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Dear Reader,
One’s Own Abode
This week I’m musing about the sacral chakra, the energy centre known in Sanskrit as the svadhisthana. Svadhisthana means “one’s own abode.” Indeed, all of us have spent time residing within the energy of this chakra. Our first home was in the cradle of the womb, nestled within our mother’s pelvis, just in front of the sacrum. Chakra means “wheel” in Sanskrit and denotes the wheels of emotional and psychic energy that reside at certain points along our spine. This series of articles is exploring how a better understanding of these centres can support us as individuals, making a transition from hierarchical systems to networked systems so we become better able to deal with the seismic shifts that are happening within the world today.
Relationship and Flow
Whereas the first chakra is to do with earth, survival and stability, the second chakra has the qualities of water, relationship and movement. The first chakra has a singular nature, whereas the second chakra signifies duality. Indeed, the physical locations of these chakras embody these qualities. The root chakra is at the tip of the tailbone and the sacral chakra resides within the pelvis with its two hemispheres flanked by the two ilium bones on either side of the sacrum. Some healers see the left side of the pelvis as representing our mother, and the right our father. In addition to giving us clues about our relationship with our parents or caregivers, this chakra also holds the energy of our other close relationships, particularly sexual relationships.
Duality and Polarity
Where there is duality there is also polarity. With a dualistic system we are able to explore and move fluidly between the opposites of light-dark; masculine-feminine; up-down; left-right; contraction-expansion; pleasure-pain etc. A blocked or congested sacral chakra can show up as rigid thinking, rigid movement, or a sense of being “stuck in a rut.” We might find ourselves unable to find a way to move through a difficulty, due to inner resistance. I found myself very stuck in this place when I had back pain from April to September this year.
The answer to stuckness is to encourage movement and flow, to embrace change. The sacral chakra is very much about the dance of exploring oppositions, both within ourselves and in relationship to others and to Life in general. Going with the flow and being in dynamic balance enables us to continually course correct, adjust and respond so that we don’t get stuck in one particular polarity.
Finding Balance Between Flexibility and Rigidity
Sometimes we need to move beyond our comfort zone in order to unstick ourselves. Alternatively, if we are feeling as if our emotions are “all over the place” we might have too much fluidity within our sacral chakra (this is a common experience for people with hypermobility, but it’s not always the case). In this case, it is wise to gravitate towards a happy medium, rather than swinging from one extreme to another. However, if we try to keep everything safe and secure and hold to the centre in a rigid and fixed way, we miss out on the pleasure and freedom of exploring life in all its incredible diversity. In asana, we get to explore the balance between flexibility and rigidity within our bodies, this has an ripple effect throughout other aspects of ourselves (mind, energy and spirit) through the system of the koshas, see more about the koshas in my article Bliss, Chocolate and the Koshas.
Dynamic Balance
Working with the energy of this chakra is so much about finding dynamic balance within. As we learn to work with the flow of Life in this way, the networked structure within is enabled to find dynamic balance also, always responding to the needs of the whole. Unlike hierarchical systems which don’t allow much change to occur from the ground up, networked systems give more equal power so that each agent within the system can contribute to it. A networked system allows for creative solutions to be propagated through the system without the need for permission from the “higher-ups”.
The Sweetness of Life
Svadhisthana chakra is connected with the sense of taste, particularly sweetness. Mouth-wateringly delicious foods will arouse feelings of pleasure and even joy. If we are quite strict with ourselves and deny ourselves life’s pleasures, this might indicate rigidity in other areas of our life. A reticence to try new things, to explore life richness indicates a sacral chakra that is deficient in energy. However, excessive energy can also create problems. For instance, if we become overindulgent or addicted to food and other substances, to gratify our deeper unconscious desires. When svadhisthana chakra is in excess, we can find ourselves hampered by our cravings and emotional imbalance. Extremes of excess or deficiency can be tendencies we inherited from our ancestral lineage or picked up via conditioning by society (advertisements, education, peer pressure etc). Certainly, it is beneficial for large food corporations for us to be addicted to cheap, processed ingredients such as refined sugar, flour, salt and “vegetable oil”.
Deprogramming Ourselves
Becoming free of rigid thinking, unhelpful habits and conditioning is one of the life lessons we learn when we tend to the energy of this chakra. We all have had differing parental influences and varying life experiences and this is what creates our individually unique sense of what is “good” and what is “bad”. When we understand that our desires, preferences and behaviours are shaped by our family and society we can gain more objectivity. In this way we are enabled to step outside of conventions which might be oppressing ourselves or others, we become more flexible, tolerant and broadminded. See my article on Embracing Multiple Social Truths, for a more in-depth exploration of this unifying concept.
