The 2nd chakra is Swadhisthana Chakra or The Sacral Plexus Chakra.
Swadhisthana comes from the Sanskrit words
swa means Self and
Adhisthana means Place, Location, Base
So, Swadhisthana Chakra is “The place of the Self.”
Swadhisthana Chakra is the place where human consciousness begins and the second phase of human development starts. This chakra manifests the development of the personality, after eliminating the consciousness of negative characteristics.
Swadhisthana Chakra and its Description
Swadhisthana Chakra is the seat of the subconscious mind. All the life experiences and memories since conception in the womb are stored in it.
It is associated with the water element and characterized by movement and flow in our emotions and thoughts. It supports personal expansion and the formation of identity through relating to others and to the world.
Swadhisthana Chakra or the Sacral Plexus is connected to our unconscious mental impressions and also to our sexual urge. It is the driving force for the enjoyment of life through the senses, whether it’s auditory, through taste, touch, or sight. Opening your sacral chakra allows you to “feel” the world around and in us.
It largely controls the functions of the sexual and reproductive organs. The large intestine, kidneys, blood circulation, body fluids, and the sense of taste are the other body parts and functions under the Swadhishthana chakra.
In the symbolic picture of the Swadhisthana Chakra is a Lotus with six petals. These represent our negative qualities like desire, anger, greed, fascination, pride, and egoism.
On the petals are found the Sanskrit letters – Bam, Bham, Mam, Yam, Ram, and Lam written in the color of lightning.
Inside the pericarp is a white region of Varuna, the deity for a water element. It is like a crescent-shaped moon.
Varuna is seated on the crocodile.
Inside the Bindu of the seed, the mantra is Lord Hari, blue in color, and has four arms.
Inside the lotus is another red lotus in which the chakradhishthatri sits. She is called Rakini. Rakini is blue in color and in her four arms, she holds – a spear, a lotus, a drum, and a sharp battle-ax. She is in a fierce aspect with red eyes and projecting fangs.
The animal designated to represent the Swadhisthana Chakra is the Crocodile. It symbolizes laziness, insensitivity, and the danger that slumbers in this Chakra.
The element of Swadhisthana is Water or Jal tattva, its energy is characterized by flow and flexibility. It is also related to the Moon. There is a close relationship between the phases of the moon and the fluctuations in the water and the emotions.
Beej Mantra For Swadhisthana Chakra
The mantra for this chakra is VAM.
Swadhisthana chakra Element
The element of the Swadhisthana chakra is Water or Jal Tattva
Swadhishthana chakra Color
Swadhisthana Chakra’s color is orange.
The orange color represents joy, faith, self-confidence, and energy.
Stone: amber, calcite orange, carnelian, or hematite.
Location – The Swadhisthana Chakra is situated at the lower end of the Sacrum.
It lies about three centimeters above the Muladhara Chakra between the coccyx and the sacrum.
Swadhisthana Chakra or Sacral Chakra
| Location | At the base of the spine About 3 centimeters above Muladhara Chakra |
| Petals | 6 |
| Color | orange |
| Element | water ( Jal Tattva) |
| Sense | Sense of Taste |
| Beej Mantra | Vam |
| Chakradhishthatri Devi | Rakini |
| Animal associated | Crocodile |
Swadhisthana Chakra or Sacral chakra Properties
The 2nd chakra has the following properties or characteristics:
- Emotions, feelings
- Relationships, relating
- Expression of sexuality, sensual pleasure
- Feeling the outer and inner worlds
- Creativity
- Fantasies
People with an opened or balanced Svadhisthana chakra are
- Passionate
- Creative
- Confident
- Present in their body
- Sensual
- Connected to their feeling.
- Feeling emotionally stable
- Feeling joyful most of the time
- Integrity and ethics
How to know blocked or imbalanced Swadhisthana Chakra
Imbalanced or blocked Swadhisthana chakra has the following signs-
- Dependency, co-dependency with other people
- Being ruled by your emotions to feel bored,
- Feel insecure
- Fail to deal with life’s changes
- Lack self-confidence
- Feeling easily offended
- Lack of creative inspiration
- Fear of change
- Guilt about the past
- Jealousy
- Addictive behaviors (including the unhealthy use of drugs or alcohol, but also extending to behaviors like excessive spending, sexual compulsions, gambling problems, and overeating).
Other signs that can indicate a closed 2nd chakra would include depression, constant anxiety, constant fear, and a complete lack of joy in one’s life.
Physical signs associated with blocked sacral chakra are:
- Urinary discomfort
- Worsened allergy symptoms
- Low energy
- Fertility issues, impotence,
- Muscle pain, lower back pain,
- Endometriosis,
- PCOS, and
- Depression.
- Overactive Sacral Chakra:
Anyone with an overactive sacral chakra will be highly emotional, with a fantasizing nature, or dramatic. The person may suffer from sexual addiction. The attachment to the opposite sex may also be unhealthy.
Underactive Sacral Chakra:
Anyone with an underactive sacral chakra will be emotionally unstable and over-sensitive. They are full of feelings of guilt and shame that they deny themselves worldly pleasures. They usually withdraw themselves from a crowd and remain isolated
How to Activate Swadhisthana Chakra (Sacral Chakra)?
1. The best way to activate a chakra is to develop sattva tattva in yourself by doing
MANANA – To think about, reflect
SANKALPA – To have the right intentions, to make positive resolutions
VIKALPA – To remove doubts and discard false ideas
ATMA CHINTANA – To be conscious of the Divine Self (Atma)at all times.
2. Regular chanting the Beeja Mantra of the chakra. The Beeja Mantra of Swadhisthana Chakra is Vam. Chanting this seed mantra activates Swadhishthana chakra. By chanting VAM, the vibrations will open and align this chakra. To get a quick and more beneficial chant Beeja Mantra at a specific time for a specific duration regularly.
3. Focusing around the navel region and visualizing the color orange during meditation is also helpful.
4. Wearing orange clothes, or sitting in orange surroundings (like at dawn or dusk) is helpful.
5. Food items for the second chakra include oranges, honey, mandarins, melons, almonds, papayas, mangoes, and peaches.
6. Seeds–include pumpkin, sunflower, poppy, and hemp.
7. Deep breathing exercises, anulom-vilom, and pranayama helps to activate Swadhisthana chakra
8. Regular practice of specific yoga asana to activate Swadhisthana chakra like
Trikonasana
Balasana
Natarajasana
9. Using affirmations is a way to rewrite old limiting beliefs with positive ones. Say them when you first wake up, or before you enter a situation that triggers the type of sacral chakra blockage symptoms mentioned above.
Here are some sacral chakra affirmations to try:
- “I deserve to experience pleasure and have my needs met.”
- “I attract relationships with loving, good people who will support me.”
- “I know I can embrace change and make the best of my future.”
- “Every day, I experience more and more joy and satisfaction.”
- “I am full of inspiration and the potential for creation.”
- “I am a strong, creative person and I love what I create.”
- “I am ready for positive change and for deep personal growth.”
Activating this Sacral Chakra is required for releasing the instinctive energy as well as awakening the Kundalini Shakti.