Sacral chakra
The sacral chakra (Svadhisthana in Sanskrit, "the sweetness in itself") is the second of the seven main chakras, located in the lower abdomen, two fingers below the navel. Its colour is orange. It governs creativity, sexuality, pleasure, emotions and the emotional connection with others.
Origin and meaning
Svadhisthana means literally "the dwelling place of self": the home of authentic being. It is the place where the deep desire is born, the creative impulse, the pleasure of being alive. Its element is water — fluid, generating, regenerative. Its symbol is a six-petalled lotus with a moon crescent inside (the lunar feminine principle) and the seed mantra VAM.
In esoteric anatomy, the sacral chakra is associated with the reproductive organs, hips, kidneys, urinary system and lower lumbar. Hormonally connects with sexual hormones. It is the centre that brings life into the body — both biological life (reproduction) and creative life (art, projects, fluid emotions).
Healthy and unbalanced functions
Healthy sacral: healthy and joyful sexuality, fluid and varied creativity, capacity to enjoy without guilt the senses (food, body, art, nature), emotions that flow without blocking but without overwhelming, healthy intimacy in relationships, capacity to play, creativity flowing in everyday life. The body is fluid, the hips move freely.
Imbalanced sacral: by deficiency = sexual blockage, low libido, creative blockage, emotional rigidity, inability to enjoy, sexual or emotional shame, fear of intimacy, constant overwork without play space. By excess = sexual addiction, chronic emotional dependence, drama in relationships, unfiltered overflowing emotions, addictions to immediate pleasures (food, sex, social media). Childhood traumas of "you are bad", repressive religion, sexual abuses affect this chakra.
How to balance it
Practices: dance (especially feminine dances such as belly dance, free dance), conscious sensual contact with the body, art and free creativity (paint, write, sing without performance objective), enjoyment of water (sea, river, baths), orange stones (carnelian, orange calcite, sun stone), orange foods (orange, mango, papaya, pumpkin). Breathing exercises that mobilise the lower belly, conscious yoga of hips. Mantra: chant VAM. Therapy especially if there is sexual or emotional trauma.
Also known as
- Svadhisthana
- Second chakra
- Sacral chakra
- Spleen chakra