The Danger of Polarised Thinking
When we are unwilling to engage or discuss with people who think differently, we are in danger of digging our heels in and becoming entrenched in our beliefs. These earthy idioms describe a failure to access the flow state of the svadhisthana chakra. We are still stuck in the mud of muladhara, fighting for our survival and right to safety and security. The sense of feeling threatened (perhaps due to past or current pain) can cultivate dogmatic thinking, bigotry and intolerance. Such an outlook is unpleasant at best and highly dangerous in the worst-case scenario, as it is the energy of conflict, violence and war.
Systemic Stuckness
If humans get stuck too far at any one end of the polarity they create tension and pain (physical, mental, emotional and societal) for themselves and others within their sphere. This energy plays out at all levels. On the macro level, it contributes to geo-political instability. On the meso level, it creates party political or organisational disarray. And at the micro level, we find stress-related illness, and family arguments. The pain we feel prevents us from claiming our sovereignty, our inner power, which is accessed through the third chakra, manipura. This makes it difficult to rise above the situation and utilise the qualities of the higher chakras (love, clarity and wisdom). When we become more fluid, we are able to move towards the middle ground, or change positions and get a different viewpoint. In this way, we are enabled to find mutual understanding, compromise and cooperation.
The Power of Mediation
Some people are able to mediate, to understand and feel what it is like to be on each side of the fence. Such people tend to have either learned or innately possess more conceptual and mental flexibility. In order to engage with people on opposing sides of a battle, mediators find ways of regulating their nervous systems so they don’t present as angry, judgemental or unapproachable. In complex networked systems, such people are thought to have the most power within the system. Being able to adapt to the situation at hand and inhibit unhelpful reactions enables us to connect with a wide variety of people. This enables us to think more creatively and problem-solve more effectively. Things come together more easily when we work with, instead of against, the flow of Life.
The Pleasure of Flow
In addition to opening up to more potential and possibility, being in this kind of creative, adaptable flow is generally more enjoyable and pleasurable. Perhaps you have felt this sense of flow? It happens on those days when everything seems to fall into place and fit together in a harmonious and delightful way. One easy way to connect with a sense of flow is to savour the pleasurable sensation of being in warm water in the bath, shower or the buoyant refreshing ocean. Another way is to connect to the flow of prana through the nadis in the pranamayakosha. This means to put your focused attention on the flow of breath energy through the network of “rivers” or channels of the subtle energy system. This all sounds very woo-woo, but it’s actually a very normal and natural process, just feeling the breath flows within the body. It is something we do in every single Holistic Yoga class. It is something you can practice right now by listening to the meditation below.
Yoga practices that work with the pelvic and hip area will work with the svadhisthana chakra also. Allow the movements to be flowing, steady and slow so you can really focus your attention within the pelvic area. In this way, the balancing that needs to occur will happen in and of itself at the right time. It may not be immediate, yoga practice is a process that unfolds over time. Although we feel immediate benefits, some of the deeper changes take time to reveal themselves. The breath practice known as the microcosmic orbit will gently awaken the sacral and root chakra. This practice comes from chi kung, a Chinese movement practice. This practice is included in last Monday’s free morning meditation, which you can listen to below.
Last Monday’s Meditation on the Sacral Chakra
There are some long gaps of silence in this meditation, rest assured the meditation is all there… I hope you enjoy it! Let me know what you think in the comments…
“We are driven to chase pleasure, but often at the cost of our wellbeing.”Kelly McGonigall - The Willpower Instinct.
More on willpower and agency next week when we look at the solar plexus chakra.
Classes This Week
It is such a delight to see you in person and on Zoom. So don’t be shy and do come along to a class! All of you are so welcome, even if you are completely new to yoga or it has been some time since you’ve practised. Monday 7:30pm class is ideal for busy folks - the time and the fact you can attend in the comfort of your own home make it possible, even if you have kids and a full-time job
All classes are running this week, including the free live meditation on Monday at 8am. Book either a Zoom or in-person on the timetable by clicking below.
Remember it’s cheaper to buy a class pass (choose either in-person or Zoom).
The Winter Resilience Course is Returning!
I’m looking forward to running the Holistic Yoga Winter Resilience Course once again, it was such a delight to run this course last year. The course starts a couple of weeks before Winter Solstice and runs for around 14 weeks accessible on-demand, until the Spring Equinox on the 20th of March. You’ll be guided through the whole winter with weekly classes, meditations, talks and information on building resilience and much more. This is mostly an online course (so we can be cosy at home and people can attend in different countries and time zones). However, I’m planning to have two in-person classes (which you can also attend online). This will be a slightly different course from last winter, with some new content, but also the opportunity to revisit some old favourites. So if you’ve done the course before or are intrigued to try it for the first time you are very welcome! Registration will begin on the 21st of November.
With love and good wishes,
Julia xxx
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