Do you stand tall and speak boldly, knowing who you are? If so, you’ve found the power of the solar plexus chakra, which helps us speak up for ourselves and act with cool self-confidence.
It is a vital hinge point within the body that serves as the energy center of personal power. We will take a closer look at the importance of the solar plexus chakra and how you can unlock the positive potential that resides within it.
The Solar Plexus (Third) Chakra
The solar plexus chakra, or Manipura, is the third chakra among the seven primary chakras and rests above the sacral chakra and below the heart chakra.
Its color is a bright, fiery yellow and it is associated with the element of fire. Very much like fire, the third chakra has the power of destruction, transformation, and rebuilding. And like the warm rays of the sunshine, it can fill you with a giddy glow that says, “Everything is going to be all right.”
The symbol of the solar plexus chakra has the central symbol ram, surrounded by ten petals with the colors yellow/red symbolizing fire and a red tattwa, or triangle, also representing fire. The solar plexus chakra color is yellow and tied to the sun.
Located centrally within your body, the Manipura is a point through which other channels of chakra energy must also be able to flow. Translated from Sanskrit, it is the “lustrous gem” of your body. When this chakra is blocked or locked, it can be devastating for your entire body-wide energy system.
Learn more about what are chakras and why they matter.
Function and Benefits of a Balanced Third Chakra
A balanced chakra helps you feel warm with purpose and power. You will feel a sense of confidence that emanates from your chest and drives your entire body forward.
The Intellect
Keeping the solar plexus chakra in balance and unlocked allows your intellect to grow. New intellectual challenges, like understanding a new field of study or taking a difficult test, will come more naturally to you.
Personal Opinions
With an unlocked chakra, you will feel a strong sense of clarity in forming personal opinions. Your beliefs will feel organically formed within you. This is the “gut instinct” you may have been wishing to hone.
Decision-making
Making decisions also feels good with an open solar plexus. Nothing is decided upon a whim because your inner self speaks to you in a clear, confident voice. Setting the direction is easy and navigating choppy waters comes naturally.
Clarity of Judgments
When you need to make a judgment call based on very little information, a clear solar plexus chakra will always guide you right. This can be very helpful in child-rearing, making quick judgments at work, and dealing with difficult and dramatic people in your life.
Personal Identity
Much of your personality and personal identity is found within this chakra. When it is open and freely flowing, it sizzles with all of the individual and charming quirks that make you uniquely you.
Self-assurance
Maybe you’ve looked at someone and wondered, “Where does that person get so much self-confidence?” It’s coming from their third chakra, the chakra that helps a person feel confident, self-assured, full of willpower, and empowered to speak their truth.
Self-discipline
If you’re putting off your dreams or failing to achieve certain goals in your life, perhaps your Manipura is blocked. This is also the chakra of self-discipline that keeps you on track no matter what kind of curveballs life throws at you.
Independence
When this chakra is brimming with energy flow, you are your own best friend. This allows you to feel invigorated with independence and freedom. You don’t need to rely on others for your satisfaction, self-worth, motivation, or accomplishments.
How to Know If your Solar Plexus is Blocked
Someone who is struggling with a blocked solar plexus will feel helpless, irresponsible, and totally lacking in drive and motivation.
A blocked third chakra yields emotional damage like:
- Feelings of weakness and powerlessness
- Low self-esteem
- Undisciplined decision-making
- Irresponsibility
- Blaming others
- Manipulating others for personal gain
- Bullying and dominating
- Insecurity
- Lack of assertiveness
- Feeling unattractive
- Feeling that you’ve let yourself down
Someone with a blocked solar plexus chakra may start feeling powerless in their life, which leads to manipulating and bullying others due to their own lack of personal power. When they see that others are dominated by their behavior, it gives them a false sense of power that can be damaging to both people.
On the other hand, a blocked chakra can also cause someone to turn inside themselves with feelings of deep insecurity and weakness. They may begin to bully their own inner child, scolding themselves for every perceived failure. This could turn to very unhealthy solutions like drug addiction, alcohol abuse, smoking, compulsive shopping, gambling, stealing, hoarding or overeating. These are all signs that one may be in urgent need of solar plexus chakra healing.
People with an overactive solar plexus chakra are often bossy, overly confident, bully-ish, conceited, and power-hungry.
