Chakra Basics: How to Balance the Second Chakra
It’s been a while since I’ve written about the chakra system, but it’s one of my absolute favorite topics as a yoga teacher! If you don’t know much about the chakra system, I encourage you to backtrack to my first post about chakra one. Chakra one is the stability that allows the other chakras to flourish, so it’s important to understand the first chakra’s energy before moving on.
Since I’ve already discussed the first chakra, we’re going to move onto chakra two, the sacral chakra. Our sacral chakra is a space of sensuality and emotions. The sacral chakra also deals with our creativity, adaptability and the nurturance of ourselves and others. While there’s a lot to unpack when dealing with the second chakra there’s equally as many ways to find balance. Of course, meditation, yoga, and mantra can help balance out the second chakras energy, and while I’ll be touching base about these later on, they are not the only ways we can find balance in our second chakra.
Creativity and Self Expression
Since the second chakra is heavily based in our emotions, and it primarily deals with the reproductive organs, having the abilt to create and express oneself is important. An effective way to keep the second chakra in balance is through creating art. Whether it’s drawing doodles, or making music, art can be a great way to clear out stagnant energy and release our emotions.
Creativity and self expression are not only attributes of the second chakra, but they are also linked to the fifth chakra, our throat chakra. This means that our second and fifth chakra energies are also linked. Similarly to how we need a solid first chakra in order to build the rest up, both our second and fifth chakra need to be in harmony with one another. Often times if we are imbalanced in one, we will be imbalanced in the other.
Stagnancy
Much like fear inhibits the first chakra, stagnancy, inhibits the second chakra. As we journey from the element earth into the element of water, the idea of movement becomes more prominant. Water is always flowing and adabting it’s shape to the shape of it’s surroundings. It is abundant in nature and needs to be moving in order for it to be powerful. Those who may be blocked in their second chakra may be physically rigid, and flustered when things don’t go according to plan.
However, an overabundance of water without a proper container to put it in can be cause for imbalance as well. This is when we see those with an overactive second chakra wearing their heart on their sleeve and overstepping personal and emotional boundaries. In order to have a balanced second chakra we need a solid space for our water to be held. Having a strong, open first chakra is cruscial as the earthly element of the first chakra provides the foundation for our second chakra to flourish.
Yoga and Movement
In order to peel away the layers of the second chakra, we need to create space and add movement. Yoga can be an amazing tool to do so, however, it’s not the only movement that helps. Dancing, gymnastics even just making circles with our hips, can help stir stagnant energy in the second chakra. As we create movement it’s also important to create space in the hips and low back so the second chakra energy has room to flow. Poses that specifically tap into this space are happy baby, skandasana and pigeon pose.
Strengthening VS Stretching
The trick with balancing out the second chakra through Yoga is knowing when to strengthen versus when to stretch. If you or a student is overabundant in the second chakra, then focusing on strength based postures such as trikonasana (triangle pose), Anjaneyasana (crescent lunge), and Parsvottanasana (pyramid pose) will help reign that energy back in.
However, if someone is blocked in the second chakra then focusing on opening up the hips and creating space for energy to flow is important. Practicing more subtle postures such as pigeon, Skandasana, and supta baddha konasana wil help.
It’s also important to keep in mind how sensative the hip space can be. The second chakra resides in a very intimate space within our body and stores our emotional tension. Our psoas muslce, a part of our hip flexor group, is considered to be the seat of our soul. When we are in a state of heightened awareness, or expereincing a fight or flight mode, the first muscle to tense is our psoas. This means that if we have ever experienced a traumatic event, or a high state of emotional distress, we can create habitual tension that is challenging to work through. It’s important to know when to move deeper into your poses, and when to back out and rest. As you move into the second chakra, try to cultivate patience and compassion with your body and mind.
