“No one is you and that is your power.”
Dave Grohl
Symbolic Colour: Yellow
Element: Fire
Physical: Point in the Spine behind the diaphragm
Mental: Focus, and the clarity to recognise that situations change and transform.
Emotional: Determination & will-power, seeing things through to the end, feels purposeful
Mantra: Ram
Affirmation: I stand in my own power; I honour the power within me.
Manipura Chakra – The Solar Plexus
By connecting to the abdomen and the processes of digestion, we get a real sense of the power within us to change and transform; we literally transform food into the building blocks of the cells of our body. It’s also the power we have to focus and bring clarity through challenge, literally transforming challenge into asset and knowledge into wisdom. This is our core strength, and we connect to it in the muscles of the abdomen as we build strength and find space here in the core of our being, the powerhouse at the centre of the body.
The Manipura Chakra is healthy when we’re able to convert our ideas and energy into action in the world. It needs the healthy foundation (Muladhara Chakra) to rest upon and the ability to not let emotion accumulate (a healthy Svadisthana Chakra). Nurturing Manipura Chakra becomes about connecting to what makes us feel passionately alive and vibrant and feeding that energy.
Practice
Connect to an idea you might have had, or a dream. Perhaps you’ve always wanted to try a particular hobby or learn a new skill? Bringing dreams and ideas to reality is the work of Manipura Chakra. Become engaged in the process of planning. Notice the hurdle of getting started, the focus of sticking with it, the willpower required. Set yourself a small daily goal and watch your progress and development with curiosity.
Yoga Asana
Ardha Matsyendrasana (Half Lord of the Fishes). From seated with legs extended bend the left knee and place the foot on the ground. Bend the right knee and place the heel of the right foot beside the left hip (underneath the left knee). Hug the right arm around the left knee and place the left hand on the ground behind the left hip. Keep both sit bones grounded and the belly lifting away from the thigh. Have a sense of upward spiralling from the tail bone to the crown of the head and explore up to 6 breaths here (or as many as feel good), then repeat on the opposite side.
Twisting the torso can stimulate the digestive organs and connect us to the energy of manipura chakra. You may even notice your digestion start to rumble away.
Breath work
Ujjayi Pranayama, begin with breath awareness at the nostrils, notice how it feels, be curious about the qualities of the breath. To engage ujjayi the throat needs to softly constrict in order that the breath creates a gentle hissing sound. You’ll notice that the breath lengthens too. Imagine that gentle constriction like a slight kink in a hose. It creates a higher pressure and takes longer for the volume of breath to draw in and out. You’ll notice the breath lengthen. Ujjayi Pranayama can be heating for the system, but also can stimulate a deep focus. Take up to 6 rounds of breath and notice how you feel.
Visualise
A healthy open fire, feel the warmth of the fire and see how the fire is firmly supported by the earth underneath. Listen to the crack and hiss of burning fuel and notice how the fire transforms the fuel. Bring to mind a challenge that you’re currently facing, and place it on the fire as an offering, watch the fire transform the challenge into an asset or strength. This is the power of the Manipura Chakra to burn through all that no longer serves you.
