The Sacral Chakra: An Overview

The Sacral Chakra is the second chakra in the seven body chakra system. It is located between the genitals and belly button, usually around 3 finger widths beneath the navel. This is the energy center that connects with your emotions and the sensual side of sexuality, as well as with femininity. The sacral chakra has many qualities and traits to it, so I'll be breaking this post up into easy to read sections.

General Characteristics: 
The Sacral Chakra is the second chakra in our subtle energy bodies. Through this energy center, we experience pleasure, emotional intimacy, and some forms of love and physical intimacy. This chakra, like the three lower chakras (root, sacral, solar plexus) connect us to our physical body and governs a state of physical will. Our physicality, and the energetic presence of such in this chakra, allows us to connect to the desires that our body has and our reproductive abilities. Through our body and the sacral, we channel our creative urges and allow ourselves to fully unfold our creative potential. This chakra is the second chakra, so both this and the root chakra must be healed to allow energy to travel up the spine. It has the capability to fully support your sexuality and creative and sexual expression, so it is ultimately important for all relationships to heal this chakra. Even in asexual identities, this chakras allows for the expression of personal comfort, intimacy with one's own emotions and other people (platonic or romantic), and comfort with one's sexuality (including asexuality). The sacral chakra allows us all to be passionate beings.

"Swadhistana" is the Sanskrit word for the sacral chakra. According to this source it means "the dwelling place of the self." The sacral is the source of all of our expression, and inspires the ways the chakras above it help us to express ourselves. The sacral chakra is beginning of our passion and drive to live, past the primordial needs the root chakra inspires us to seek.

A summary of traits related to this chakra are: sexuality, sensuality, creativity, self expression, womb, motherhood/parenthood, femininity, composition, giving, nurturing, enthusiasm, vitality, healing.

The sacral chakra develops usually in late childhood, when puberty is just about to begin and we all start to really understand ourselves as individuals existing the world, with wants, desires, and passions. Normally, by age 8-12, the sacral chakra is fully developed and active.

Elemental Connection:
Water

Color:
Orange

Physical Places it Governs: 

• Reproductive organs (also governed in part by the root chakra)
• Uterus, specifically
• Sacrum of the back
• Kidneys, urinary tract
• Aldosterone hormone production

Stones Associated to it:
Stones can be used for healing a chakra, often by meditating while holding or placing the stone/crystal above the chakra. It is often best to keep the stones wrapped in a colored cloth (silk if you can get it) that corresponds to the chakra color of the stone. For instance, keep these stones wrapped in orange silk or fabric. It tends to keep their energy less tainted and swaddles them for a little bit of compassion. It's also important to cleanse the crystal before using it. The short version would be to imagine white light around your hands and hold the crystal for a few minutes while the light swirls around it, but I'll go more in depth on crystal meditations in a later post. You can also wash the stone under warm water for a minute.

The more care and attention you put into the subtle details of energy work will never harm you or your practice. 

Here are some stones associated with the Sacral chakra and how they affect the chakra: 

• Citrine (activating)
• Fire opal (awakening, opening, activating)
• Carnelian (stabilizing, opening)
• Orange Calcite (opening)
• Yellow Topaz (Balancing, calming)
• Emerald (calming)
• Moonstone (Balancing)
• Aquamarine (Balancing, calming)

Scents and Foods Associated to it:

• Oranges
• Lemons
• Nectarines
• Peaches
• Strawberries
• Cherries
• Sugar
• Walnuts
• Carrots
• Orange Bell Peppers
• Pumpkin
• Sweet Potato
• Apricots
• Cantaloupes
• Mangoes
• Papaya
• Passion Fruit
• Salmon

Scents:

• Jasmine
• Bay Laurel
• Rosemary
• Rosewood
• Rose Absolute
• Sandalwood
• Neroli
• Cardamon

Things that can Negatively Affect This Chakra:

The universe throws a lot of things at us, sometimes really severe things. Our chakras are sensitive, so they are easily affected. When affected, they can really stop us from fully realizing the joy of being, but often we cannot control everything that happens to us. This is just an explanation of what could have caused sacral chakra issues, so that your awareness can be expanded and you can begin a journey towards healing.

