Chakra Focus: Solar Plexus
I know, I know…I started this series with the third chakra. Well this is what I was called to do in this moment so you’ll just have to go on this wild ride with me if you want to learn about the other 6 major chakras. Besides, yellow is my favorite color :)
A lot of my work surrounds the 7 major chakras, including anything from activation through yoga or cleansing with Reiki. But my favorite way to balance and realign the chakras individually is with ritual. For those of you who aren’t too familiar with the chakras, let me drop some knowledge right quick:
The word chakra can be defined as spinning wheel or energy center. To give you a better visual, imagine 7 spinning vortexes of subtle energy or light that resides along the spine. Chakras are not physical; you cannot physically touch them but they do exist within the body. We all have them, we cannot lose them but depending on what we’re experiencing emotionally, mentally and physically, they may be blocked or misaligned.
The physical body expresses the truth of what you're feeling inside. Your subtle bodies express to you what you need to process, however if you don't respond to the messages you are receiving, the physical manifestation of that truth may become chronic or intense.
For example, if you’ve ever been in a class where you had a big speech coming up but you’re not a fan of public speaking, you may have had knots in your stomach right before it was your turn to present. Or maybe you experienced sudden digestive issues or nausea--those are all signs that your solar plexus, the chakra associated with ego and self esteem is being challenged.
In our yoga practice it is key to direct our energetic life force, or pranayama, upward through the chakras starting with the Root or Muladhara Chakra. The Root Chakra is located near the base of the spine, is associated with parental relationships, survival (food, shelter, water, etc) and grounding. The corresponding color for the Muladhara is red.
Next is the Sacral or Svadisthana Chakra. It rules over the sex organs in the lwoer abdomen and it is associated with intimate relationships and creativity. The corresponding color is orange.
The Solar Plexus or Manipura Chakra, is associated with identity, power and the ego and the corresponding color is yellow.
The Heart or Anahata Chakra rules over unconditional love, compassion and kindness and the color is green.
Next is the Throat or Vissudha Chakra which represents communication, hearing and speaking. The corresponding colors are blue or turquoise.
The Third Eye or Ajña Chakra symbolizes intuition, divine sight and the element of oneness. The colors associated with the Third Eye are purple or indigo.
And at the very top we have the Crown or Sahasrara Chakra which symbolizes our connectedness to the Source Energy or the Universe and the corresponding colors are violet or white.
I briefly mentioned an example of how one would experience an imbalance in the Solar Plexus so let’s dig in a little deeper.
The Solar Plexus, solar meaning sun, represents our internal flame. The word Manipura translates as “jewel in the city” in Sanskrit. If you’ve ever heard the phrase “the fire in your belly” it usually speaks to your willpower or what drives you. If you’re into astrology, you know your Sun Sign is the Zodiac Sign you were born into and it also represents your core identity.
The Manipura Chakra is associated with identity in the sense of who we think others think we are. Our self esteem is intensely tied to this chakra and we may experience this in different ways: Like being very shy or reserved, unable to express one’s will or opinion. In contrast, selfishness, competitiveness and overconfidence can also be associated with the Solar Plexus.
The types of relationships associated with this chakra are with colleagues, coworkers, peers and bosses as career and community contribution are a focal point for the third chakra. How we carry on in these spaces is directly affected by our ego. A common misconception is that in order to ascend or reach enlightenment, we must experience ego-death. However, the ego is necessary for us to operate within the world. If we want to change the world for the better (that’s the whole point of everything--am I right?), our ego must remain intact. The key is to refine the ego so that we may project the warmth of the heart through the light of the sun.
In other words, if we move from a space of unconditional love (the Heart Chakra) and express that through the Solar Plexus in the form of how we contribute to our community, then we may find balance within the Manipura.
In our yoga practice, twisting poses are good for the 3rd chakra. By twisting the abdomen we are wringing out the toxins in our digestive system and in turn wringing out the ego. What’s great is there are standing, seated and supine twisting poses.
Another way to nourish the Manipura is with food. We all have a different relationship with food but in general, eating healthy will nourish the Manipura whereas satisfying those cravings for junk foods (you know, your favorite late night snacks) may not have the same effects. When we have cravings we should consider what that food represents to us individually and then see if we can achieve the same result in another way without satisfying the cravings.
A helpful meditation practice for this chakra would be to simply ask yourself, “Self, what in life do I desire? What makes you happy?” Listen to the first answer that comes up as that’s your intuition speaking rather than your rational mind. And once you have your answer, ask yourself, “Self, how can I create more of that in my life?”
