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Chakra Series-Solar Plexus
July 16, 2020
Grounding your Solar Plexus
Your Solar Plexus, aka Manipura ("Jewel City") is associated with your emotions, confidence, personal opinions, decisions and your overall purpose. This chakra is essential for the emotional body, your power and transformation. It is located between the navel and diaphragm. The associated element is fire, so warmth is in your favor to help with balancing. Your Solar Plexus is linked to digestion and how you ultimately digest life events and emotions. It is related to the psyche and to gut feelings, or our intuition.
When there are imbalances to your Solar Plexus, there can be an extreme need for validation, lack of self-esteem or worth, inactivity and depression, sluggish digestion/digestive system, binge eating, conformity, or overall lethargy and passivity. Physically it will manifest in the liver, pancreas & digestive system which can create difficulties with following your "gut" and intuition.
A balanced Solar Plexus will help improve your sense of direction, determination, will-power, increase feeling confident in your abilities, improved physical and mental clarity and the choices and decisions that you make will be made in alignment with you overall essence and purpose.
Yoga Sequence to Balance Solar Plexus:
1) Virabhadrasana (Warrior I)- Take a big step forward bend the front leg while keeping the knee just above the ankle. The back foot is 45 to 60 degrees and the back leg is straight. Plant the back heel and the outer edge of the foot firmly in the mat. Maintain the hips leveled and facing the wall in front of you. Inhale, lift the arms perpendicular to the floor, palms facing each other. Gaze at your thumbs. Lift the rib cage up, relax the shoulders and draw the scapula down along the spine. Hold for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Breathe slowly and steadily in your solar plexus. Tap into your inner Warrior:)
2) Parivrtta Trikonasana (Reverse Triangle Pose)- From Warrior I, inhale and strengthen the front leg, exhale and release the arms. Check that both heels are aligned and firmly pressed in the ground. Inhale, lengthen through the spine and lift the arms to the side parallel to the floor. Exhale, suck the belly in, start twisting the torso towards your front leg, square the hips. Reach the left hand towards the floor, next to your foot (or on a block) and reach the right arm towards the sky. Keep the thighs active and the belly in. Gaze at your thumb. Inhale, lengthen the back, exhale and twist a little more, without force. Exhale, release the twist, inhale, bring the torso back up.
3) Virabhadrasana III (Warrior III)- From Reverse Triangle Pose, shift the weight of the body in the front leg. Keep that leg straight like a lamp post. When you have a sense of balance, inhale and lift up through the crown of the head, exhale and slowly bring the torso and back leg parallel to the floor. Imagine forming a nice capital letter T. Level the hips, engage your abdominal muscles and bring your hands together at your chest. Keep pulling head and back leg in opposite directions. Tap into your will power and determination.
4) Paripurna Navasana (Full Boat Pose)- Sit with your legs bent, sole of the feet on the mat Find your sit bones. Inhale, lift the sternum, exhale start leaning back without rounding the spine. Inhale, engage your core, lift the legs up and keep them together. If this is challenging enough, you can keep the knees bent, otherwise extend the legs. The lower back should not be on the floor, you should be balancing on your glutes. Keep the chest open, arms parallel to the floor, pressing the feet away from the body. Breathe into your solar plexus and strengthen your will power. Hold the pose for 10 seconds (or 5 breaths) repeating 2-3 times. You will slowly increase the holding time once your core strengthens.
5) Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose)- Lie on your belly, legs active, big toes together. Bend your arms and place the palms on the mat, just under your shoulders. Slightly tuck the tailbone towards the pubis. Inhale, lift the upper torso and chest off the floor using your back strength. Roll the shoulders down and hug the shoulder blades together and down the spine. Hug the elbows towards your torso. Press the top of the feet, thighs and pubic bone firmly in the floor. Inhale, press into the hands and begin to straighten the arms, keep the shoulders down, look forward and relax the buttocks. Keep lifting from the sternum without pushing the rib cage forward. Breathe steadily and hold for 20-30 seconds. You should feel the back-bend in the thoracic spine and not the lower back. Release on an exhale and rest for a few calm breaths. Repeat one more time.
6) Dhanurasana (Bow Pose)- On your belly, exhale and bend the knees, thighs parallel. Bring the feet as close to the buttocks as you can. Grab your ankles and keep the knees hip width distance apart for the duration of the pose, not wider. Inhale, lift the thighs and feet away from the buttocks. This action will pull your upper torso off the floor. Continue lifting the feet, soften the back muscles and slide the shoulder blades down along the spine, shoulders away from the ears. Gaze forward. Your will naturally sway on the solar plexus region. Breathe through the back, holding the pose for 20 seconds. Exhale and release and repeat once or twice, resting for a few breaths in between.
7) Jathara Parivartanasana (Revolved Abdomen Pose)- Lie on your back and hug your knees to your chest for a few breaths. Stretch the arms to the side, palms facing up. Exhale, bring your knees towards the left elbow. Actively stretch the right arm in the opposite direction to counterpoint the twist. Keep the right shoulder on the floor and gently look towards the right. With each exhale, twist a little further and pull the abdomen to the right opposite your knees. You can also place your hand in your knees to deepen the twist. Draw the lower belly towards the tailbone to stabilize your core. Breathe through the nose and enjoy the twist for 30-60 seconds. Release the neck first, then bring the knees back to the center before swinging them to the right side.
8) Savasana (Corpse Pose)
Not a Yogi:
- Go to a walk on a hot day or treat yourself to an Infrared Sauna which will help "light" that fire (since fire is the element for this chakra) that needs to be fueled.
- Eat yellow foods or spelt, farro, beans, turmeric, ginger, cumin, cinnamon, bananas, corn, lemons, pineapple & chamomile.
- Wear yellow or golden clothes.
- EO to help ground are: Chamomile, Bergamot, Cedarwood, Rosemary, Ginger, Cinnamon, Lemon, Clove & Black Pepper.
- Crystals/Gems: Amber, Citrine, Golden Topaz, Sunstone & Yellow Calcite.
- Mantra for grounding is RAM.
"I now give myself permission to be true to myself.
I am a powerful, creative soul and it is safe for
me to shine my light brightly in the world".
-Anna Taylor
I Shine Brightly
Like the Sun
I Feel my Center.
I Am Courageous.
I Am Confident!
Stay Vibrant:)
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Columbia Tusculum
3724 Eastern Ave.
Cincinnati, Ohio 45226