Manipura - The Navel Chakra

This chakra is extremely complex.  It is the chakra of the mind, ruling rational thought, discernment and individuality.  Yet it is also a very physical chakra, governing the digestive system, liver and spleen as well as the back.  It is the chakra from which our moral judgements emerge, and from which we draw the moral courage to stand up for what we believe in.

 Manipura is known as the solar plexus or navel centre, and is situated at the umbilicus. It is in close association with the coelic or solar plexus. It is related to the element of fire. When the basic needs of the first and second chakras are satisfied, then another factor appears in the third chakra, Manipura, which is power. In the lowest chakra, matter meets with matter. In the second chakra woman meets with man. In the third, leader meets with follower.

The Sanskrit name, Manipura, can translate as ‘jewel in the city’ and the jewel it refers to is the mind.  When our solar plexus chakra is in balance, our mind is also in balance.  We are in control of ourselves and the challenges and decisions that we face in life.   As well as being warm in nature, people with balanced solar plexus chakras tend to have a healthy intuition, they can generally rely on their hunches or ‘gut instincts’, and they can express themselves well.

With a balanced solar plexus we are also discerning, disciplined and assertive, and we face life’s challenges with courage and integrity.  Our ego will no longer need continual gratification.  We will discover a moderation in thought and action; we are able to listen to people without being overwhelmed by them.  We instinctively find a comfortable relationship with the world.  Our character becomes gemlike: solid, multifaceted and filled with life.

The fire in this chakra gives us our ‘glow’, burnishes our ego, and illuminates our mind; it helps us to see the world around us clearly.  This fire also creates the necessary heat for the metabolism of food, cellular transactions and thought. We will feel greater self-respect, self-compassion, and be assertive and confident. 

On the other hand, an overly dominant solar plexus leads to bullying, egotistical and aggressive behaviour.  These people believe they are always right and get angry easily, and seek to control others through their anger. A weak solar plexus chakra results in depression, guilt and lack of confidence; it becomes hard for us to see our life clearly, leading to feelings of heightened vulnerability.

Because the solar plexus is the centre of the intellect and decision-making, it is important for the health and development of this chakra that we make our own choices, rather than have them made for us.  The development of the solar plexus is hindered if we have a feeling of powerlessness in life.

We can have, be and do anything we choose in our life, anything, we just have to choose wisely and believe in ourselves – we shouldn’t settle for second best.  This chakra is a powerful receiver and transmitter of energy, as we give, so we receive, so balance is essential here.  

If we are giving out feelings of being a failure then this will be reflected straight back at us. If we give out feelings of being a success then this will be reflected straight back at us.  Give to ourselves first and foremost otherwise we won’t have anything to give to others.

Physical imbalances include digestive problems, liver dysfunction, stomach ulcers, chronic fatigue, high blood pressure, diabetes, pancreas and gallbladder issues and colon disease. Emotional imbalances include issues of personal power and self-esteem, fears of rejection and criticism, and anxiety about physical appearances.

There are a few practical things we can do to help to energise/balance this area including:

 ·       Wearing yellow;

·       Wearing/holding amber, citrine, and/or yellow aventurine;

·       Ayurveda and following Ayurvedic diet and lifestyle choices to promote healthy digestion and balanced digestive fire;

·       Scaravelli-inspired yoga, with its emphasis on self-compassion and truly honouring the body’s wisdom;

·       Reiki;

·       Gentle massage around the navel centre using a base oil to suit such as coconut oil;

·       Doing things that are joyful and fun;

·       Weeding, planting and growing – getting your hands in the earth and being in nature;

·       Resting, enjoying a Yoga Nidra for example;

·       Gentle exercise.

·       Abdominal breathing;

·       Burning sage;

·       Watching sunset/sunrise (just be aware whether sunrise might over stimulate);

·       Listening to beautiful music.

Colour: yellow

Element: Fire

Sense organ: Eyes

Yantra: Ram

 Bija seed Mantra: The red triangular mandala at its centre contain the primordial element of fire. It has ten petals

Related plexus and organs: coeliac or solar plexus and pancreas

Balanced attributes: Greater self-worth and self-respect, self-compassion, confidence, learn from mistakes, healthy boundaries, personal power, assertive and confident, divine will.

Examples of possible chakra deficiency or excess: Feeling overwhelmed and at mercy of fate, loneliness, ego centred, digestive disorders, issues of personal power and self-esteem, fears of rejection, criticism, anxiety about physical appearances. 

