This week, let's explore the funnest chakra of them all, in my opinion, the sacral chakra.
Its right is to feel.
Its element is water.
Its color is orange.
This is the seat of our passion, creativity, emotions, pleasure, sensuality and sexuality.
We have the right to feel, we have the right to be sexual beings and we have the right to experience pleasure. Sometimes, in some cultures and religious belief systems, these rights have been denied, thought as sinful, shameful, or even as a hindrance to spiritual development. As with all chakras, we have the potential to be deficient/ blocked, balanced, or even excessive. Let's explore a bit further...
Our right to feel
How often have we heard "don't be so sensitive!" big girls/ boys don't cry" or "keep calm and carry on"? All of these phrases condition us to repress or ignore our emotions as if our emotions are something we should overcome, not feel or express. How many of us know that one person who always seems to be so strong no matter what is happening to them. They never cry even when things are at their worse, they never seem to lose their temper, even if they have been wronged or treated unjustly, they are never stressed or they never seem to worry at all. I bet we find them exemplary human beings. Someone who we may even strive to be like. But are they feeling anything at all? Sure they might not be so affected by the 'negative feelings' but what about the good ones. Does being so stoic all the time come with consequences?
Our emotions are essential to living a full, authentic, and fulfilling life. They are signposts that must not be ignored, nor shall they be all-consuming either. Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize, feel, understand, use, and manage our emotions so that we can better communicate, empathize and connect with others, find our way through challenges, and ultimately mature and grow. Learning how our emotions are not a hindrance, but very valuable and helpful is one of the keys to a healthy second chakra.
Our right to feel also correlates to being able to engage in our senses. When we are engaging in our senses, we are in our body, in the moment, and perhaps even experiencing pleasure - which we will discuss now.
Our right to pleasure
Pleasure can sometimes be a dirty word, meaning we collectively, have a lot of guilt around pleasure. Diet culture has made us afraid of enjoying our food, we may feel guilty for taking time off work, for indulging in a little Netflix, for enjoying a glass of wine with a meal mid-week, singing along to cheesy pop music, or whatever it may be. We often hear the word 'guilty pleasure' so it's no wonder why guilt and pleasure seem to go hand in hand. Of course, we have to, like everything, know how to manage our pleasure. Too much of anything isn't a good thing, but neither is too little. What is life if we don't allow ourselves pleasure? It is in fact, our biggest driving force, we can not deny that. In yoga, we talk a lot about not being attached to pleasure, but that doesn't mean don't ever allow yourself pleasure. Eat the ice cream on a warm day, just know the ice cream will finish and when it does, be satisfied with the pleasure had, don't get up and get another one! Excessive pleasure is gluttony and greed. That is also an imbalance.
We do what we enjoy and what we enjoy the most, we become passionate about. When we are doing things that feel good, that we are passionate about, we are happier and more fulfilled. Even the hard things we must do in life, in the end, must lead to something that brings us pleasure and joy, or else we won't be motivated enough to do them, and when we are passionate enough about something, that passion carries us through the difficult moments without giving up. Pleasure leads to passion, passion leads to success.
Our right to sexuality
Apart from its very basic function to procreate and expand our species, there is something very powerful when we claim our right to our sacred sexuality. The ancient yogis understood the intensity of our sexual energy and how, if used correctly can transcend us beyond our own egos and connect us to our divinity. It literally is an act of connection of the deepest kind. It's beautiful, and we all do it, yet there can be a lot of guilt, shame, and trauma around it. Reclaiming our right to our sacred sexuality can be transformational at any stage in our life. Our sacred sexuality ties it all together, the emotions, the pleasure and it is the foundation to creativity. Sexual energy is creative energy! That doesn't mean you have to be making love every day to be more creative, actually, many artists and even athletes will do the opposite knowing that sometimes, we have to contain that energy so it can be harnessed and used to enhance their performance.
Be like water
The element of the sacral chakra is water and when we are balanced in this chakra, we should be as adaptable, flexible, and fluid just like water. We don't fear change, we are able to go with the flow. We can easily recreate, rebuild and rediscover ourselves again and again not attaching to who or what we once were or had. We understand the twist and turns of life like a river that is making its way from the mountain top to the sea. We trust deeply that even the biggest obstacle can be overcome and we enjoy the ride.
Again, as with everything, we can have too little, too much, or be just right in the middle. What we want to achieve is the middle path, a healthy balance.
Here are just a few examples of what it might look like to be deficient, balanced, or excessive in the sacral chakra.
The good news is, there are many ways to reconnect with the second chakra, the sacral chakra, and work on re-establishing balance.
That's all for now. Tune in next week for the third chakra, the solar plexus.
Comments