Chakra WISDOM: Your Swadhisthana Chakra

The WISDOM podcast  Season 2  Episode 74

 

Welcome to this beautiful series and a journey through the sacred centers of wisdom called chakras.

As we dive into the realm of our second chakra, we encounter emotions and sexuality. Where the first chakra centers around survival and structure, the focus here is all about movement, creativity, and flow. The Sacral or Swadhisthana Chakra governs the energy of creativity, pleasure, sex, procreation, control and morality. It also presides over dreams and fantasies.

The second chakra is located in the lower abdomen. The color of this chakra is bright orange. Its glow fills the pelvis, bathing the sexual organs, enlivening our desire and capacity for pleasure.

As I share the sacred wisdom of this Chakra, I lean to a wonderful book titled: The Rainbow Journey: Seven Steps to Self-Healing, Dr. Brenda Davies, Coronet Books; Hodder and Stoughton. 1998. Years earlier, I would find a used copy of this book. It was very worn and the spine had let go, and yet I saw it as a ‘sweet’ find and it continues to be a wonderful resource and guide to the chakra system. I’ll leave a link for it in the description.

I purposefully use the word ‘sweet’ as the Sanskrit word Swadhisthana has many translations – ‘the sacred home’, ‘the sweet place’ and ‘the goddess’ favorite standing place” because here at the second chakra it is about allowing pleasure and joy in the many experiences of life. As I share with you the teachings of this Chakra, I also reference and take direct quotes from Anodea Judith’s book: Eastern Body Western Mind: Psychology and the Chakra System as a Path to the Self and I’ll link up her work here for you also, as she is an esteemed expert in the Chakras.

 

I’ll begin with a brief review in the case that you are joining me here for the first time in this series, and I’ll leave a link for last week’s episode on the Muladhara or Root Chakra so you that can have a listen.

Our bodies are a complex configuration of energy. We also have 72,000 “nadis,” or energy channels (think of them like highways) along which vital energy, or “prana,” travels. When the nadis meet at different points in the body, they form a triangle. The Sanskrit word for this triangle is ‘chakra’ and it literally translates as “wheel” or “disk”, referring to a spinning sphere of bioenergetic activity emanating from the major nerve ganglia branching forward from the spinal column.

There are seven of these wheels stacked in a column of energy that spans from the base of the spine to the top of the head. (image) There are also minor chakras in the hands, feet, fingertips, and shoulders for a total of 114 chakras throughout the body. It is believed that each of the seven major chakras correlate with basic states of consciousness. Here and in the next next several episodes, we will examine each energy center and its relation to us and our life.

If we look back to the earthy energy of the root chakra, it gives us a good base upon which to stand; we learn to ground, stabilize and focus. The work we’ve done has helped develop a relationship with our self (and a healthy sense of self), and we can now begin to expand and grow – and to look outwards, towards having healthy and positive relationships with others.

The swadhisthana chakra energy is associated with the second layer of the aura. It is associated with the element of water and also energizes and balances those organs associated with the movement of fluid, namely the renal system (kidneys, ureters and bladder), the lymphatics, and to some extent blood circulation. Its function is to keep everything gently moving, ebbing, and flowing.

The qualities of water epitomize this chakra’s nature: liquid, flowing, flexible – adaptive. Water also has cleansing and purifying properties, which is appropriate, because when this chakra’s energy becomes unbalanced or blocked, it can be the result of feeling of having done something wrong, or shame.

 

This chakra is also the seat of your creativity. If you keep in mind the concept of sacred as you give attention to this chakra, you’ll feel the gentle push of energy rising up through you. This is the first flow of inspiration as the higher centers are also stimulated into action.

 

When the swadhisthana chakra is open and balanced, you grow and expand: you allow yourself to feel and to be sensitive, mindful, intuitive, idealistic, and full of dreams, plans and healthy desires. Remember that your creative impulses originate here at your sacral chakra. In balance you are adaptive, accept change and easily respond with ‘the flow’ of life.

 

Movement and change stimulate consciousness. By moving the body, we build muscle tissue, increase circulation, stimulate nerve endings, and generally enhance the body’s flexibility and aliveness. The flow of pleasure and excitation through the nervous system baths the organism in sensation and awareness. Movement has its own pleasure.