Swadhisthana - The Sacral Chakra

The sacral chakra is orange, and balances the red of the physical energy with the yellow of the mental energy. It is known as Swadhisthana in Sanskrit, the chakra of procreation. It is situated in between the genitals, about two inches below the navel. This chakra is related to the element of water and is related to the sense organ of the tongue.  

This chakra is the most feminine of the seven chakras.  It is profoundly connected with fertility and is ruled by the moon, which pulls not only the seas and oceans, but also the waters within our own bodies.  

 The sacral chakra is the seat of creativity and is linked to taste in the broadest sense – our likes and dislikes.  It is also the seat of our emotions and is closely linked to pleasure, attraction and, in particular, sexuality.

When this chakra is out of balance nothing and no one is ever enough.  Life has no constancy.  We feel fragmented and volatile.  Our desires dominate and oblige us to seek satisfaction through the senses – sex, food, material possessions, status.  An out-of-balance sacral chakra brings about guilt, self-pity, manipulative behaviour and envy. 

If the chakra is too open, we may forget our own needs and occupy so much with the needs of others that we end up feeling like a martyr.  Lack of balance can also give rise to sexual/fertility problems, jealousy and obsession.

Physical imbalances may include sexual and reproductive issues, urinary problems including kidney dysfunctions, hip, pelvic and lower back pain. Emotional imbalances include an inability to commit to relationships, failure to express emotions, fears of impotence and betrayal and addictions. 

A balanced sacral chakra is characterised by physical fluidity and grace. People with a balanced sacral chakra tend to be friendly, open and trusting, in touch with their feelings and able to express them, willing to see the positive rather than the negative, and able to turn problems into challenges.

People with a balanced sacral chakra also feel able to take risks, they are in touch with their creativity, have no fear of commitment, are passionate about life, sexually confident and outgoing. 

In essence, it is sexual expression – the most powerful and fundamental of our creative energies - that characterises the sacral chakra.  It guides our sexual identity, our ability to bond with a partner and to take pleasure in our sexuality.  

When in balance it gives us profound sexual and emotional happiness.  It is worth reflecting that the word ‘sacral’ comes from the same root as ‘sacred’.  Sex is not meant to be a casual, meaningless event, but nor is it meant to induce guilt.  Rather with openness and empathy, it is something that brings great joy and pleasure – the lover meets the beloved on the physical plane. 

If we are not using this energy internally then we need to be expressing our sacral energy externally through writing, drawing, painting, singing, anything that encourages our creativity and encourages the energy to flow strongly and smoothly.  

 This chakra is situated in the bowl of the pelvis, directly over the ovaries and testes.  It governs the spleen, reproductive organs, kidneys, bladder and all the bodily fluids.  In order to find lightness and balance in this chakra we must seek to balance the pelvis. 

 There are a few practical things we can do to help to energise/balance this area including:

·       Wearing orange;

·       Movement, this area of the body loves movement, so get moving!;

·       Yoni yoga is a blessing for this chakra, getting in touch with your inner goddess;

·       Connecting with the moon and noticing how her cycles affect how you feel;

·       Connecting with your menstrual cycle if you are menstruating, or your cycles post-menopausal (‘Code Red’ by Lisa Lister is a helpful read, also anything by Alexandra Pope, Dr Christiane Northrup and Uma Dinsmore-Tuli);

·       Ayurveda, especially if you are experiencing menstrual, fertility issues or menopausal issues; 

·       Reiki;

·       Journaling as a way of expressing your feelings and emotions;

·       Water, bathing in water, with some essential oils, particularly ylang ylang and neroli;

·       Massaging this area of the body, using oils, coconut oil or another carrier oil, perhaps using essential oils (patch test first);

·       Sage, burn sage to cleanse your energy;

·       Holding, wearing or putting carnelian in your pocket can also help. 

·       Dipping in the White Spring at Glastonbury and visiting any ancient sites of the Goddess;

·       Prioritising time to do what you enjoy doing – those things you feel passionate about;

·       Honouring your body and this area of the body especially – seeing the sacred in it, not giving it away.

·       Taking steps to address any sexual abuse or trauma.

Colour: Orange

Element: Water

Sense organ: Tongue

Yantra: A white crescent moon at its centre and six petals

Bija seed mantra: Vam

Related plexus and organs: Upper hypogastric plexus and ovaries and adrenal glands.

Balanced attributes: Creative, adaptable, flexible, delight in pleasure and life’s gifts.

Examples of possible chakra deficiency or excess: Feeling of separation, creative blocks, compulsive behaviour, arrogance.