Chakra health can also affect the well-being of your body parts and systems:
- The stomach, including ulcers
- Your digestive system, creating nausea, bloating, constipation, gas and digestion issues
- The immune system, making healing difficult
- Hypoglycemia (very low blood sugar) and diabetes
- Trouble gaining or losing weight as needed
- Respiratory problems, including asthma
- Arthritis, nerve pain, and/or fibromyalgia
- Liver and kidney disease
How to Unlock Your Power and Positive Energy
If your solar plexus chakra is feeling too locked up to infuse you with natural energy, it’s time to look for ways to unlock it. Here are some reliable methods of clearing a blockage and rejuvenating your inner source.
Yellow and Warm Foods
Because this is the chakra of the color yellow, nourish yourself with yellow foods that will help you build warmth from within: bananas, yellow squash, corn, pineapples, and yellow peppers. Snack on sunflower seeds, which come from fiery yellow sunflowers.
Eating foods that are warm and comforting will also help. Try warm oatmeal, a plate of yellow vegetables with organic brown rice, and creamy warm beverages with a sprinkle of turmeric or ginger.
Color Your Life
Dress in invigorating yellows to light up your wardrobe and empower your yellow chakra.
You can also incorporate more yellow into your home and workplace. Add accessories, artwork, pillows, and blankets in sunny tones. Consider painting a single accent wall yellow in the entryway to your home, so you’ll have a daily reminder to stay connected.
Fiery Gemstones
The gemstones associated with this chakra are all about heat and firepower. They include the tiger’s eye, peridot, yellow tourmaline, labradorite, yellow jasper, and citrine.
All of these chakra stones are within the yellow portion of the color spectrum, with color variation. Select the one that feels right to you. Tiger’s eye is a mysterious striped golden-orange color, for example, but peridot is almost an olive green hue.
Hold one of these stones while meditating and feel the power it brings you, or wear one on a long chain and allow it to rest against your solar plexus for an added boost.
Chakra Meditation
Here’s a classic way to stimulate your solar plexus through meditation:
- Sit comfortably in a position that allows you to take deep breaths through your chest.
- Envision a bright yellow ball hovering near you.
- Imagine its movement as it dances and glides.
Warm Essential Oils
Another way to unlock this chakra is to surround yourself with the smells of essential oils that evoke warmth and stimulation. For aromatherapy, add them to a diffuser in your home or drizzle them in your bathwater.
Take care to read labels for possible skin reactions. Bergamot, for example, can be irritating to some people’s skin. The best essential oils for chakra healing are:
- Bergamot
- Cedarwood
- Coriander
- Clary sage
- Fennel
- Lemongrass
- Lemon
- Lavender
- Myrrh
- Rosemary
My Healing Oil, which is perfect for the sacral chakra, is I Am Confident.
Get Close to the Element of Fire
When is the last time you experienced fire up close? Spend time by a campfire and reconnect with the feeling of the flames on your face. This can stimulate and unlock your chakra.
The same effect can come from simply going outside, taking a walk in the sun, and enjoying nature’s warming beams. Sunbathing is an excellent way to encourage energy movement within the body.
Yoga Poses
Any yoga pose that brings heat to the navel chakra will help unlock this chakra. In fact, you can start with the simple plank pose to warm up your body. From there, try the warrior pose, bow pose, child’s pose, and corpse pose to reconnect with your solar plexus.
Chanting “RAM”
The solar plexus is stimulated by the sound ram, which has a root base in Sanskrit which means “support/make still” and “witness/make evident.”
Chant this sound to build a strong connection with this chakra and coax out your inner power. You can also practice increasing the number of times you chant ram within a single breath, as shown in this video about ram chanting.
Solar Plexus Affirmations
Positive affirmations can help you remember and tap into the power of your solar plexus. Here’s a list of affirmations for confidence and self-esteem, which are all intimately tied to the Manipura chakra:
- I am in control of my life.
- Success comes easily to me.
- My core is vitalized with energy and strength.
- I am authentic. I am centered. I am empowered.
- I breathe confidence and inner power.
Final Thoughts About Unlocking Solar Plexus Power
Your Manipura chakra is essential to maintaining your spirit of freedom and lifelong independence. When this chakra is unblocked and flowing freely, you’ll find that you have the clarity and confidence to boldly follow the direction of your inner compass.
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