Hello from the rain of West Yorkshire! – I can only just see the hill opposite as I write this post!
So, this week we are moving into the third
chakra, the Solar Plexus. This chakra is very much about individuation, and our place in the world. When we are balanced in this chakra, this manifests as being connected with others, without losing ourselves in the other, and remaining aware of our ultimate aloneness.
The Solar Plexus chakra is situated just below the ribs, and is related to the organs to do with digestion – the liver, the stomach, and the pancreas. Conditions that are often related to a third chakra imbalance are digestive issues, allergies, crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome and diabetes.
When we are imbalanced in this chakra, we can often feel as though we are victims in our own lives, powerless to change our situation and stuck. (I think this emotional stuckness is often reflected in the physical stuckness of elimination which can lead to the diseases talked about earlier to do with digestion.) The root emotion below all of this is often unexpressed anger. As well as manifesting in terms of powerlessness (which is associated with a deficiency in this chakra) it can also manifest as an excess: being power hungry, aggressive and controlling others.
The balanced position in this chakra is one where we have a healthy, balanced sense of our own worth, we are confident in ourselves and our abilities, we are disciplined, without it veering into over control, and we can be spontaneous and playful.
In terms of healing this chakra, it is often my sense that it is about bringing movement to the stagnant, stuck energy. Shaking and free form dancing are very good for this; other exercise such as running or swimming is also good, but there is something about the unpredictability and spontaneity of shaking and free-form dancing that I feel is particularly good here.
A physical cleanse can also be good. I remember doing a 5 day blessd herbs cleanse, which involved drinking herbal “shakes” 4 or 5 times a day, and not eating. I felt afterwards physically lighter – as though the cleanse had allowed me to release a “layer” of negativity that I had been carrying round with me. (If you’re interested in this, it’s good to talk with the suppliers of this product before using it, particularly if you have an existing health condition.)
Energy healing and the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) can also be helpful here. Sound healing, chakra balancing and colour healing can help to balance the Solar Plexus chakra. More specifically, an inner child healing or a relationship cord healing can help the person heal the event or events which led to the imbalance in this chakra. Often, this will be the time from 18 months to 4 years (including the terrible twos!) – when the child is starting to feel separate from the mother, and yet needs the assurance that she is still there. Often, the child can feel the parents’ will imposed on him; this can lead to unexpressed anger. An inner child healing can be a safe place to express what it wasn’t possible to express at the time.
Similarly, EFT is very helpful for going back to a childhood event that remains in the energy field, and is influencing our behaviour still, and letting go of it.
Finally, as with the other chakras, chakra balancing mediations are helpful. The balanced colour of the Solar Plexus chakra is a bright yellow. And the balanced sound is “OOOH.”
So, the next post will move into the territory of the heart chakra – the bridge between the lower three chakras we have already looked at, and the higher three chakras (throat, third eye and crown.)
