The Sacral Chakra is magnificent and awe inspiring! It manages a lot of very important human functions, and is usually quite developed in most humans living in this era. This Chakra is the center that oversees the creation of life. The Sanskrit name for the Sacral Chakra translates as feminine creative abode or the seat of life or the dwelling place of the Self. It is “located” in the lower abdomen, just below the navel, and it is typically depicted as being orange in color. (See blog on 1st Chakra for a brief discussion on Chakra colors.)
Developmentally, the 2nd Chakra aids us in rising out of the tribal / group / family mind (1st Chakra) into individual consciousness. With the activation of the Sacral Chakra we begin to develop a sense of personal identity. We learn to put up boundaries and have a sense of personal space. However, because we are still acutely aware of our needs for survival, we begin to develop what I call “relationship consciousness”.
As we move beyond the circle of those with whom we have genetic or familial bonds, we begin to learn the rules governing human relationships. We grow and evolve as we learn about personal choice and consequences; we develop an awareness of male / female polarity; and we discover what we are willing to “sell” ourselves for. In other words, what we are willing to give up in order to be in relationship, and who or what we are willing to become attached to. Such attachments include other people (partners, bosses, parents and children), material possessions and even our physical characteristics (features, body type, physical strength, etc.).
The 2nd Chakra is the center of emotions, sensuality, sexuality, pleasure and creativity. This Chakra helps with our body awareness and aids us in our sense of strength and grounding into the physical body. The Sacral Chakra works on an instinctive level – it activates our sexual desire, warns us of danger (along with the other two “lower” Chakras – the 1st and 3rd) and gives us access to our emotional intuition.
The psychic ability of Clairsentience can be developed by working with the 2nd Chakra. This enables us to sense the feelings, motivations and attachments of others, and also helps us to put ourselves in somebody else’s “emotional shoes”. The energy perception here is an emotional one – we primarily get sensory information through our feelings (you must be familiar with the term “gut instinct”). We can also experience Clairsentience by sensing colors and pictures. This is a fascinating way to work with psychic energy, but the caution here is to be aware that it can result in the absorption of other people’s energy. If too much energy is being routed to the Sacral Chakra, it can become overly active or too open, and this will result in energy being directed away from the other Chakras thereby creating imbalance within the our Chakra system.
In the 1st Chakra blog, I introduced the concept that Chakras store information and energy. The 2nd Chakra is where we store all our memories of relationships (including sexual encounters) and lessons learned through our relationships. The information pertains to all our relationships, particularly with our family of origin, because ultimately the relationship we had with our first family informs our experience of all our other relationships. In other words, the beliefs we grew up with and developed as a consequence of our earliest encounters with our parents and siblings shape the types of relationships we develop later in our lives. For instance if we learned that to survive and receive love, we needed to enmesh ourselves with our parents then we are likely to develop an overly open 2nd Chakra and have a real issue setting boundaries in relationship.
Sometimes traumatic events cause us to freeze these events in our relationship space, in an unconscious and un-integrated way. This ties up our energy in the past and keeps us stuck until the impacts of the events in question are integrated and / or released.
If this Chakra is too open you may:
- have boundary issues i.e. you are swallowed up in a relationship and / or you smother and engulf others
- feel everyone else’s emotions, and absorb these emotions as your own
- be ruled by your own emotions, resulting in frequent dramatic episodes (may include periods of aggression, vengeance, hostility and anger)
- internalize your emotions and become depressed
- hold on to emotions and grief for too long, and be lost in the memories of those you have loved and lost, and / or how you have been mistreated in relationships (holding a grudge)
- be too attached to what you have created (e.g. your children – including living vicariously through them – and home); you may also be overly attached to your possessions
If the Sacral Chakra is closed, you are likely to be at the opposite end in terms of emotionality. In this state, you are likely to feel flat and lifeless, or cold and distant i.e. you are out of touch with your emotions, and perhaps even your sexuality. You may find it difficult to access your creative abilities and have a sense that you are going through life in black and white, without any passion or joie de vivre.
When the 2nd Chakra is out of balance it can lead to sexual dysfunctions. It also stops one from making vibrational connections necessary to attract and maintain love relationships. Further, eating disorders can be a manifestation of an out of balance Sacral Chakra.
Those with balanced 2nd Chakras find it easy to give and receive love, can access and share their creativity, and are able to have healthy relationships (including emotional and sexual intimacy). Also they are able to trust their instincts about other people and maintain appropriate boundaries. They feel confident in their body image and are able to access the healing power of a strong and regenerative physical body.
Please do not despair if this is not where you are currently in your life! The Chakras can be worked with and healed and actually …. The Sacral Chakra is a wonderful one to work with and balance as it responds to emotional and creative self-expression. In other words it is fairly easy to access and transform. My experience is that by working through any emotional trauma or painful memory, you can impact the 2nd Chakra in a very positive way. Sending any kind of energy to this Chakra – Reiki, meditation, visualization, even simply laying hands on the navel – can be extremely comforting, as this is an instinctive doorway into our emotional lives.
Two good affirmations for working with the Sacral Chakra are:
- “I love and honor myself”
- “The Universe provides me with all the love and nurturing I need”
As discussed previously, for those who can meditate or visualize, please continue as with the 1st Chakra by seeing the Sacral Chakra as whole and balanced. Visualize it spinning in a clockwise direction, as this will help to release any blocks. As we are now on the 2nd Chakra, you can add an element to this meditation – by postulating there is an open channel of communication between the 1st and 2nd Chakras to help bring about balance in the entire Chakra system.
Stay tuned for the next installment: Solar Plexus or 3rd Chakra.