Muladhara - the root/base chakra

The root chakra is red in the visible spectrum red has the longest wavelength. It is called Muladhara in Sanskrit, also known as the root centre. It is situated in the perineum, at the base of the spinal column. This chakra is related to the element of earth, and the sense organ is the nose.

This is the chakra of survival. We need food, water and air to survive. We also need sleep and shelter to fulfil our basic needs. In this root chakra there is sex energy. This is the chakra of material existence. It is also the grounding chakra, the one that connects us to the earth and our own physicality. 

Muladhara chakra is our source of stability and grounding that comes from deep connection to the earth and to our roots.  When it is out of balance this affects everything related to our personal stability, safety and security.  It controls how we deal with money, our body and our family: our roots.

An imbalanced root chakra, which is low in vital energy may mean that we may experience emotional imbalances and suffer from low self-esteem, feel out of touch with our body and sexuality, we may constantly worry about money, never feel satisfied with our work or home and have issues around food. It can also lead to self-destructive or addictive behaviour such as eating disorders, smoking, drug taking etc.

It can also cause illnesses such as degenerative arthritis, knee pain, lower back pain, depression, sciatica, constipation and issues with male reproductive parts and the prostate gland. There may be problems in the legs, feet, rectum, tailbone and immune system generally.  

On the other hand, a root chakra which is imbalanced by being too strong can lead to isolation, materialism, bullying behaviour or selfishness.

When this chakra is balanced we feel supported, grounded, physically secure in the physical world, confident, connected, and healthy and happy with our body and sexuality. We trust the universe to take care of us and the world does not seem a scary place to live. We begin to realise that just for today we have a roof over our head, food on the table and some money in our pocket. Life is great – all our primary needs are met.

Physically, the root chakra is located at the base of the spine between the pubic bones, tailbone and sitting bones.  Its centre is the perineum, in the middle of the pelvic floor between the anus and genitals.  

The pelvic floor is influenced and affected by the muscles of the legs and the feet. The integrity of the pelvic floor depends on the proper alignment of the legs and the balance of the feet, which act like the roots of a plant.  We need our feet and legs to be alive and balanced in order to find grounding and stability.

There are a few practical things we can do to help to energise this area including:

·       Wearing red, especially red socks;

·       Eat grounding and warming foods such as soups;

·       Hugging trees;

·       Getting hands in the earth, planting, weeding, growing vegetables and flowers etc;

·       Walk barefoot on the earth or on the beach;

·       Sea swimming;

·       Spending time in nature connecting with the earth can also make a huge difference;

·       Yoga;

·       Reiki;

·       Ayurveda;

·       Holding, wearing or putting red jasper in your pocket can also help. 

In short, to build a solid life, we need a solid base.

Colour: Red

Element: Earth

Sense organ: Nose

Yantra: It has in its centre a triangle, from which the sushsumna begins and which (the sushsumna) end at the top of the head, has four crimson-coloured petals. 

Bija seed mantra: Lam 

Related plexus and organs: Sacral, coccygeal plexus and testes

Balanced attributes: Stamina, vitality, physical health, patience, ability to manifest dreams, inner security.

 Possible chakra deficiency or excess: lack of energy, little enthusiasm, obsessive worrying, impatience, hyperactivity.

The Chakras

I love working with the chakras, it has underpinned my work for many years now and I am always keen to share them with others, be that through yoga, Reiki and/or Ayurveda. I thought it about time that I blogged about them again, in case they should be of interest to you, or you might learn something helpful or interesting by exploring more of your own chakra system.

Basically, the chakras are wheels of energy that form the energy system in the human body. There are seven of them in total (the magic seven!), and they are responsible for overall health, providing a sense of mental, physical, emotional and spiritual well-being. 

The chakras are also junctions of consciousness (mind) and the physical body, nourishing particular organs and controlling various psycho-physiological pathways. They are responsible for transporting neuro-electrical and spiritual energies of the spinal cord and also for conveying stimuli from the higher centres (for example the brain, pituitary gland) to the lower organs.

Furthermore, the chakras correlate with the endocrine system (hormone system) and therefore a chakra imbalance will present as a problem within the endocrine system e.g. thyroid gland or ovaries etc. The endocrine imbalance happens as a result of chakra imbalance, not the other way around, and therefore you are always encouraged to get to the energetic imbalance if you hope to heal the physical manifestation of that imbalance.

An imbalance in a chakra is created by an obstruction in the energy flow. This might be caused by deep buried memories within the subconscious mind from childhood trauma, or from tension build up at the chakras, which can affect posture, metabolism, emotional state and breathing for example. Physical ailments may develop by the chronic repeated obstruction to energy flow. 

