Svaddisthana-Sacral Chakra Meditation 2012

I had a revelation about the use of affirmations.  I have always thought these were good things, and I know they have helped many people.  However, upon reflection of the word affirmations, I think it is better to "confirm" what is true in us all.  It is one thing to affirm things that we do not now believe we possess, but this action seems to acknowledge that currently, “I am not that.”  The reality is that we are all chips off the creative force, but have somehow shut our eyes so tight to the reality of who we really are, that we cannot manifest in the manner of the I AM that I AM.  We need to confirm and reconfirm, “I AM that I AM.”  Acknowledge our true nature.  Know it.  Believe it.  Be it.  IT IS SO.  AMEN. 

I know this seems like symantics to some of you, but when you look at how affirmations are used, you will understand what I mean.  Just give it a little thought.

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Building the Pyramid

Sit on the floor either in lotus pose; or for those with no experience in yoga, sit on a cushion with your legs crossed in front of you. If you have trouble sitting on the floor, use a chair and sit with your legs spread wide apart. You may also choose to recline in a chair or propped up in bed with your legs wide spread, touch the soles of your feet together and draw them up to your pelvic area as far as possible. The idea is to stretch and elongate the groin muscles slightly. (No pain should ever be involved.  If it is painful, put some pillows under your knees for support.)

Use the breath Exercise: 4-7-8 to relax. Now scan your body for any tense areas, start at your toes and work up the legs to the thighs, to the pelvis, back shoulders neck and arms. If you spot any tense areas, just concentrate on relaxing and releasing the tension. Breath into the area, feel the breath release the tension on the out breath and fill it with relaxation on the in breath.

Now that you are fully relaxed, begin to visualize an orange pyramid that sits directly in your pelvic area. The four walls of this pyramid represent well-being, deservedness, pleasure, and abundance. Expand the pyramid until it encloses the entire sacral chakra area in a safe and healthful space.

Visualize the foundation of your pyramid as the seat of the I AM that I AM.  This is the spark of the creative force that exists within each of use.  Confirm, “I AM that I AM, and I AM born with the power to create everything I desire”.  Strengthen this foundation often with the confirmation of, “I AM that I AM.”  Know it.  Believe it.  Be it.  IT IS SO.  AMEN.

Strengthen the wall that is nearest your spine.  This is the wall of well-being; reinforce the walls with the knowledge that “I AM well-being”.    I do the things I love, and the things I must….. See the wall strengthen with each confirmation of this fact.  Strengthen this was often with the confirmation “I AM vitality.  I AM Well-being”.  Know it.  Believe it.  Be it. IT IS SO.  AMEN.

The wall that runs along the left-hand side of your body is the wall of deservedness. Strengthen this wall and reinforce it with the knowledge that I deserve all good things in life.  I AM well-being, abundance and good health…. Examine your belief of your deservedness for these things… If you discover any doubts, release them and trust that life is meant to be pleasurable and comfortable.  Allow this awareness into your consciousness.  Strengthen this was by repeatedly confirming, “I AM that I AM, and I AM born with the power to create everything I desire”.  Know it.  Believe it.  Be it.  IT IS SO.  AMEN.

Now look at the front wall that represents, pleasure and your capacity to experience joy. Strengthen and reinforce that wall with the full knowledge that you are meant to experience pleasure and joy in this life time.  Confirm, “I AM joy and pleasure”.  Reinforce this, by repeatedly confirming that I AM joy and pleasure. Know it.  Believe it.  Be it.  IT IS SO.  AMEN.

Now strengthen the wall on the right side of this pyramid.  This is the wall of abundance.  Give thanks for all the abundance that surrounds you.  Glory in the abundance that exists around you.  Confirm, “I AM abundance.” Take time to give thanks for all that is wonderful and meaningful in your life.  Spend a little time strengthening this wall.  Strengthen this wall by repeatedly confirming, “I AM Abundance.”  Know it.  Believe it.  Be it. IT IS SO.  AMEN.

Now look at each wall, and make sure that you are happy with the strength of each.  Focus more strength into any that may need it.  Strengthen these walls by repeatedly confirming occasionally throughout the day, “I AM vitality, joy, pleasure, abundance, and well-being.”  Know it.  Believe it.  Be it.  IT IS SO.  AMEN. 

