Welcome to the chakra series – if you want to know more about your inner workings, how Eastern and Western philosophies unite, and how your physical self relates to your emotional, mental, and spiritual self….

Then you’re 100% in the right place!

Today, we’re exploring the second chakra – Svadhisthana.

The second chakra is all about movement, creativity, pleasure, sexuality, and embracing change. Because we’ve moved through the first chakra, which focuses on rooting and grounding, we’re now able to let it go and create flow.

Does that make sense?

Each chakra acts a building block to allow the next chakra to perform its purpose. It’s imperative that we learn and understand them in order and apply their teachings in order – this is the secret to balancing the chakra system!

If you’re someone who finds it hard to go with the flow, embrace change, be receptive to new ideas, express your sexuality – then this is your chakra to work, grow, and learn from!

So with that said, let’s get into friends – below is a DEEP breakdown of the your sacral chakra/the second chakra/the Svadhisthana chakra.

Second Chakra Basics:

The second chakra is responsible for who we are creatively. It focuses on our sexuality, creativity, playfulness, pleasure, and joy.

• English term – the sacral chakra
• Location – lower abdomen, genitals, and womb.
• Element – water
• Color – orange
• Mantra – VAM
• Descriptive Words – water, change, movement, pleasure, emotions, sexuality, and nurturance.
• Function – desire, pleasure, sexuality, creativity, and procreation.
• Malfunction – uterine, bladder, kidney trouble, and stiff lower back.
• Inner State – feelings
• Foods – liquids

The Location:

The second chakra is located in the lower abdomen, between the naval and the genitals. It corresponds to our sacral center, which is attached to our sciatic nerve and becomes the ruler of movement for the body.

Because of this positioning, the sacral chakra is refereed to as the seat of life. 

The second chakra’s element is water, meaning it refers to our bodily functions related to liquids: circulation of the blood, urinary elimination, sexuality, and reproduction, plus the qualities of water – formlessness, fluidity, surrender, and flow.

The second chakra is also our center for sexuality, emotions, sensation, pleasure, and movement.

It’s our place TO FEEL, TO BE LOVED, TO LOVE, TO EXPRESS, and TO CREATE.

“Change is a fundamental element of consciousness. It is what commands our attention, awakens it, makes us question. Without change, our minds become dull. Without change, there is no growth, no movement, and no life. Consciousness thrives on change.” – Anodea Judith

Deeper Definition:

How ya feeling babes?

Is this woo-woo chakra stuff starting to make sense? Is it possibly clicking that our physical selves have an incredible correlation with our emotional, mental, physiological, and spiritual selves?

I truly hope so…. for your benefit, my benefit, and our entire population’s benefit. The more in tune we become with our inner workings, the better we can relate to the exterior world – thus cultivating and sustaining positive relationships.

Or in simpler terms – we want to create and promote peace and love.

And with that said, below is the deep, deep of the second chakra, let’s dive in!

Emotions

Our emotions are directly tied to energy within the body.

When we repress emotions, it creates tension throughout our entire being – pain, fear, and insecurities. And conversely, it requires confidence, energy, and effort to experience our emotions.

It’s not easy, I get it.

When we allow ourselves to feel and emote – we’re literally moving energy from our unconscious state, through the body, and then into our conscious field of living. In short, we become aware of what the hell is happening!

By practicing yoga, meditation, breathing exercises, and the tips down below, we’re able to release our emotions and tension, thus creating space for balance, alignment, and some epic magic to occur.

“It is a movement of our life force through which we achieve change. We are back to the basic elements of the second chakra: movement and change.” – Anodea Judith

Sexuality

As my almighty chakra book states…

Sexuality is a life force.

As we grow older, become closer with our partners, and lose touch with our sacral chakra – it can be hard to do the damn thing. Am I right?

Let me just be super honest for a hot minute… I’m 29, I’ve been in a relationship for 8+ years, and yes – sex takes work. There are months when we’re great at it, months when we’re okay at it, and month’s where we suck at it. Like legit suck.

This sexuality stuff is important, so listen up friends!

By repressing our sexuality, we decrease the life force within us, we deprive ourselves of beautiful pleasure, and disregard the experience that’s gained from a relationship with another. It’s vital to our growth and overall well-being to experience union with another, so as to dissolve the illusion of separation.

If you decide to bypass this life force, not only does it interfere with your overall mental/emotional health, but it also translates to your physical health.

The lack of sexuality can result in….

• Lower back pain
• Leg cramps
• Kidney troubles
• Poor circulation
• Stiffness in the hips

In a nutshell – start having sex (responsibly), start engaging in an intimate relationship, allow yourself to give and receive pleasure, and enjoy it wholeheartedly.

“Sexuality is a sacred ritual of union through the celebration of difference. An expansive movement of the life force, it is the dance that balances, restores, renews, reproduces. It i the product ground of all new life – and in that sense – of the future. Mover and healer of the life forth within us, sexuality is a profound rhythm pulsing through all biological life” – Anodea Judith

Nurturance 

And lastly, but definitely not least, is the act of nurturance. We experience this quality from the moment we are created, in our mother’s wombs. It’s a necessary function of our well-being and one that we quickly forget as the years pass by.

• We must be cared for and also care
• We must be touched and  also touch others
• We must be nurtured and also nurture others
• We must be loved and also love others

It’s an exchange of energy, a universal connection that we thrive off of, it’s encoded into our animalistic being. So please – work on this, allow yourself these emotions and experiences, and make time for all of it.

You deserve it. I deserve. We all deserve it.

Tips to Stay Balanced:

To help balance and align your sacral chakra, try the below recommendations:

• Any exercise that involves working with movement in the hips and lower abdominal area
• Massages – both self-massage and those performed by others
• Hot baths or showers + incorporate the water meditation referred to down below (under meditation)
• Swimming in bodies of water (pool, lake, river, or ocean)
• Sexual activity
• Touch – hug your partner, friend, yourself. Allow yourself to touch and be touched.

Yoga Poses:

• Warrior 2 
• Reverse Warrior
• Side Angle Pose
• Half Moon Pose
• Goddess Pose
• Wide-Legged Forward Fold
• Skandasana
• Open Arm Twist
• Malasana – Yogi Squat
• Baddha Konasana

Mantra Meditation:

For each chakra, there’s a corresponding seed sound or what can be thought of as a mantra meditation tool.

• Svadhistana Mantra – VAM.

If your work lies here – sexuality, pleasure, creativity, movement, and change – then use this mantra to help inspire and support your work. I’ve included a link above about mantra meditation and all that it encompasses to help start the meditation process.

Also, in the book Wheels of Life by Anodea Judith, she provides a water meditation section + a beautiful opening meditation. I highly recommend reading/doing both of these!

We made it friends…. That was a hella lot of information, so thank you for sticking around & gifting yourself some great knowledge!

Also, thank you for being part of this series, for allowing me the space to explore and experience the chakra system, for being a part of my journey, and as a result – shaping your own badass journey! Our next energy center to explore is the manipura chakra, I’ll meet you there!

Related: Continue your Svadhistana chakra work with the second class of the Chakra Yoga Challenge to Create Your Journey