When one chakra is blocked, the other chakras begin to compensate and either become overactive or under-active and you might start to notice issues arising here too. That’s the reason it is so important to truly get to the root cause of any physical complaint and consider the energetic imbalance. 

This can be addressed through yoga, Reiki and Ayurveda. In many respects I have found Ayurveda to be the most powerful modality, because it works not only through diet and lifestyle, but incorporates massage, yoga asana and pranayama too, working on physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and energetic levels simultaneously.  Like with any holistic approach to healing, you will need to take responsibility and do the work, no one can do it for you. Plus it can take time!

I think this is often the greatest obstacle to our healing. We have a tendency to want the quick fix approach, forgetting that it may have taken years of living out of balance with our innate wisdom which has led to our loss of wellbeing in the first place.  It will take time and it will demand our attention, if we truly wish to heal, then we must be prepared to look into the shadows and reclaim those fragmented and lost parts of self. We have to be truthful with our selves. 

This is the reason I love working with the chakras though, because the transformation is very real, and deep, you can’t get much deeper than working energetically, because this underpins everything, and connects us through all our lifetimes, so that past life stuff can come up too. It’s all in there! The more you work with the chakras the more life makes sense and the more you can live a life of freedom and genuine sustained contentment. 

The root chakra will follow…

xxx

Crown Charka - Sahasrana

VIOLET WHITE: the purest symbol of light and life.

Sahasrana, like Ajna, is beyond the considerations of the body.  It opens when all the other Chakras are in balance.

This Chakra represents knowing your true path and living your life accordingly.  It is far removed from the root Chakra’s will to survive.  Some people describe the opening of the crown Chakra as a surrender to the Divine will, or being as one with the Universe.  The ego withers and is replaced by a universal consciousness.

The crown Chakra sees life entirely from a spiritual perspective.  When it is closed or there is a block, there is a refusal to engage in or even believe in the spiritual. This complete denial can often lead to arrogance and materialism.

Because the crown Chakra gives life meaning, your life generally takes a completely new direction when it is open.  And that direction comes from a new sense of purpose: the purpose of life and of your soul.  By honouring your true self, you love and honour the rest of creation.  This Chakra sees through the delusions of the ego and views them and the rest of life with a certain detachment.  It creates an inner calm that often draws others to you.

The crown Chakra is on top of the head – in newborn babies this spot is called the fontanel, or the soft spot.  By opening yourself up to the spirit of creation, you learn your true purpose, you receive guidance on your spiritual path and you are able to recognise soul mates.  Often you see the world through new eyes, viewing it with a sense of wonder that you last knew when you were a child.

You begin to understand that life is glorious just the way it is, that everybody is where they are at right now because – consciously or unconsciously – they chose to be there, in that very place, in that very position.  Everything is perfect – it can’t be any other way. With peaceful serenity others will be drawn to you in the midst of their own struggles and from this vantage point you may well be able to see the bigger picture for them and be able to support and guide them without getting emotionally involved.

You are deeply connected to the Divine and you know that this is what physical life is all about, the cut and thrust, there are no accidents, if people wanted to lead different lives then they would be leading them, everyone is free to choose, only most people don’t know it.  And whether we recognize it or not, we all yearn for oneness with the Divine and, through the crown Chakra, we may sometimes make that ultimate connection.

To energise this Chakra, eat all the colours of the spectrum type foods, preferably raw and 70% water content.  Plus you could wear white and bring white flowers into your life, or hold crystal quartz.

In terms of yoga, if you can sit in lotus then do so, but if not sit however is comfortable for you. Close your eyes and meditate on your breath.  Notice the breath going in and the breath going out and every time you notice that you have started thinking, say to yourself, "thinking" and gently bring your awareness back to your breath. And again when you notice that you have started thinking, say to yourself "thinking" and gently draw your awareness back to your breath.

There are many other things you can do to deepen your connection to the Divine -  visit spiritual places like Cathedrals and churches and sit silently and feel the energy, or touch the stones and feel their energy.  You can do the same with standing stones or other forms of Pagan worship.  Take yourself to somewhere peaceful in nature and sit silently and feel the energy be that a Mountain, a river, a beach or in the middle of rural fields.

One of the best ways to connect with the Divine and open your crown Chakra is through prayer. My life changed considerably, in a much more positive, supported and soulful way when I began to pray in earnest. I'm not religious as such but I recognise the Divine in all life. We are all Divine Beings and recognising this not only provides much comfort but allows one to know the oneness and connection of all life. Its simple!

In terms of