You may adapt this in any way you wish.

Svaddisthana-Exercises for sacral chakra

As with any exercise program, please consult a physician before performing these exercises. Follow the instruction given on the website. If an exercise hurts, stop doing it. You are solely responsible for your activity as regards these exercise. Make sure you are in good physical shape before performing these exercises.  The poses have links to websites that give instructions, some give some precaution, and variations for those who are less flexible than a professional yoga teacher.

Yogic Exercises

TreePose

Wide-AngleSeated Forward Bend

CatPose

ChildPose

BoundAngle Pose

GoddessPose

PelvicBreathing                                              

Pelvic Breathing too

Diagram for proper performance

Other practices that are wonderful for this chakra are brought to you from Earthy in the original class.

1. Stimulating with exercise

Pelvic Rotation—Begin this exercise for your sacral chakra by standing up straight, with your knees slightly bent and your pelvis dropped forward. Keeping your knees bent and flexible, rotate your pelvis in gradually decreasing clockwise circles, and then slowly increase the rotation size. Repeat the exercise, this time rotating in anti clockwise circles. Your head and feet should remain completely still while you’re doing this exercise, and the movement you are seeking to emulate is similar to those used in belly dancing. Repeat the exercise 6 times in each direction.

Pelvic Rock—using the same basic stance, rock the pelvis front to back without moving the head up and down.  This should not be a violant movement; just a slow, flowing rocking of the pelvis.

2. Calming with Aromatherapy

Anoint yourself with a few drops of chamomile, lavender, or ylang-ylang essential oil just below the navel. Lie on your bed and relax. Breathing deeply, inhale to a count of 4, hold for the count of 7, and exhale to a count of 8.  Do this four times, and return to normal abdominal breathing rhythms.   After a few weeks you can start working your way up to a maximum of eight times.  The count pace can be any duration, as long as the counting is the same pace throughout the process.  As you become more practiced, the counts can slow down a bit. Allow the relaxing and soothing energy of the oil to soak into your body, and feel it calming the sacral chakra as you continue to breathe deeply for a few minutes longer.

3. Relaxing Meditation

Goddess Pose—Lie on your back. Draw your knees up and drop them out to the side as far as possible, and place the soles of your feet together. If there is discomfort in this pose for you, place pillow under your knees for support. Hold this pose for a while and envision the color orange and the pleasure of this calm feeling. Repeat your affirmations, and feel the pleasure derived from this area of your body.

4. Movement

It is important in working with your second chakra that you find time for movement every day. Play music and dance freely when nobody is watching, or if comfortable for you partner. Take walks, run, and bicycle, make love, take belly dancing lesson (there are tapes for this).

Svaddisthana-Sacral Chakra Correspondences

Svaddisthana-Sacral Chakra Correspondences

Colors—Orange

Element—Water
Functions—Desire, pleasure, sexuality
Rights—To feel and have pleasure
Demon—Guilt
Symbol—Six Petal Orange Lotus
Life lessons—Allowing pleasure and creativeness to be expressed, uncovering             motivations influencing choices based on conditioning
Main Issues—Emotional balance, sexuality
Area of body governed—Sex organs, bladder, circulatory system, prostate, womb
Gland—ductless glands, in men testes, in women ovaries
Physical Ailments—Impotence, frigidity, bladder and prostate problems, lower back             pain
Associated Spinal Area—First Lumbar Vertebra
Life Issues—To know that who you are and what you do are good enough; to have             enough rest, food, exercise, fun and money; not to link self-worth with what you      do or have; to create healthy boundaries to protect your vital life force.
Crystals—Citrine, carnelian, golden topaz, tiger eye
Shape—Pyramid
Seed Sound-Mantra—Vam
Plant—Jasmine
Musical Note—D
Ruling Planet—Pluto
Incense/Aromatherapy—Jasmine, rose, sandalwood
Tarot Card—The Empress, Lovers, Star
Tree of Life Sephiroth—Yesod
Astrological—Cancer, Scorpio
Hindu Gods—Varuna, Vishnu, Rakini
Other God/desses—Diana, Tiamat, Posiedon, Lir, Ganymede, Pan
Archangel—Gabriel

Affirmations

• I AM LOVE!
• I AM Health.
• I AM Well.
• I AM joy.
• I AM Pleasure.
• I AM abundance.
• I AM pleasure.
• I AM graceful

Recommended Practice

Using things around the house create focus table to help balance this chakra.  Remember the correspondences.  Use orange pieces, and crystals if you have them handy, otherwise pieces of clothing, towels, scarves, pictures, candles all have a place on the table.  Use whatever reminds you of the areas that you are working on.  You may want to use just a little TV tray, night stand or patio table for this.  This will allow you to stop on the way by and just do a quick visualization exercise.

