Journey Through the Chakras: Go With the Flow
The second chakra is Svadhisthana and is symbolic of water. It is associated with taking pleasure and is located in the sacrum, genitals, hips, knees and low back.
Svadhisthana represents ‘the right to feel’. If we cannot interpret how we feel then it is very difficult to know what we want.
The first chakra is about everything solid. This solidity creates foundation, which gives us the base of support to rise up from. The second chakra Svadhisthana is about water and the ability to go with the flow. The form transforms into formlessness. The principles of water are fluid, feminine, and rhythmic.
Qualities of Svadhisthana Chakra
Pleasure:
Pleasure allows us to move more deeply into the temple of the body. Pleasure allows us to expand while pain creates contraction. Our sensations are so important to the experience of pleasure. When we taste good food, or take a deep breath in the outdoors, we are opening the pleasure centers and creating an extension of the spiritual dimension. Some may argue that we need to shut off our senses in order to tune into the subtler body. However the senses are the building blocks to our emotions and feelings. Without them we become lifeless and disconnected.
Unfortunately we are often taught to beware of pleasure. We don’t easily allow our self to do what we want and instead do what we should. Eventually this can lead to resentment and frustration. Svadhisthana invites us to turn on our pleasure centers and delve into the deep recesses of the feeling body.
Emotions:
The second chakra is where the emotional center of the body lies. In a balanced state we feel emotions, but do not get overridden with them. If this second chakra is turned on too much we are overly emotional meaning our emotions begin to cloud our rational judgment. When this chakra is repressed we are shut off from our emotions and we feel very little. Repressed emotion creates tension and tension creates lethargy. We need to find the way to send the emotion out (in an appropriate way). The absence of tension creates a harmonic flow between the mind and the body. This creates an even deeper pleasure within the body, allowing deeper connection with others.
Sexuality:
Sexuality is the ultimate expression of Svadhisthana yet it can also be the reason why we have many issues with movement, sensations, pleasure, desire and emotions. In our western culture sexuality has been gravely misunderstood and mismanaged. This affects the natural flow of excitation throughout the body. Guilt is the demon of the second chakra. It halts our pleasures and self-esteem. To reclaim the second chakra is to reclaim our right to feel and our right to healthy sexuality.
Balanced Svadhisthana: Healthy boundaries, having passion in life and feeling alive, the ability to go with the flow and movements are graceful, nurturing of the self.
Excessive Svadhisthana: Change is necessary in order for the mind to stay active and alive. An excessive second chakra scatters the liberating energies too soon so it does not flow through to higher chakras. Therefore it is important to be honest with your self when exploring how much change is too much.
Depleted Svadhisthana: Fear of change, energy gets trapped in the structure of the first chakra and resists fluidity, becoming hard and stiff. Little passion and too much self-control. If we experience chronic tension in the hips, low back, and glutes try and tap into the current and flow of life.
Rituals to restore Balance: Connect with water. Take hot baths, drink more water, sit by the river or ocean. Add a flow and pulse to your regular yoga poses such as swaying and rocking the body. Change a routine (running route, clothing color, meeting place). Start with nurturing yourself and then begin to apply the principles to your relationships.
Y oga poses to restore balance:
- Sufi Grind: This deep rhythmic movement of circulating the hips, glutes and low back is wonderful to connect with Svadhisthana’s water element.
- Lunge Pose/ Anjaneyasana: Gently pressing in and out with the hip in sync with the breath.
- Pigeon Pose/ Eka Pada Rajakapotasana: Imagine the breath can reach right into the tension within the body and as you exhale carry that tension up and out.
The second chakra is the prime mover of energy. As the energy moves upwards, the soul is carried on the currents of emotions and desires toward growth. Through the solid base of our first chakra we are able to surrender to the prana and follow its natural course without losing our center.
Image Credit: Leslie Prentice
Six Ways to Cleanse Your Aura for Spring
If we are spirits having a human experience, then it is this frequency of spirit which vibrates and creates an energetic field around the human body. This field around our physical body is known as the “aura.” Just like your physical body, your subtle body in the form of you aura may experience and exhibit stress, fragmentation, and a loss of luminosity. Spring is an excellent time to detoxify and regenerate, both body and spirit. Try these steps to cleanse your aura and liberate its highest potential and feel the cascading effects seasons after season.
How to Remove Negative Energy & Cleanse Your Aura
1. Visualize Your Aura
Sit in a quiet, distraction-free zone in your house. Stay seated comfortably in a position you can relax in for about 15 minutes while practicing breathing exercises. Remain conscious of what you’re doing, and aware of your inhales and exhales. You can even meditate. Once you find yourself beginning to totally relax, form a white light in your mind and have it surround you. Allow it to flow throughout you, from the tips of your toes to the top of your head, and visualize it moving up and down your back, near your spine. If you get distracted or thrown off, you can get yourself back on track by re-visualizing the white light and focusing on your breath.
2. Discard Your Negative Energy
Avoid negative people or energy vampires. People affect more than just themselves, so be aware of how others affect your energy and vice versa. One way to protect yourself is to make sure you surround yourself with more positive people than negative ones. Spend less time time (or none at all) with negative people, once you figure who they are. Find positive people who always have a smile to offer and have kind souls. These people can help offset negativity in your aura.
3. Cleanse Your Own Negative Thoughts
Still have negative energy wafting around? Try looking inward. Start paying attention to your thoughts. Are there a lot of negative ones? Take a look at them. Are they untrue, delusional, or paranoid? All the more reason to chuck them out. Focus on the bright side of things. If you are having a really bad day, it’s okay to express your feelings, but don’t wallow in that place. Make your day a good one by treating yourself to your favorite tea. Play your favorite song. Find a friend to hang out with. If you notice that a negative thought is trying to creep in, confront it with a positive one. If you keep practicing this, you will be able to conquer the effects of negative thinking.
4. Create a Protection Bubble
This is the most commonly practiced ways of protecting the aura. Practitioners praise it as a beautiful way to connect them to the divine energy, and when it’s done in the mornings, it’s a defining start to the day. Imagine white light coming down from the sky, divine, cosmos, universe, whatever higher power resonates with you. Connect this light to the crown of your head, and then let it spill out over you and down under your feet. You are now surrounded by a white light bubble. White is pure and highly protective. You are in control of what enters and exits your white bubble of protection.
5. Get Energy Healings
Sometimes you just need a realignment: energy healings can help clean blockages or balance misalignments. Healers also check for negative entities or emotional cords that may need to be cut. Don’t underestimate the power of these energy checkups. You might find that your mood swings and imbalanced emotions improve drastically with a little help.
6. Smudge Your Aura Regularly
Smudging is a Native American practice using white sage to cleanse any negative energy. You can cleanse your house, people and things. Try smudging after you’ve had a lot of people in your home or if you feel particularly drained. Focus your intention on clearing negative energy to allow room for positive energy in your space and life.