Explaining sacral chakra,balancing chakras,chakra chart,healing.
| Location: | Coccyx / Coccyx |
| Color: | Orange |
| Tatva: | Apa (Water) |
| Beej Mantra: | VAM |
| Keywords: | Intimacy, relationship, desires, sharing, sexuality, reproduction, subconscious |
| Vayu: | Vyana |
| Yantra: | Crescent Moon |
| Shape: | Lotus with six petals |
| Ruling Diety: | Lord Varuna |
| Planet associated: | Moon |
| Weekday associated: | Monday |
| Granthi associated: | Brahma Granthi |
Swadhisthana is the amalgamation of the two words swa and adhisthan meaning under ones own control. The whole of chakra forms an aura of dazzling vermilion colour. This colour is a combination of red and purple. It is the chakra of creativity, pure attention and pure knowledge. It is connects us to the inner source of inspiration, and enables us to experience the beauty around us. The pure knowledge given by this chakra is not mental, but it is direct perception of the reality, that can be felt in our palms and indicates our subtle blockages. Also this is the center of pure, steady attention and power of concentration.
Healers Perspective
Mental / Emotional / Psychological aspects:
It is attributed to element water, which is fluid and mobile. This water reflects the shadow of a cresent moon. This represents the purity of love and affection. The calmer the water, the better is relationship between two persons. When open this chakra permits deep intimacy and connection. when blocked, feelings and sexuality remain disconnected. Impotence and frigidity usually, are found to have psychological components. This chakra stands for the pleasure principle and that is most often routed through food and sex. Imbalances have been observed often in this chakra due to either over indulgence or complete abstinence.
It is a doorway to unconscious mind which stores all memories, both pleasant and unpleasant. The unconscious mind is often symbolised by the light of the moon, which is illuminated only by reflected light. This centre is represented on the kabbalistic tree of life by the sphere of the moon. Opening this chakra can release a torrent of powerful images into dream life. Greater access to the personal unconscious brings a sharpened intuition which has a wisdom of its own. Often, the memory of sexual violation is repressed, but its destructive effects manifest in behaviour which is unconsciously driven. Sexual violation destroys this center. It is related to mooladhara chakra in that, swadhisthana is where the different samskaras (karmas), lie dormant, and mooladhara is where these samskaras find expression.
It symbolises ideas, impulses, and desires which stimulate the mind. It is related to imagination, which is powerful force in human creativity at all levels, spiritual, artistic and personal. If it is stuck wide open, we tend to allow our emotions and sexual impulses to rule us and our creative drive might over shadow everything else in our life. It offers us the opportunity to lessen our “control issues” and find a balance in our lives, teaching us to recognize that acceptance and rejection are not the only options in our life and relationships. The process of making changes in our life stream through our personal choices is a product of this chakra energy. We will lack negotiation skills if this chakra is malfunctioning while, if healthy, it enhances our problem-solving capacity.
The Spirit, which resides in our heart, is the real reservoir of creativity, and artists and people who think excessively or are obsessed with fame or success will usually suffer a weak Swadhisthan Chakra and tend to be off-balance personalities. Their ambition is to be superior to others or to be acclaimed by them for their talents comes from their ego. Although, we can see that even where the artistic endeavor starts out with heart, there is a tendency for the artist to produce later works which are lifeless or lacking inspiration. As the artist becomes more successful, he works harder to maintain or grow this success which requires exhaustive use of this chakra especially prana (male side / pingala channel) get drained at a very fast rate and resulting in inflated ego of him. In addition, the connection with the ego can take the attention away from the Spirit. As the artist starts to believe that he is the creator of all his works (thus eliminating divine inspiration) the process is accelerated and the ego expands to such an extent that the spirit of the work has been removed completely.
The emotion anger is regulated by this chakra. When the flow of energy through this chakra is restricted because of fear or physical and energetic contraction, anger will emerge. when this it is functioning healthfully pleasure will emerge as the natural response to human interaction and appropriate activity. By examining the emotional issues which block our happiness, and deciding to accept pleasure in our lives, we can let go of our pain and suffering. It is also responsible for the creation or withdrawal of enthusiasm in routine life. Emotional feelings are affected by this chakra. Our capacity to control our desires is the measure of our capacity to keep this chakra balanced.
In swadhisthana chakra the sense of taste is the sensory avenue or input. In tasting we use the hands, which are the motor output of swadhisthana, to take food to the mouth, and to drink. There is a very interesting relationship between the sensation of taste, the sexual fluids of the body and the awakening of swadhisthana. There is no sense of taste unless the water element is present. This is true. The taste buds will not function without the water element being present. If your mouth is dried up, and I blindfold you and plug your nostrils, you can’t tell whether you are eating apple or onion.
Physical aspects:
Physically, this chakra is related to the reproductive system, bladder, urinary tract, womb, menstrual cycle in women and to the testes prostatic plexus in men, low back pain, sciatica, pelvic pain, libido, liver functioning, metabolism, digestion, detoxification, immunity and balancing of blood sugar etc.
One of the most important functions of this center is to generate the energy that fuels our thinking by breaking down fat particles in the abdomen to replace the brain cells. Excessive thinking and planning overworks this process and exhausts the center. The Swadhisthan also looks after the liver (along with the Nabhi Centre). If the Chakra is having to cope with excessive thinking, then the other organs it is supposed to look after are neglected. The liver is particularly susceptible to this neglect. The liver has a particular importance in that it is the seat of our Attention (chitta). Attention is pure concentration minus thought/mental activity. For example when we look at a flower we put our pure attention on it (i.e., we observe it). However we will also think about it (“that’s pretty,” “I wonder what’s it called,” etc.). Attention has no such associated thoughts — it is pure concentration/observation/witnessing. A balanced liver sustains and nourishes our Attention and filters it by scanning out any impurities and external clutter. From this purified attention comes the peace and stillness that we obtain in our meditation. The liver is susceptible to overheating (through alcohol or other stimulants), effecting our Attention, which ultimately weakens our meditation and so on.
We must end involuntary and compulsive thinking. Pay particular attention to any repetitive thought patterns i.e. carefully and attentively observe/watch the thinker, listen to the voice in your head without judgment, just listen. When we do this a different consciousness is activated and the thought then loses its power over us and subsides, because we are no longer energizing the mind through identification with it.
Symptoms of Imbalanced Swadhisthana chakra:
Too much yang will present as sexuality dominating the person’s life, sexual frustration and excessive fantasizing. There may be excessive tightness in the abdominal area leading to low back problems, Puritanism, sexual repression, emotional suffering and instability, lack of trust.
Spiritual Perspective
The God Vishnu and Goddess Rakini are the dieties of this chakra. The lotus within the lotus is called the Kunda flower. The six vermillion coloured petals represent the impulses, ideas and powers of the imagination, which stimulate the mind. Imagination and fantacies sometimes create desires without discrimination. Each petal bears a sanskrit letter. The mythical Makara, half alligator, half fish, represents the subconscious powers of the mind. The creature lies just beneath the surface representing that we are normally unaware of our own hidden motives and depths.