Working With The Sacral Chakra

With the rise in popularity of essential oils, as well as the increased attention to the ancient healing modality of working with our chakras, we thought it would be a great time to focus on some of our most popular products, our Chakra Essence Sprays and Perfume Rollers, and tell you more about what is in them and why. Many traditional healing practices talk of the chakras, energy centers that are a part of our etheric/energy bodies that can influence all things in our life, from our health to our emotions. According to tradition, when these energy centers are out of balance, either too open or too closed off, we can experience imbalances in our life. Each chakra governs different aspects of our beings, and thus when not in alignment with each other, those aspects of our life will be off. By learning more about the associations of each individual chakra, we can discern if there are things in our own life that may point to that particular chakra being misaligned, and thus can work on correcting the imbalances by actively seeking herbs, essential oils, and other healing practices that activate that particular chakra. Last month we covered the first chakra, the Root Chakra, so this month is all about the second chakra.

THE SACRAL CHAKRA

The Sacral chakra, called Swadhisthana in Sanskrit breaks down roughly into "One's Own Dwelling Place. The Sanskrit word swa means ‘one’s own’ and adisthana means ‘dwelling place or residence’ and is located approximately where your womb (or bladder) area is. It could also be thought of as the pelvic bowl region of the body, which applies to people of any sexual or physical orientation and represents the seat of connectivity and creativity in a person. It is your center of creativity, sexuality, one-on-one connection, and your seat of personal fulfillment. It is from here we develop our personal boundaries and discover what wants and desires we have for ourselves and how to make them happen in this world. When the sacral chakra is in balance a person will feel friendly, optimistic, concerned for others, have a sense of belonging, be creative, imaginative, intuitive, attuned to one's own feelings, and have a good sense of humor. When the sacral chakra is deficient often the person will feel extremely shy, timid, immobilized by fear, overly sensitive, self-negating, resentful, buried emotions, burdened by guilt, distrustful, clinging, guilty about sex, difficulty conceiving, abused, frigid or impotent. When the sacral chakra has excessive energy the person may be emotionally explosive, aggressive, overly ambitious, manipulative, caught up in illusion, overindulgent, self-serving, have obsessive thoughts of sex, and see people as sex objects. The main words associated with this chakra are I Feel and I Desire. This chakra is all about our need for relationships with other people and our need to control the dynamics of our physical environment. There is an inherent duality in this chakra as it is the meeting place between our basic physical needs of the root chakra and the very outward personal power space of the third chakra. It is also all about creation and procreation, both the physical and emotional aspects of this that are experienced as the desire for children and/or personal creative endeavors in the world. It is also linked to sex, power, and money, the currencies of relationships, making it a very powerful chakra and one that we must always be mindful of. In our Sacral chakra spray and roller, we chose specific gems and oils that have been associated with their ability to balance and harmonize the volatile and powerful sacral chakra.  

ESSENTIAL OILS FOR THE SACRAL CHAKRA

Rose - a favorite of most people across the globe, the scent of roses is particularly useful for situations of anxiety, PTSD, insomnia, and is considered an aphrodisiac and is often used for balancing hormones. It's softening nature reminds us to be mindful in our relationships, both with others and with ourselves. Rose is also a plant of protection as is evidenced by its thorns. The thorns protect the alluring but delicate flower within, reminding us to protect our own heart space as well as be wary of hurting those who have let us past their boundaries. Orange - is inherently uplifting and helps to brighten almost any mood and diffuse difficult situations making it perfect for helping to balance this particular chakra. It helps us to not get too bogged down and dark when this chakra is closed off. Ylang Ylang - has an intoxicating scent making it a favorite aphrodisiac oil. It is helpful for situations of depression when one needs to focus on happiness and the blessings of life. Being an aphrodisiac herb, it's perfect for helping people to be more open to the flow of love and passion in their lives.  