Severe or Longterm:

• Sexual abuse: You reject your body or sexuality, or you feel like sexuality is unsafe. Sometimes don't experience sex with any sort of positive emotion, destroying the intimate emotional energy the sacral chakra thrives on.
• Feeling unsafe or rejecting emotional or sexual relationships: (Not necessarily more than platonic, but what you identify with wanting). This insecurity causes any passion in emotional relations or sex to be blocked as it rises from the root chakra to the sacral chakra.
• Dissociation: Rejection and unawareness of emotions for a long period of time can damage this chakra, or can be caused from damage from this chakra. 

Milder, More Common, Self-induced:

• Volatile emotions, especially stress induced: Uncontrolled energy, usually caused from the not paying attention to your natural emotions.
• Lust: Overactive chakra, seeking too much sexual release.
• Addiction to sex, pornography, or masturbation: Also seeking too much sexual release, over-expending energy.
• Intentionally getting into unsafe relationships: Consciously ruining stability, especially if it's an egoic call for attention by intentionally getting hurt (Granted, unsafe relationships that you are in are not always in your control, this isn't speaking about that type).
• Inability to swim/fear of water: The sacral chakra is water oriented, so rejecting this element can harm the chakra
• Embarrassment during sex: Rejection of natural bodily sounds, smells, and sensations. This rejection leads the energetic rejection as well. 
• Emotional attachment and imprinting: Dependence on someone emotionally, to a level that's toxic for both people.
• Using sex for something besides pleasure: Although some people can make a living from sex, unless you treat it as a sacred act each time (no matter what the sex is actually like), it can damage the chakra by rejecting the sacred energy behind intimacy with another person.
• Toxic relationships: Relationships that overwork the nurturer in you.
• Processed food, Preservatives, Food additives, Artificial foods: Toxic for all chakras.

Health Issues Associated to this Chakra:

• Malabsorption
• Digestive disorders
• Celiac's Disease
• Bladder tumors
• STDs/STIs
• Yeast infections, Bacterial infections of the genitalia
• Painful menstruation, menstrual issues
• Menopause disorders
• Miscarriages and some birth defects
• Sex drive/libido

Affects of an Overactive Sacral Chakra:

• Feeling a need to control the flow of life
• Ovarian cysts, heavier menstruation, pelvic pain
• Overthinking duality
• Dwelling too much into emotions
• Anxiety and dissociation
• Leading a dramatic life, getting too involved in drama
• Sex addiction, uncontrolled sex drive
• Unfulfilling orgasms
• Controlling or manipulating others
• Seeking to be the center of attention

Affects of an Underactive Sacral Chakra:

• Going with the flow too much, apathy to tasks that need to be completed
• Pelvic pain
• Thinking you can't change anything in your life, not wanting to take any control or responsibility
• Rejecting or not paying attention to emotions
• Dissociation and depression
• Never confronting people who are harming your emotional self
• Low libido for your natural state
• Unfulfilling orgasms
• Depression after sex
• Confusion
• Apathy towards changing or helping your own emotions (those which can be helped, of course). 
• Rejection of natural femininity or Yin energy

Ways of Healing This Chakra: 

Habitual Healing:

• Awareness of emotions: With each emotion, taking the time to get to intimately know what you're feeling. I highly recommend "Emotional Intimacy" by Robert Augustus Masters. 

One Time or Specific Method Healing:

• Color: Surround yourself with everything orange! Orange food, orange clothes, orange flowers, orange paintings, more orange! You'll be shocked at how aware of your sacral it makes you, and how quickly your root chakra heals as a result. 
• Crystal healing meditation: Using the crystals listed above and meditating while holding them or having them secured against your tailbone. 
• Yoga: Specific asanas for the sacral chakra include anything with hip opening and pelvic work.
• With the food you eat: Orange, fresh foods and fruits are great for this chakra. There's a list of great foods earlier in this post!
• Mantras and affirmations: Just say these as many times as you feel you need throughout the day, or for many days. 
• Chanting: Sing a long "VAM" sound, usually in repetition for a whole slow exhale (then a slow in breath). It's pronounced "Vah-m." Do it loud enough to feel it vibrate in your chest! Perhaps you feel it deep in your belly?

Mantras and Affirmations for the Sacral Chakra:

• "I honor my feminine side, it is a sacred part of me. It is full, functional, and complete."
• "I am able to let things go, knowing that I do not need to hold on to material objects and toxic relationships to feel complete."
• "I understand, love, and accept my sexual desires."
• "My emotions are able to be fully expressed in the healthiest way, and upon this expression, I can move past the source of any emotional pain."
• "There is a flow to the universe and a flow to my life, I graciously accept this."
• "I know my emotions are important, and I will take the time to feel each one." 

Image source here