Permission to Feel and Reclaiming our power: Cleansing the second and Third Chakra

Climbing the Centers OF eNERGY

Yesterday we shared with you our tips to reclaim our roots and allow for nourishment for the season of growth. With the weeds being tamed and our roots firmly planted, we have set the foundation for our next two chakras, svadhisthana and manipura. 

Svadhisthana: Finding feeling

If you feel disconnecting, disoriented, or even shameful of our second chakra, you are not alone. Residing within the sacrum, lower back, and lower belly, our second chakra helps us with our connection to feeling, sensation, movement, and pleasure. In today's society, many feel that there is a shame or a taboo places on our second chakra; this often creates an imbalance in the rest of the chakra systems. When the second chakra is out of balance, we may feel stuck, rigid, or restricted. Much like water caught in a kink in the hose, when this occurs, this blocked energy can manifest at a later time either more intensively within other chakras or simply explode at a later point.  

Rather than shaming ourselves or suppressing our energy, we should embrace our second chakra in order to create a healthy channel of energy for the rest of our system.
Here are some exercises you can do to reconnect with or even heal your second chakra:

• ​move; the best way to reclaim your right to move is to just do it! For some, this may mean getting on your yoga mat and flowing (maybe adding in some extra hip openers to release any blocked energy.) For others, it may be closing the blinds in the living room, turning up the music, and dance! Find what feels best for you and explore without ego or judgment. 

• journal; write down your emotions and explore them from the security of the page. Some days, it might be a sentence or even a simple word. Other days, you might find yourself writing a short novella. If you feel silly or embarrassed, write about that too! A personal mantra I use while doing this exercise is, "All emotions are beautiful."

• treat yoself; enjoy a massage, try acupuncture or acupressure. Give yourself an opportunity to release tension and give yourself permission to feel good.
• drink lots of water and eat food the gives you nutrients; an imbalance in the second chakra can sometimes lead to addictive behavior. By flushing out the body and giving it proper love, attention, and nourishment, we reclaim our right to feel good, happy, and healthy!

Manipura: Our Fire

Our third chakra is placed at our solar plexus and governs our power. When there is too much energy in the third chakra, we may become egotistical, power hungry, or overbearing; on the other hand,  a weak third chakra will leave you lethargic, tired, and undermotivated. We want to kindle our inner flame without letting it burn out the rest of the chakra system.
When our third chakra is balanced, we have a strong sense of who we are and we are excited and motivated to take the actions needed to fulfill our true purpose.

Here are some of our tips to bring manipura into balance:

• Practice Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutations); say hello and welcome to the sun, the source of power and light for the earth! In addition to connecting to the sun, you also fire up the core. We recommend practicing sun salutations first thing in the morning, preferably as the sun is rising. I live in Florida, so some mornings I'll even drive to the beach to practice there.
  
• Abdominal strengthening poses; in addition to sun salutations, any core strengthening exercise is going to allow you to reclaim your inner flame. A strong midsection provides support for the spine and, accordingly, the entire chakra system.
  
• Bow Pose; in another blog post, I discuss dhanurasana and it's power to help us to re-establish a loving relationship with ourselves.  If you feel that energy may be blocked in your third chakra (this is often manifested with digestion problems), practice bow pose or other pronated asanas to get things moving.
• Make your belly happy; tune in and listen to what your body needs. Try to avoid additives that clog up your system and your energy. Your body runs on nourishing, filling foods! (And don't forget to stay hydrated!)
• Make a plan; reclaim your right to act and your power to achieve! If there is a project you've been thinking of tackling, write out the steps or make a to-do list so you can tackle the tasks one by one. Keep your tasks short and keep the wording positive.
• Affirmations; many times, our fire is stomped out by a lack of confidence. Cultivate some positive self-talk or repeat a mantra throughout the day. It might even be helpful to leave yourself little notes (e.g. on the bathroom mirror, instead your lunch box, written on your planner.) Some of my favorites are "I am light," "I am worthy," or "I am enough."

How do you connect with your second and third chakra? Do you have any tips or exercises? Let us know in the comment section below!