The Solar Plexus Chakra, also known as the Manipura Chakra is the seat of our inner fire, our self confidence, motivation and physical and emotional wellbeing. This is an energy that radiates and illuminates the Heart chakra and can also heal and balance the first two Chakras; Muladhara & Svadhisthana. From the Root Chakra we embrace grounding through the element of Earth, we then find fluidity within our ideas in the Second Chakra, when we come to the Third Chakra this is where our ideas can slowly start to take motion, it's the spark that gets our ideas onto the paper and into reality. The fire in your belly!
Within this energy centre we explore our personal power and identity, we respect our ideas, our self worth and really do have a connection with our 'gut feeling'. We feel comfortable to make our own decisions and won't let anything stand in our way! Saying that this Chakra is incredibly powerful when its in balance AND when its out of balance. Because it is driven by a fiery force sometimes we can be driven towards our dreams, we can on the verge of controlling... or overwhelming powerless.
It's interesting to explore this energy centre as it really does have an impact on our health and mental wellbeing. We can all feel those waves of emotional fluctuation, we feel low, our body feels heavy and we really don't want to do anything, if we are not careful it becomes a cycle, we lose motivation and we find it hard to get going again. These waves of indifference are absolutely normal and don't forget we are all going to experience life's wonders and pains in different ways. Everything we do, every day, even our thoughts have an impact on our self worth and productivity.
The good news is as with anything we put our mind to we can create change! The Solar Plexus is all about change, creating it, helping it along the way and staying on the straight and narrow. If we fall off balance its this power within you and your positive mindset that will remind you 'you can do this!'
The qualities of Manipura chakra are:
Personal power
Passion! Taking responsibility for your life Forming personal opinions and beliefs Making decisions Inner clarity Personal identity Confidence Self-discipline Independence
How can we heal the Solar Plexus?
We can slowly rebalance and heal the Solar Plexus by taking a few moments to connect with how we are feeling. This question must always be asked and answered honestly, and as you will see from this Chakra, it's ALL about you. How you feel, how you think and what you want to achieve in life. It's about making clear decisions and also creating healthy boundaries.
Think about how you can create charge in your life, or acknowledge things that may be holding you back. With building more awareness we can create change for the better.
An imbalanced Solar Plexus: An imbalanced chakra can either mean overactive or underactive. An overactive Manipura can express itself as manipulation or controlling behavior, reactive outbursts of emotions and frustration, you have heard the term 'firecracker' before haven't you? Any triggers are sometimes just to much to handle!
An underactive Manipura can be shown as almost the complete opposite, you may feel helpless, lethargic, muddled ideas, lack of direction, no ambition or even questioning your purpose of life. We may also blame others for our lack of motivation, or make excuses for not getting stuff done.
A balanced Solar Plexus: When the Solar Plexus Chakra is balanced we have have a sense of self worth and self respect. We feel confident in creating change within our lives, we embrace moving out of our comfort zones and we are clear, direct and open with our communication. We somehow radiate a natural warmth within our personality and people feel comfortable to just be themselves. You are open, relaxed and never get stressed out! You are in control, you are honest, forgiving and feel free within your life.
Affirmations are always a wonderful way to heal subliminally, you can write it on a note, you can set your alarm notifications with a quote (I actually think there are positive affirmation apps that you can download!) These can be words, quotes, statements and intentions that will keep your mindset in check and inspired to move away from stagnation or negativity, here are just a few:
"I am authentic"
"I am open to everything life has to offer"
"I feel confident in my words and actions"
"I am strong"
"I am calm and in control"
"I radiate warmth to those around me"
"I release the need to control"
"I welcome in every situation with compassion"
"I grow from my mistakes"
"I allow my authenticity to shine"
Your Yoga Practice Within our yoga practice we want to focus on igniting our inner fire (Agni - Sanskrit).
Postures that will challenge your body and mindset really do get this energy fired up (excuse the pun!). Core work and internal twists are perfect for balancing and stimulating this chakra, postures that compress the digestive and belly area are great at igniting that spark and also aiding in detoxification. You will find that a flow practice very often uses the core to stabilise the body as it continuously moves, and movement will create heat, it will focus your mindset and you will glow from the inside out!
Core Engagement - Uddiyana Bandha Boat Pose - Navasana Seated Twist - Ardha Matsyendrasana Pyramid Pose - Parsvottanasana High Lunge Twist Downward Facing Dog - Adho Mukha Svanasana Revolved Triangle Pose - Parivrtta Trikonasana Cobra Pose - Bhujangasana Bow Pose - Dhanurasana
Any balance poses
Plank pose - Phalakasana
MANTRA
The mantra for the Solar Plexus Chakra is ‘RAM’. Chant this to heal and connect to the Manipura, come back to yourself, settle in and immerse yourself into the depth of personal power.
You must have control of the authorship of your own destiny. The pen that writes your life story must be held in your own hand. ~Irene C. Kassorla
All my love, V x