 
It is time to do a quick 5 minute meditation on the chakra, using an object on the table as a focus.  Visualize the chakra, the flow of the orange through your groin and pelvic area, feel the tingle of this energy in this area.  Visualize pleasure and joy stemming from this area.  Feel that orange energy and pleasure fill this area.  Feel the shiver of pleasure as the energy fills this area.  See the energy flow up through the sushumna, pass through the crown and flows over your body in an aura of the orange the color of the chakra.  No chanting, no need to focus on breathing, just feel the orange energy enveloping the area of the pelvis.  Feel the pleasure of the energy.  Hold the visualization as long as you like.

Svaddisthana-Sacral Chakra Introduction 2012

What & Where

Muladhara is about survival, grounding, and stability, by comparison the second Chakra Svaddisthana is about flow, movement and flexibility.  In Muladhara we develop the ability to love ourselves, and once that is accomplished we are able to move on to healthy loving relationships with others.  Muladhara gives us a good grounded base from which we can begin to flow out through Svaddisthana and explore the rest of the world. 

Svaddisthana is located about two inches below the naval and two inches into the pelvic area. It governs sexuality, creativity, emotions, and pleasure. This Chakra is about our feelings of pleasure and well-being.  It also affects our capacity to develop a sense of abundance.  The Sanskrit name Svaddisthana means “Sweet Abode”.   The ductless glands are ruled by this chakra; in women ovaries, in men testes.  The penis is the realm of the Base Chakra Muladhara because of its capacity to assure the survival of the race.

Main Function

This chakra’s functionality depends on the degree that we care and value our own being.  If we believe that we are deserving of the good things in life, this chakra opens and draws pleasure and abundance.  If on the other hand, we believe that we are undeserving of the good things in life this chakra shrivels up, closes and loses the ability to draw abundance and pleasure. 

On the physical level, this chakra is the seat of our sexuality and our sense of pleasure.  Being in touch with our sexuality allows us to grow emotionally.  A wholesome attitude toward sexuality opens up our ability to have fulfillment in the love of another and the joy and pleasure of such a physical union.   

On an Emotional level, this is the center of pleasure and well-being, which leads to a feeling of abundance.  When we are not experiencing these emotions we become frustrated.  What usually crops up in its place is a feeling about what we lack, such as, love, sex, money and joy.  It is learning to be grateful for what we have that is key to relieving much of this tension, and balancing this chakra.  Once balanced this chakra will spin and draw in pleasure and abundance.  Imbalances of this chakra result in sexual misconduct, over eating and addictive behavior.   Our efforts with this chakra will teach us to focus this energy on positive emotional expression, and release any of the sense of loss and lack that may be held in this chakra. 

On the mental level, our attitude about money, health, pleasure and deservedness are held in this chakra.  Money and sexuality are the two areas that have the most constraints around them.  How we handle these subjects has a direct effect on our personal energy.  If we have negative, afflictive ideas, we suffer from deprivation and are on a slippery slope to disease.  An attitude of gratitude for the things that we have will create thoughts of abundance, and a positive attitude.  These thoughts will cause us to manifest more of the same things, and attract more wonderful people, things and experiences into our lives.

“The essence of the Sacral Chakra is about knowing that what we have and do is good enough.”   We manifest abundance when we recognize all the advantages that we have.  The focus is on abundance and appreciation for what we already have.  If we adopt an attitude of lack of things and physical characteristics, and focus in pure materialism and what it is that we think we need to exhibit abundance like the Jones’ then we are doomed to unhappiness.  For what we put our minds on with any frequency, and accompany these thoughts with the emotions, is what we manifest in our lives.  As you can see, if you put your mind on your abundance, then you will manifest abundance.  If you put your mind on the lack of things in your life, you will manifest more of what you don’t want, and don’t need more of, and that is lack.  The choice is yours.  If you focus on lack it may manifest as dysfunctions of the sacral chakra.  If you keep doing what you’re doing you’ll keep getting what ya got.  Focus on the things you have, remember they are good enough.

