Note: This article is part one of a series focused on chakras in yoga. Below is a summarization of concepts, which I have stickied to each article. If you’re familiar with chakras, or have already read the intro, feel free to jump below the pic to skip straight to the Solar Plexus Chakra!
The concept of chakras can be traced back to the early (ca. 1500 BCE) Vedic texts of Hinduism, and there are believed to be over 100 in each of our spiritual energy fields. According to modern yogic philosophy, there are 7 chakras located in our body; they are in ascending order: root, sacral, solar plexus, heart, throat, third eye, and crown. Each chakra supports us physically and energetically as we navigate our lives.
It’s worth mentioning that the location of each chakra in our body corresponds to that of an important part of the endocrine system, which is pretty cool when you consider how much time spanned between the conceptualization of chakras and the discovery of glands/organs. The endocrine system is responsible for regulating our hormones via a complex system of messaging and feedback loops, and is comprised of (in corresponding order as above): gonads, pancreas, adrenal glands, thymus, thyroid, pituitary, and pineal.
Chakras are thought to be spinning energy discs within the subtle (metaphysical) body, which overlaps with our physical bodies. Much like our breath can link our minds and bodies, or our endocrine system links our organs and brain, the chakras link our energetic self to our physical self. When we work on our chakras, we are manipulating our prana, or life force energy. Often times, chakras are said to be “blocked;” when we talk about opening our chakras, we are aiming to allow unrestricted flow of prana within our subtle body, in other words, aligning our chakras.
Chakras can be worked on in a number of ways, including meditation, mantra, diet, reiki, and of course our physical yoga practice! Other modalities for chakra work include tapping, aromatherapy, and color therapy. I will do my best in this series to touch on as many of these approaches as possible for each chakra, but remember that yoga is infinitely flexible: you can always choose your own meditative adventure! I hope to provide a creative jumping off point for readers to construct a truly personal chakra balance meditation.
Solar Plexus Chakra
- Sanskrit: manipura
- Bija mantra (“seed sound”): Ram
- Color: yellow
- Essential oils: grapefruit, neroli, lemongrass
- Symbol: ten-petaled lotus
- Element: fire
- Endocrine analogue: adrenals
- Pranayama: Breath of fire
- Mudra: surya mudra
The solar plexus chakra is the third in the column, located just below the xiphoid process. Manipura translates from Sanskrit to “jewel of the city” and is associated with the sense of self, inner power, and self-confidence.
If this sounds similar to the sacral chakra, good catch! The first three chakras (root, sacral, and solar plexus) are often grouped together by yogis as those which relate us to the physical world via our basic survival needs and our sense of identity, both physically and emotionally.
When your solar plexus chakra is blocked, you might feel sensitive to judgment, or lacking in self-confidence in general. If you find that you are experiencing self-doubt often, your manipura might be asking for a little attention!
Spending time in the sun can be a wonderfully passive way to balance the solar plexus chakra, since the element of this chakra is fire. If you are able to practice in a sunny spot in your home, this is also a great way to stimulate manipura. If outdoor practice is not viable for you, incorporating something as simple as a candle can add solar plexus energy to your practice or meditation.
Other ways to help open up the solar plexus chakra include following a meditation for manipura, bringing yellow objects into your space, chanting the Bija mantra (pronounced “rum”), or using essential oil aromatherapy. I dose a small amount of carrier oil like jojoba with lemongrass oil, and massage that into my wrists, shoulders, or hands/feet. You can do this before any asana practice to add some sensory depth to your practice.
If you want to give your skin a deep treatment, try my chakra-themed lotion bars!
Poses for the solar plexus chakra stimulate our inner fire and are typically focused on the midsection of our body. Warrior I, boat pose, revolved side angle pose, standing crescent moon, and camel pose all stimulate the third chakra and can help to clear a blockage or balance an over- or under-active solar plexus chakra.
A quick and easy solar plexus chakra flow vibe check could be: easy sit, boat pose, standing crescent moon, warrior one, camel pose, corpse pose. Take 3-5 breaths (or more!) per asana, and be sure to modify as your body needs. Remember to do both sides where applicable!
To meditate in your home for manipura balance, find a sunny or otherwise bright spot. What’s most important is that the pose makes you feel sunny and bright; this could look different from one yogi to the next.
Similarly, any scent, mudra, or breathwork that makes you personally feel connected to your inner self is the right choice. One of my favorite aspects of yoga practice is its customizability, and chakra work is immensely personalizable. For the sake of illustration, I’ve chosen my favorite elements for the following meditation.
Bring your focus to the space between the belly button and the sternum, and spend a few moments drawing your focus toward your breath, mind, and body. Any comfortable seated position will do for this. Practice breath of fire to help draw your energy inward and toward your physical and energetic center.
Whenever you are ready to move on from breath of fire, you can take your pranayama of choice, perhaps finding surya mudra. You can use the “rum” mantra at this point, or choose a mantra that resonates with your sense of identity. A simple one could be “I believe in my inner power.”
So, to recap, our solar plexus chakra is associated with our identity within the physical and emotional world and our inner confidence. Spending some time working with your solar plexus chakra can help you feel more confident, centered, capable, and powerful.
An aside for my skeptical hearts: if you’ve never done this kind of work, you may be thinking “I don’t think that there’s a spinning disco puck in my butt, dictating the quality of my connection to the physical realm, that needs to be fed sweet orange oil or it’ll give me anxiety.” To which I say, “Completely fair.”
But what if I told you that the solar plexus chakra is an idea; the idea of confidence, inner fire, and the fulfillment of worldly desires, and that all of this asana and meditation is a ritual to tell our senses and nervous system “you got this, you can do this”? In this sense, balancing the solar plexus chakra is simply self-care for your mental needs.
In fact, I view the entire chakra column as a choose your own adventure of mind-body work that can be utilized at any time to bring your awareness and focus to a specific idea or emotion. Conditioning your nervous system to relax through breathwork while centering your awareness on something you would like to improve in your life can be a powerful exercise for skeptics and practitioners alike.
Love and light,
Erin