However, if life is in constant flux, if you experience an inability to ground yourself or set healthy boundaries; if you have a tendency to become over-dramatic and emotional; your sacral chakra may be unbalanced. or if you spend a great deal of time in fantasy and daydream states, or attaching too much importance to gratifying sensual tastes it can be difficult to taste life’s sweetness, since nothing seems good enough, and depression can ensue.

You may feel as if you have no choice, no ability to change and no initiative. Creatively, you may suffer from a type of writer’s block. Some people with an unbalanced sacral chakra seem over-emotional; others become insensitive to their own emotional needs and those of others, and may be unable to express feelings. Blocked or imbalanced sacral-chakra energy can also bring denial of pleasure and fear of sex, and can manifest in unyielding, self-imposed boundaries, including extreme exercise, and diet practices.

Also, consider what pleasures you enjoy that may create an imbalance or an excess that actually block your creative vibe. Think: overeating or eating poor quality food or binge eating; binge drinking or any pleasure to excess; and also think about what you may be doing or not doing that constraints your creative flow. Restricting or self-punishment either in an effort to find your balance after overindulging or simply holding yourself back from enjoying life’s simple pleasures can suppress your creativity and the flow of life that we all need to experience.

When you need to connect with this chakra; when you need to better assess what you need, try this: Place one hand just below your navel, onto your sacral chakra and notice the beautiful balancing that occurs here as you breath for a few minutes; as you connect with the energy of these both as you connect with your creativity and your capacity for being love.

Physically, the sacral chakra governs the body’s liquid elements: blood, lymph, mucus, semen, urine and saliva. It is the seat of kidney energy (regarded in Chinese medicine as the basic vigor of life) and maintains the kidneys, bladder, urinary, reproductive and circulatory systems. Health issues associated with blocked swadhisthana energy include hardening of the arteries, varicose veins, anaemia, kidney and bladder problems, menstrual ailments, and impotence.

 

Something interesting to note: opening the sacral chakra is not about enhancing sexuality. Achieving balance means directing sexual energy so that it becomes a force of awareness.

Sexual healing involves our entire approach to life. To achieve sexual healing is to engage with life fully on an emotional/sensate level – to make love with our eyes and ears and noses; to embrace our yearning for poetry, texture, and closeness; to become intimate with the subtle nuances of the inner self. Sexual healing cannot occur in isolation, as healthy sex involves many levels of consciousness. It cannot be separated from emotional healing, for it opens up the emotions. It also requires a balance between containment and flow; from moving from the mechanical activity of sex into the numinous quality of Eros. Sexual healing involves reweaving the union of sexuality and Eros and bringing sex back into the realm of the divine.

Healing emotional wounds helps restore appropriate discrimination and trust so we can surrender to feeling once again. The goal of Eros is to enhance and connect, but we must first have the trust and grounding of the root chakra and the emotional confidence of the second chakra to open fully to this enhancement.

Sex without Eros is empty and mechanical. Sexuality infused with Eros brings the divine into the act of pleasure, drawing us upward and outward. Sexual healing by nature, involves another person – a sacred lover with whom there is trust and patience, understanding and skill.

 

When dealing with sexual issues, it is important to be able to stop at any point in the experience and have our lover encourage us to process whatever we are feeling at that moment. When a partner falls into numbness, mechanical routines, or fear, it is time to stop and say, “what are you feeling right now? How can I help?” As sex brings us into the most intimate and vulnerable experiences of our lives, the sexual arena is often where our deepest feelings arise. This is profound ground for healing in general.

Sexual healing is not limited to the second chakra. The sexual experience enhances and is affected by each of the other chakras. Our relationship to the health of our bodies is the important contribution from chakra one. From the third chakra, a healthy ego and sense of power allows us to remain centred and balanced in our engagement with others. The fourth chakra, with its emphasis on relationships, has an obvious impact on sexuality. Healthy relationship with open hearts and clear communication (chakra five) only enhances sexual connection. Imagination (chakra six) plays a powerful role in sexual enhancement, as does the ability to experience sex as a spiritual union (seventh chakra).

Sexual healing brings the sacred back into the sexual act. It is a mutual workship of the divine within, a restoring of wholeness through the unfolding of pleasure, and a nourishment of the soul in preparation for the rest of the chakra journey.