GEM ESSENCES FOR THE SACRAL CHAKRA

Bloodstone - brings a stronger flow of nour­ishing Earth ener­gies into the 1st and 2nd chakras; stim­u­lates the rapid release of ener­gies that have been stuck in the lower chakras and in the emo­tional body; rebal­ances these energy cen­ters after trauma or ­emo­tional upset. Blood­stone opens and har­mo­nizes the con­nec­tion between the heart chakra and the Earth by clearing and releasing strong emo­tional block­ages that are being held in the lower chakras. It does this by using the power of the heart and the sup­port of the earth to cir­cu­late a very strong cur­rent of love and appre­ci­a­tion through the pathway that links the two, which pro­vides the cat­a­lyst to move out any stag­nant energy that is present Hematite - strengthens the ener­getic boundary between the ­mental and ­emo­tional bodies; pro­motes emo­tional inde­pen­dence rather than co-­dependence; helps us main­tain a state of ­com­pas­sionate detach­ment while wit­nessing an intense emo­tional expe­ri­ence in another; helps us con­tain our own emo­tional expe­ri­ences in a clear way. Hematite helps us create and main­tain appro­priate emo­tional bound­aries so that we can be emo­tion­ally con­nected to others and at the same time feel com­pletely safe and self-contained. Moonstone - helps us move into an authentic feeling space rather than an over-reactive one; cleanses and cir­cu­lates energy in the emo­tional body; helps us com­plete emo­tional cycles; calming, soothing, and nur­turing; bal­ances and har­mo­nizes psy­chic sen­si­tivity during menstruation. The Moon­stone essence helps to bal­ance all aspects of the fem­i­nine in men and women. It helps us embody and ground fem­i­nine power and grace into our bodies, and achieve a level of emo­tional equa­nimity where we are more able to prac­tice non-reactivity and accep­tance of what is in the present moment Orange Calcite - pen­e­trating, uplifting, ener­gizing, warming; ­ampli­fies one’s ability to ­assim­i­late light at the cel­lular level of the body; opens the heart to the energy of the Sun;  dis­pels dark­ness and grief; helps one feel joy and a sense of cre­ative con­nect­ed­ness to the phys­ical realm. Orange Cal­cite is for those who are often sad or despon­dent, are caught up in cycles of neg­a­tivity, or feel cut off in some way from their inner sources of light. It also addresses lethargy and chronic energy defi­cien­cies that can con­tribute to emo­tional mood swings and a dark out­look on life. Rhdochrosite - increases energy, bal­ance, and sta­bility in the heart chakra and in the phys­ical body; soothing and nur­turing to the heart during and after deep healing and trans­for­ma­tion; heals the effects of abuse in the heart so that the cor­re­sponding trauma can be released from the phys­ical body. Rhodochrosite brings a strong flow of Earth love and sup­port to any healing process in the heart. It rebal­ances the heart chakra after emo­tional shock or trauma, and helps us strengthen the heart so it can be its own sup­port system should a loss or shock occur in the future. Rhodolite Garnet - increases one’s ability to inhabit the phys­ical body; helps one recon­nect ener­get­i­cally with parts of the body that have been trau­ma­tized; rebuilds the etheric web in areas dis­rupted by injury or surgery so that one can draw in the forces that are needed to com­plete the healing process.   Our Chakra Sprays and Perfume rollers contain all of the above essences and essential oils and are the perfect way to work with your sacral chakra. We love using them in meditation, before or during a yoga class, or at any point during the day to help keep us feeling connected to our own sense of creativity as well as our own deep-seated feelings and sense of self-love.    

HERBS FOR THE SACRAL CHAKRA

Many of the herbs that are associated with this chakra are ones we would typically think of as aphrodisiacs as well as those that are good for fertility. Damiana is the most classic and well known of the aphrodisiac herbs. Its actions are so specific in fact that what it does is increase circulation to the pelvic region. It also happens to be very tasty when combined with other aphrodisiac herbs, chocolate, and wine. For a bunch of yummy recipes all including damiana check out our Making Love blog post. Other herbs such as ginger, orange peel, cinnamon, clove, and cardamom are considered aphrodisiacs mostly because they also increase circulation and bring warmth to the body. They all will also help to open and soften the sacral chakra because they tend to be warming, energizing, and uplifting and these are the energetics that are needed to balance a closed down sacral chakra. Herbs such as raspberry leaf and shatavari are considered to be fertility tonic herbs and make excellent additions for anyone who is looking to conceive. (If you are in this phase of life and would like more guidance than be sure to check out the work our owner Sarah does with her fertility programs). The Female Tonic Tea that we make is also a good place to start. A tea that combined all of the above herbs would, in fact, make a tasty and effective blend. Or you can check out our Sacred Sacral Chakra Tea  

FOODS FOR THE SACRAL CHAKRA

Because the color of the sacral chakra is orange, any foods with this color are said to be associated with this chakra; foods such as sweet potatoes, carrots, pumpkin, and butternut squash are perfect for the fall and winters seasons and are lovely when paired with some of the warming herbs that go with this chakra as well, herbs such as cinnamon, ginger, clove, and cardamom. Fruits such as oranges, peaches, and apricots are also aligned with this chakra, and their juiciness is perfectly aligned with the sexual energy that governs this chakra.  

Here are a few recipes for the sacral chakra.

Fall Pumpkin Smoothie (from Chakra Tonics)

• 1 can ( 8 oz) cooked pumpkin puree
• 1/2 tsp dried ginger
• 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 banana
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 1/2 cup ice cubes
• water or coconut milk, as much need for your preferred consistency
• Place all ingredients in a blender and mix till smooth.

  Peach Power Smoothie (from the Whole Detox)

• 1 frozen banana
• 1 cup frozen peaches
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 1/2 cup ice cubes
• 3/4-1 cup water or coconut milk, as much need for your preferred consistency
• Place all ingredients in a blender and mix till smooth.

    Damiana Cordial (by Kami McBride of The Herbal Kitchen)  Ingredients

• 4 cups port brandy
• 1 cup damiana leaf
• 1 cup rose petals
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp cardamom
• 1/2 cup dried apricots
• 1/2 cup dried dates

Directions:

1. 1. Put all ingredients in a half-gallon mason jar and let sit for one month in a cool dark place.
2. 2. Strain all the ingredients from the brandy, squeezing to get out all the juices
3. 3. Add honey if desired and sip!

This cordial makes for a wonderful aphrodisiac blend that can be shared with a loved one or used when you are feeling the desire to increase your own self-love.   All of the suggestions above are perfect ways to start working on aligning your Sacral Chakra so you feel more calm, stable, balanced, grounded, and centered in the world as you go about your daily life. If you give any of them a try, or have a favorite option please let us know, we love hearing from you, and be sure to check back next month for the Solar Plexus Chakra.

RESOURCES

• Chakra Tonics - Elise Collins
• Caroline Myss's Free Chakra info
• Chakra Synopsis
• Balancing the Sacral Chakra from the Herbarium
• Sacral Chakra Essential Oils
• Alaskan Gem Essences

  Disclaimer