dissatisfaction in one another constantly rising, and frustration with our sex lives creating a
downward spiral into an emotionless state, a defence mechanism which ends up being
harmful to ourselves and those we love.

 
The search for self-gratification without the ‘risk’ associated with emotional involvement
results in another, more dangerous and uglier phenomenon closely linked to emotional fear
and hesitance to open oneself: addiction. Addictive and compulsive tendencies are also on
the rise, with more and more people looking to fill a gap created by their lack of emotional
involvement. Addiction to narcotics and other substances which stimulate our pleasure
centres are often a direct result of being unable to express our emotions, feel a satisfying or
scintillating sexual connection with a partner, or having little control over your emotional
life. All are connected, and all are associated with an imbalanced, closed or blocked Sacral
Chakra.
 

What is the Sacral Chakra?

 

The second of the body’s chakras, located just below the naval, is the
Sacral Chakra (Swadhisthana). This is your very essence, the defining, shining ‘you-ness’
that makes you special, unique, an emotional, sensitive creature capable of connecting with
your higher self and the world around you. The Sanskrit word Swadhisthana translates as
“one’s own place” and refers to the true and untarnished aspects of yourself, the real you,
the often secret side of your personality which you know and recognise to be unique and
important. The energy associated with the Swadhisthana is a vibrant orange colour,
symbolic as the glowing embers of your soul, the inner flame which burns and spreads out
from your form to those around you, and lights your way through the night-times of life.

However, the most important use of this energy, and the real essence of the Sacral Chakra,
is connected to the sensation of pleasure. The Sacral Chakra is your pleasure centre, it
provides delightful sensations, it lets your body know when you are receiving pleasurable
attention, or emotional pleasure, or are stimulated in a pleasurable way by an outside
influence, a vision, a sound, a touch, or a feeling.

We experience pleasure in a huge variety of ways, and pleasurable sensations and feelings
are a gift in this life, a sense of gratification that makes living on this plane a pleasant and
enjoyable thing to do. Whether you find pleasure in abstract things such as music and art, or
in fine food, or relaxing in a natural environment, the energy required to appreciate and take
value from such things is generated in the Swadhisthana, and helps to nurture your own,
unique personality. After all, what better way is there to define who we are than by what we
take pleasure from? Not only this, but the Swadhisthana allows us to find pleasure in
expression, whether through speech, emotional interaction or artistic expression – again,
uniting our identity with that which we enjoy the most. Perhaps the most moving and
powerful forms of pleasure come about from our interaction with other people – from
rewarding relationships and closeness with loved ones, or from sensuality and sexual
intimacy. Again, these experiences are given energy and value from the Sacral Chakra, and
an open second chakra will ensure that we respond healthily and correctly to such stimuli,
allowing us to give and receive pleasure in equal amounts.
 

Throughout life, as we grow and develop and change as beings, we will learn to find
gratification from a wide range of sources. All of our life’s gratifying experiences and
appreciations of pleasure have their genesis in the second chakra, and this chakra gives us
the opportunity to find pleasure whilst learning and growing as individuals,
and balancing that which we give alongside that which we take. This chakra requires
nurturing, requires attention. The orange glow of the Sacral energy should be treated as the
flame it represents, something which should be kept glowing, without being extinguished or
allowed to grow out of our control. Life is supposed to be something that can be enjoyed,
but sometimes it can be easy to forget that pleasure at the expense of another, or pleasure
without emotional attachment and significance, is a poor imitation of the real thing.
 

What can happen if the Sacral Chakra is blocked?

 

As with any of the seven chakras which

should be turning freely and openly within the human physical body, the second chakra can
become blocked, closed and stagnant. This chakra is particularly prone to emotional
influences coming from those around us, and balance is all important in keeping this chakra
healthy. Whilst we should be open and comfortable with our emotional impulses and desire
to seek pleasurable sensations and experiences, we need to be aware that emotional
openness, not practised mindfully, can leave us somewhat vulnerable to negative energies.
 

The blocking of the Sacral Chakra through stagnation of energy and neglect, or taking to
heart the negative emotions of others can result in us shutting ourselves down emotionally,
and closing ourselves to the world around us. When this happens, the energy of the chakra
begins to spiral downwards, becoming more blocked as a result of us no longer nurturing
our emotional needs, and not making use of the vast resource of pleasure-based energy our
bodies naturally give us. It isn’t unusual for people with closed Sacral Chakras to feel heavily
burdened by guilt, or shame, as their connection with pleasure has become distorted.
Pleasure and happiness, and emotional satisfaction is something which should be free from
shame, free from guilt. Unfortunately, there are plenty of social conventions which have
taught many people to feel these negative emotions in place of pleasure, and such
socialisation is sometimes incredibly difficult to escape from. We all have a right to pleasure
as a vital component of health and happiness, and we all need to make the most of the
glowing orange energy which is sourced from the Sacral Chakra, or else we can quickly fall
into a self-destructive cycle of being closed, cold and materialistic.

