The Sacral Chakra

The second chakra, known as Svadhishana, is represented by the color orange, and translates to a phrase known as "the place of the self". Thinking back to the first chakra and moving a step forward from your basic survival and security needs, the translated phrase begins to make a great deal of sense. The purpose of this chakra is to guide you to a creative side of life; to guide you to an experimental and artistic energy that helps you to enjoy the planet you are on.
Starting below the belly button and extending to the center of it, the Sacral Chakra brings about appreciation and satisfaction when it comes to the pleasurable things in life, including: sex, food, activities and hobbies, etc.. However, the goal here, is to enthusiastically accept the pleasure life has to offer, yet refrain from overdoing such activities and under appreciating the beauty.

Balanced vs. Unbalanced

Just as the Root Chakra, along with every other chakra in your body, this area can become unbalanced-- it can become overactive or underactive. As many people say, "good things come in small packages". Pleasure can be a wonderful thing, as it should be, therefore you should never feel guilty for enjoying yourself or the gratification life throws your way; you are being offered contentment for a reason. Regardless, when we begin to take things for granted, we begin to enjoy things that are not exactly healthy or nourishing for our souls. As your second chakra becomes overactive, or if it is already in that state, you may begin experiencing symptoms/signs of addiction, greed, obesity, hormonal imbalances, and restlessness.
On the other side of the spectrum, if you are experiencing an underactive Sacral Chakra, one could become bitter and begin to exhibit signs opposite of the ones listed above; depression, worthlessness, a decreased sex drive, lack of passion and creativity in everyday life, and an overall outlook of hopelessness are just a few to start with. Although it is wholesome to be cognizant of your pleasures and enjoying them to a certain extent, if you spend more time focusing on practical things and refusing to actively ENJOY what life is giving you, an underactive second chakra is bound to occur.

Balancing Your Second Chakra

Whether you are trying to balance an overactive chakra, or energize an underactive chakra, it is important to meet somewhere in the middle; hence the word balance. By drawing energy away from pleasure and into yourself- into your soul. By asking yourself questions, out of curiosity and encouragement for yourself, you begin to lead a healthier life. Questions such as: "Is what I'm about to do nourishing for me?" "Is it a healthy choice?" "What are the benefits to this choice or the choice I'm about to make?" "How will I feel after the choice is made, and where will it lead me?" Assessing your own actions and being conscious of what you are choosing to do, or maybe not do, plays a very pivotal role when trying to balance your second chakra. If you are ever "under the weather", take a step back and thoroughly enjoy the day you are living; the moment you are living in. Eat a nutritious snack or something you enjoy, create a fun activity and enjoy it with someone you love... literally, ENJOY YOURSELF AND THE ENVIRONMENT YOU ARE IN. Accepting the gifts the Universe is handing you allows energy to flow freely.
The life the majority of us live actually gets in the way of us living our life, strange, huh? Being aware of the pleasurable things we are meant to enjoy brings about a light that was meant to be there all along. Accept the light, without taking advantage of it, and move forward. BALANCE your second chakra.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post on the Solar Plexus.
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