In healing the second chakra, you reclaim your right to feel. You also reclaim passion and pleasure, neediness and vulnerability, and your sensate connection to both inner and outer reality. You free the flow of dynamic energy that is essential for growth, change, and transformation and release the armour that separates you. You can then reclaim the intimacy that you long for, ending fragmented isolation.

A balanced second chakra has a deep emotional core that is grounded enough to be contained and open enough to flow and connect. Healing our wounds in this chakra creates the necessary emotional depth for developing true power, compassion, creativity, insight, and awareness – all aspects that are ahead of us on the chakra journey.

 

Some of the healing practices available for this chakra are: movement therapy, emotional release or containment as appropriate, inner child work, work on boundaries, programs for healing from addictions, assigning healthy pleasures, and developing sensate intelligence; this is the ability to sense your needs intuitively.

Guidance for WORKING WITH SWADHISTHANA ENERGY:
Ask yourself the following questions. These highlight the ways in which to unblock swadhisthana energy.

* Am I open to positive change? How can I make myself more so?
* Am I greedy for sensation or experience? How can I enjoy life better without becoming addicted to its pleasures?
* Is my outlook on life overly emotional, or too negative?
* How can I become more fearless without becoming reckless? What self-imposed fears or anxieties can I begin to overcome today?
* If I feel swamped (a sign of excessive swadhisthana energy), how can I ground myself?

Joy in the material as well as the ephemeral helps to satisfy us and make us feel complete. The movement is toward incorporating new things, human and material into our lives. The sense associated with the sacral chakra is that of taste. The idea is to go out and taste and enjoy not only your food but also the world and all it has to offer.

To allow yourself to have what you need is a positive means of providing support to yourself. You can understand your desires and interpret them correctly about what you really want or need. For example, if you think you want food, and you pause to examine this, you may realize that you are not hungry. Yet, you have the need for something. As you contemplate and explore this need further, you may discover that you’re bored, or angry, or tired. You recognize that there are more appropriate actions for you to take than eating. Perhaps you intuitively feel a need to meditate, or go for a walk, be in nature, talk through or journal your anger, or ask someone for a hug. Growing up, if you (like so many others) were given a treat of something sweet to pacify you, you may be missing out on one of the essential cognitive steps and thus you go directly to food or a type of food, rather than look at the cause of your discomfort.

The important thing to recognize is that if you feel you need something, then you do. Generally finding what you need and what gives you pleasure has the dual function of pointing you in the direction of which you truly need, and satisfying your need.

AFFIRMATIONS FOR THE SACRAL CHAKRA may include:

*I deserve pleasure in my life.
* I absorb information from my feelings.
* I embrace and celebrate my sexuality.
* My sexuality is sacred.
* I move easily and effortlessly.
* Life is pleasurable.

And one of my favorite mantras for this second chakra: “I am in flow with all of life.”

 

Be sure to take part in the guided meditation that closes out this episode.  It is a beautiful experience in balancing the beautiful sacred energy of this chakra. ?‍? Namaste!

Resources on the Swadhisthana Chakra:

Eastern Mind Western Body: Psychology and the Chakra System as a Path to the Self – Author: Anodea Judith

The Rainbow Bridge: Seven Steps to Self Healing – Author: Dr. Brenda Davies

What are Chakras?

The Origin of the Chakra System

How Do You Balance the Sacral Chakra

The Muladhara Chakra [Podcast Episode]  

Sharing the wisdom and beauty of divine love with you…

Namaste!

If you have a question or if you would like my guidance or help, please reach out to me:  dorothy@dorothyratusny.com

Find all Episodes of The WISDOM podcast here  

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More Resources and Love:

* This Is What Therapy Can Do For You [Podcast Episode]

* The Power of Saying “I’m Sorry” [Podcast Episode]

* The Ultimate Self-Love WISDOM toolkit

A generous ‘thank you’ to Audio Engineer, P. Kirpikau  radioplato

Podcast Theme Music: ‘Aura’ from the Album, Illuvia by Eternellwww.eternell.net/album/illuvia

Accompanying Music: Eternell, ‘Home’ & ‘Planes’