Manipura-Solar Plexus Chakra Introduction

What & Where

Manipura is Sanskrit for “Lustrous gem”.  This chakra is where the upward flow of earth energy meets the downward flow of cosmic energy.  It is ruled by fire and the Sun’s energy.  This is where matter and form meet willed action.  The pancreas is the gland of this chakra.  It produces insulin and regulates metabolism.  When we are imbalanced in this chakra, we usually have problems with metabolic processes.  It is located just below the sternum and above the naval and sits over the stomach and the nerve ganglia under the diaphragm.

Main Function

“From earth to water to fire!  Our dance grows, impassioned now as we reclaim our bodies and reach through emotions and desire to find will, purpose, and action.  We grow in Strength, we feel our power rising from our guts, descending from our visions, releasing joyously from our hearts.”—from “Wheels of Life” by Anodea Judith, PhD.

This is where the conscious acts originate, and we move from the strictly physical realm of survival and relationship, to the combined physical and mental level of willed action.  This chakra is where we overcome the fixed inertia of the first two chakras, and like the driver hitting the golf ball we go into action. 

In the second chakra we experience the pain and feel like victims when something bad happens to us.  This is good because we get in touch with our needs, but we need to be able to move from this victim attitude in order to make positive changes to protect ourselves.  If we adopt the attitude that others are responsible for our happiness, then our only hope is that others will change, and we cannot control this.  We need to take responsibility for ourselves and effect the changes necessary to assure our happiness.  Don’t get the idea that there aren’t situations in this world that won’t victimize us, and that there are systems that are unjust; however, our reaction to, and our attitude towards these things will be the difference between becoming a victim or awakening our higher self.

You are the architect of your world.  Everything in it is there because you manifested it by your actions, or lack of action.  Feeling powerless is not the lack of the ability to manifest, but failure to recognize that you are responsible for the creation of your world.  You manifest everything in your world simply by keeping your mind on something.  Do you worry that you are too fat?   Do you spend time thinking about this, fretting; if so, that fretting is like praying for more fat.  Think thin thoughts, think abundant thoughts.  Engage you I AM that I AM, and create your world the way you wish it to be.  There are lots of teachings about how to do this, look at a few.  My favorite is “Wishes Fulfilled” by Dr. Wayne Dyer.

 
“This center is directly related to self-value, a primary quality in our relationships with others and the world around us.  If we fail to honor ourselves and know that we are worthy simply because we exist, our sense of personal identity is weak.  Consequently this chakra deals with self-esteem, confidence and freedom of choice.  It reflects how we see ourselves and exercise our innate power.” ~~Quote from “The Book of Chakras” by Ambika Wauters
 
When one acts from ones personal identity the chakra quickens.  When we allow others to label us, and act in ways just to please others, we deny our selfhood and this chakra becomes unbalanced.  If we are labeled a certain way, and we act only from those labels we are denying our personal identity and avoiding contact with our higher self.  Forming healthy attitudes about who we are, and establishing contact with our higher, spiritual self, allows us to act from personal power and confidence.  This helps us establish and connects us with our innate sense of worth.
 
We don’t need to prove our worth to anyone, as we were born perfectly worthy.  We are value incarnate.  Once we are cognizant of the fact that we are worthy simply because we are alive, we free our life’s energy and force for living.  Any time we deny our worth we give away our power and deplete this chakra, which denies us of love, kindness and respect, and opens us up for manipulation and exploitation.  If we honor ourselves we open ourselves up for respect, kindness and goodness to come our way.  We will act in ways that will place us in situations where we are valued and honored.
 
Gut feelings are generated from this chakra, like butterflies, or a tightening of the whole area when you feel something is wrong.  Our emotions are processed through this chakra, where fire energy burns them up.  Like real fire, the ashes need to be swept clear occasionally in order for the fire to continue to burn properly.  One should strive to rise above the negative emotions, without becoming emotionless or uncaring, but to acknowledge, understand and then release them.  This way the chakra is kept in equilibrium and resists emotional stress.
 
Balancing this chakra helps us not to succumb solely to our head ruling our heart; our left logical side of the brain overwhelming our creative, intuitive, right side.  Balance is the key.  On the societal level this chakra relates to interacting with the world at large as an individual without drowning our personal identity.  This is societal interaction as a whole; outside our “tribal” (root chakra) or “partnership” (sacral chakra) interactions.
 
Related Bodily Functions
 
The associated body parts of this chakra are the stomach, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, small intestine and muscles.  Ailments caused by an imbalanced or dysfunctional solar plexus chakra are indigestion, acid stomach, acid reflux, ulcers, hepatitis, gallstones, pancreatitis, weight carried around middle and diabetes
 
Over Active
 
Angry, controlling, workaholic, judgmental and superior acting
 
Under active
 
Overly concerned with what others think, fearful of being alone, insecure, needs constant reassurance.
 
Balanced
 
Respects self and others, has personal power, spontaneous, uninhibited.
 
Symbol
 
It is a ten-petal lotus.  Within it is a downward-pointing triangle surrounded by three T-shaped svastikas that are symbolic of fire.  The ram fire God Agni is also depicted.