Other people with closed Sacral Chakras take their problems to other extremes. When it
comes to sexual needs and desires, people who have blocked their sacral energy are often
led into temptation of a sort which uses sex like a weapon, or something inherently selfish.
Far too many people struggle to express their sexuality and sexual needs in a way which is
emotionally positive or respectful, and begin to see sexual activity as a purely physical
necessity – something selfish, uncaring, or even dangerous and violent. When the Sacral
Chakra is weakened and blocked, the diseases associated with addiction and compulsive
personality disorders often raise their heads. Addiction comes about due to a pursuit of
indulgence and emotionless pleasure, without any self control or moderation. Before long,
the Sacral Chakra is more or less disconnected to any sort of pleasure which comes about
from substances or activities one is addicted to, for the simple reason that the addiction
quickly stops having any connection with pleasure whatsoever – merely a base desire which
must be fulfilled, an itch which needs to be joylessly scratched.

Alongside this, blocked or imbalanced Swadhisthana chakras can result in a wide range of
physical  disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome, fertility issues, kidney stones, ovarian
cancer in women or testicular cancer in men.

Sacral Chakra Healing

 
 One of the most positive things which can be said about
healing the Swadhisthana is that all it really requires is for you to pursue happiness.
Mindfully indulge in those things which you can enjoy and take pleasure from, and refuse to
feel ashamed or guilty for doing so. Simply spend some time thinking to yourself about
times when you were happiest, or what gives you simple pleasure and pleasing sensations!
Obviously, we are all individuals with individual desires and tastes, but there are many
things which unite us when it comes to pleasurable activities, such as basic human
requirements which can be transformed into sensory delights, such a delicious meal or
drink, or a long, lazy morning in bed with a good book. If you long to express yourself in
pleasing ways, why not go out and start some new creative projects?

Write down your thoughts and feelings, pick up a paintbrush and splash some beautiful
colours across a canvas, recognise that you are ingenious, unique, creative and inventive!
The beautiful part of this process is that all of these activities actually tie in harmoniously
with your ability to be a confident, sexual person, capable of giving and receiving intimate
sexual pleasure. It isn’t always comfortable coming to terms with your own sexuality, but by
exploring what pleases you in life, you can learn to be more open and willing to discuss and
experiment with loved ones, and inject the natural pleasures of emotional intimacy into sex
with your partner. The energy at the core of the Sacral Chakra can reconnect you with all of
life’s pleasures – the ones that you miss out on when you feel as though your true self,
manifest in the expression of your sexuality and creativity, is cut-off, denied, or hidden.

Try this easy yoga posture to start opening your chakra right away!

Reclining Bound Angel Pose (Supta Baddha Konasana)

 
 Caution: if you feel pain at any time during this exercise, stop immediately.

 Start in a seated position with your legs extended in front of you and your palms on the
ground several inches behind you. On an exhale, use your hands to lower yourself inch by
inch until you are lying flat on your back on the ground with your arms at your sides.
 Bend your knees so that your feet are flat on the ground. Placing your hands on your thighs
just below your knees, gently swing your legs from side to side several times to loosen the
hips and the groin.
 When your legs are again bent in the upright position, connect with your breath. Gently float
your legs open to form a diamond shape, so that the soles of your feet are touching and
your outer knees are moving towards the ground. If you require it, use two pillows to
support your outer knees.
 As you hold the pose, focus on the movement of your breath in and out of your lungs and
feel your hips starting to open.
 When you are ready to come out of the pose, bring your knees back to center and straighten
your legs, rolling to your side to come up to seated position.
 

Open Your Sacral Chakra to Rediscover Your Resource of

Pleasure
 

By acknowledging that you have every right to seek out pleasure in your life and deny guilt
and shame in the pursuit of delight, you can quickly and easily free yourself from the
burdens which the world we live in all too quickly piles upon you.
 

As you learn to nurture the powerful and lasting energy of the Sacral Chakra through
addressing what makes you happy and expressing your creative, pleasure loving and
guiltless sides mindfully, you’ll find your relationships with all those around you begin to
vastly improve. Each of us has a higher creative power which needs to be addressed and let
out as often as possible, and through the process of expressing our emotions in a creative
and joyful way, we can begin to see ourselves as we truly are, and as we truly should be:
emotionally liberated, sensual, loveable and valuable. The Sacral Chakra is what makes you
‘you’ – take some time today to remind yourself just how special that person is, and tap into
a powerful energy source by indulging yourself in what you truly deserve.

THE SACRAL CHAKRA INFLUENCES

YOUR SEXUALITY.

Location : Lower abdomen

The energy center of sexuality and pleasure.
: Fire, energizing, charging
Energies
You know your Sacral Chakra is STRONG when you see sex in
a positive light, as a glorious, pleasurable and healthy
activity. You enjoy passionate, frequent and long-lasting
sex with your partner. Orgasms are mind-blowing, and you
and your partner often orgasm at the same moment. You
make time to have sex at least a few times a week, even if
you’ve been married or attached to the same person for
years. You are always able to attract the right partners–
compatible people who nourish you, fill you with joy and
make you a better person.
You know your Sacral Chakra is WEAK or CLOSED when the
thought of sex conjures images of guilt and pain in your
mind. You rarely have the time or inclination to have sex,
and when you do, it’s lackluster. You and your partner
rarely orgasm at the same time, and premature or delayed
ejaculation may be a frequent problem. You struggle to see
yourself as ‘sexy’, and sometimes wonder how anyone
could desire you. Your partners are often wrong and
incompatible for you, and you find yourself wondering if
you’ll ever find “the one”.

Based on the chakra test the Sacral Chakra for Kiran is WEAK