The archetypes of this chakra are the Emperor/Empress and the Martyr.  The Empress exhibits the knowledge that we deserve abundance and happiness.    The martyr exhibits the attitude that he does not deserve abundance and will accept a life of suffering and deprivation; fortunately they do not blame anyone else for this, as does victim in Muladhara.  The martyr feels deserving of his plight and helpless to do anything about his situation.  The Empress’ difference is in the belief that she deserves abundance, which then allows it to manifest in her life.

Another function of Svaddisthana is Internal Balance.  While the Muladhara deals with sex, as in procreation and survival of the species, Svaddisthana deals with the exploration of our sexuality which leads to the joy of giving pleasure to others.

 Our sexuality allows the coming together of the masculine and feminine, not just as it relates to others, but also as it relates to bringing together the masculine and feminine in each of us as we develop our spirituality.  We move on to balance of our right brain and left brain, or masculine and feminine sides.  We begin to integrate the masculine left brain actions, of drive, ambition, organization, action and logic side, with the feminine right side actions of creation, nurturing, artistic, and verbal skills.  The balancing of the Svaddisthana moves us toward the internal balance we need to function well in this world. 

In a healthy, mature heterosexual man, the male principle is in the fore, but they have access to the softer feminine principle when needed.  On the other hand, a healthy, mature woman will have the female principle in the fore, but it will be supported by the harder masculine aspects.  Remember the flow; it is the healthy flow of Svaddisthana that facilitates the ability to move between the right and left brain controlled principles.

When couples are in a relationship there is an ordinary flow from the masculine to the feminine principles for them.  They will be able to apply the required set of principles for any situation that would arise.  Let’s say for instance that a man’s wife were to become ill, he would be able to reach into the soft, feminine principles to care for his wife, and nurture the children while his wife recovered.  In the reverse situation, the woman would be able to reach into the harder, masculine principles of organization and a drive to keep the bills paid and the home running, while he recovers.  Single people tend to use all of the principles all of the time as long as they are emotionally healthy.  In gay couples, there generally is an even flow between the couple, which allows them both to access the necessary principles required.

Related Bodily Functions

The areas that are affected here are the sexual organs, bladder, circulatory system, prostate or womb.   The dis-eases of this chakra are impotence or frigidity, bladder and prostate problems, lower back pain.  People with multiple urinary tract infections, enlarged prostate and other dis-eases associated with this chakra; need to spend time balancing Svaddisthana. 

Over Active

Emotionally unbalanced, a fantasist, manipulative, sexually addicted

Other characteristics are:

• Sexual addictions
• Obsessive attachments
• Addiction to stimulation
• Excessive mood swings
• Excessively sensitive
• Poor boundaries, invasion of others
• Emotional dependency
• Instability

Under Active

Over-sensitive, hard on oneself, feels guilty for no reason, frigid or impotent

Other characteristics are:

• Rigidity in your body, beliefs or behavior
• Emotional numbness or insensitivity
• Fear of change
• Lack of desire, passion or excitement
• Avoidance of pleasure, fear of sexuality
• Poor social skills
• Excessive boundaries
• Boredom

Balanced

Trusting, expressive, attuned to ones own feelings, creative

Other characteristics are;

• Graceful movements
• Ability to embrace change
• Emotional intelligence
• Nurturance of self and others
• Healthy boundaries
• Ability to enjoy pleasure
• Sexual satisfaction
• Passion

Things to do to Balance Chakra

Answer these questions and share the answers, if you choose.  However, if you choose not to share, give me some information about how the exercise made you feel.

• Do you take time to tune into your own emotions?
• Do you have the courage to express your emotions appropriately?
• Which emotions seem to overwhelm you?
• How were your emotions responded to when you were a child?
• Do you value your own feelings?
• Which individuals have influenced your beliefs about your emotions?

http://www.tantra-kundalini.com/svadhisthana.htm