Have you ever been in a room and someone walks in that exudes confidence? Some people are fearless and can move forward with confidence and an attitude to succeed. Others of use have difficulty stepping into our confidence. It can be self-doubt, limiting beliefs, shyness or being more introverted that can have us pulling back from jumping into our confident self. Opening your solar plexus chakra is great way to start gaining some of your confidence back. A chakra, you say? You maybe wondering, what is that?
The chakras were first discovered in India thousands of years ago. The word chakra in Sanskrit essentially means “spinning disc”. Chakras are energy wheels within your body. There are seven main chakras: root chakra, sacral chakra, solar plexus charka, heart chakra, throat chakra, third eye chakra, and the crown chakra. They are separate yet connected to the physical and energetic body. These spinning discs support and process energy that flow through you.
Each chakra is associated with different aspects of your life and self, they keep us in balance and aligned. When a chakra is blocked and there are many reasons why a chakra can be blocked, these discs are no long spinning at a healthy capacity. Below gives you a better understanding of the solar plexus chakra, what it looks like when it is blocked and how step into your confidence.
Solar Plexus Chakra: Manipura
Meaning: Jewelled City
Colour: Yellow
Symbol: Sun
Element: Fire
Energy Type: Masculine
Animal: Ram
Mantra: Ram
The third chakra is called the solar plexus or Manipura in Sanskrit. It is located in the abdominal area just above the naval. The colour association with this chakra is yellow, which is fitting because the Manipura in Sanskrit roughly translates into “jewelled city”. This chakra helps to manifest wealth and abundance. The solar plexus chakra helps you to push yourself out of your comfort zone and break down barriers by focusing on confidence, will power, building plans and executing. It identifies with personal power and to use your will, tenacity and confidence to move forward in life with a purpose.
Solar Plexus Symbol
The symbol of the solar plexus is a 10-petal lotus flower. The downwards triangle for the solar plexus symbol represents the sun, fire and the transformation that it creates. The sun represents life and spiritual awakening, while the fire fuels us to take action and move us forward in our quest.
Is your solar plexus chakra in balance?
When the solar plexus chakra is in balance you are able to exude confidence, determination, and have the ability to go after your dreams. You are assertive, strategic and create plans with the patience and will to execute accordingly. When the solar plexus is clear, you have the courage to step outside of your comfort zone, be a leader instead of following and create your own path.
Here are some questions you can ask yourself about the solar plexus chakra:
· Do you have a tendency to go after what you want in life?
· Are you able to handle confrontation and bring up difficult conversations?
· Do you normally step out of your comfort zone and take on new challenges?
· Do you strive on overcoming adversity and solving problems?
· Are you organized?
· Do you feel in charge of your own destiny?
· Are you strategic when it comes to a challenge?
· Do you have the ability to make plans and follow through on them?
If you answered, “Yes” to these questions then you most likely have a healthy solar plexus chakra. If you are unsure and perhaps answered, “No” to the majority of these questions, then my may have some work to do on opening your solar plexus chakra.
Do you have an overactive solar plexus chakra?
An overactive solar plexus chakra can experience excessive control over others and their environments. They have an inability to see their own errors. The person can become obsessive with details instead of seeing the bigger picture. Misusing power and controlling others through manipulation to reach their end goal.
Is your solar plexus chakra blocked?
When this chakra is blocked it can contribute to a weak will, procrastination, and cause the individual to drift through life without purpose or passion. It can also contribute to lack of self-worth, unhealthy boundaries, and lack of self-compassion.
Drifting: When your solar plexus is blocked it can leave a sense of feeling lost or wondering. It can create a lacking sense of self or purpose in life. You may feel within your job or career that it does not sustain you or create a sense of purpose. Your drive may be low and instead of following your heart, it can leave you feeling that you are meandering through life. Drifting can also lead to a feeling that there is something missing or a void that cannot be filled. Praise from others can feel fleeting and accomplishments maybe felt but rarely long standing. This can come from a sense of not being fulfilled within. When you don’t have a compass or a direction, the wind will blow you through life without purpose or meaning.
Lacking confidence: When you have low self-esteem or lacking confidence, you tend to second-guess yourself and may find it hard to speak your truth. When you are constantly dwelling on your choices, it makes it hard to trust yourself. You may overanalyze situations and fearing you said the wrong thing. As a result, you may start to keep to yourself and let great opportunities pass you over. This can lead to a deadlock and can also contribute to drifting because you do not have the confidence or the courage in yourself to take the risk.
Disorganized and Clutter: Being disorganized can sometimes lead to feeling overwhelmed, under prepared and can also result in drifting. I am not saying you can’t go with the flow, which helps to spur creativity but if the clutter is stopping you from moving forward then it may be playing a role in your clarity and focus. It is hard to stay on course and move forward when we are disorganized or have a buildup of clutter in our lives.
What are the physical symptoms?
Since the solar plexus is associated with the stomach, physical symptoms can include digestive problems, cramps, bloating or nausea. It can also cause difficulties with short-term memory loss.
How do you clear a blocked solar plexus chakra?
The solar plexus chakra strives on direction, going after your goals, organization, making plans and executing. These are the main ways that you can start to open your solar plexus chakra by taking control of your life, setting your own course and using your inner winds to get you there. This can sound daunting and unachievable at times. The focus for this chakra is to take little steps that are achievable, celebrating these wins and moving forward one step at a time.
Purpose: This is a fundamental understanding to help strengthen your solar plexus chakra. What is your purpose? What drives you and gives your life meaning? What is your why? This will help you find a direction to move forward. Focus on your passions in life that fuels you, write down your strengths and develop your mission statement that you can go back to if you find yourself drifting or second-guessing yourself.
Setting Goals and Intentions: The solar plexus chakra can be strengthened by understanding where you want to be in the future. Start with your big aspirations and work backwards. This can sometimes seem overwhelming because how do you know where to start? That is okay. We have all been there. Think of it as a funnel. Start with your goals for the next 5 years. Where do you want to be? Then break that down into what you need to accomplish to get there. Break that down into roughly each year and then look at months and if you are really ambitious, you can break it down into days. Once you can see how each day can make a difference, it becomes more a reality to get where you want to go. However, you need a plan and the will to start moving in that direction.
Vision Board: Setting a vision board can help you gain clarity on what you want and where you want to go in life. It is also a great reminder on a daily basis of what you want to achieve and how each day will get you there. To learn more on how to create an effective vision board, check out our blog on step-by-step instructions.
Get organized: This is easier for some people than others. Being organized can help you stay on course on where you want to go. If you have the discipline, creating an excel sheet that marks out your goals and the steps on how you are going to get there can be an excellent tool to use. I know this can be a little extreme for those that like free flowing. Using your calendar is also a very powerful ally in your life. Once you know your direction and mapped out how you are going to get there, use your calendar to help you stay on track. Make sure to block out time each day and dedicate this time to get you one step closer to your goal. Also, setting reminders in your calendar on milestones and deadlines that you want to achieve will be helpful to stay on track.
New Moon: The new moon is a great time to set your intentions for the month and to help it come to fruition in the future. The new moon has powerful energy that can enhance your manifestation and move you towards your goals. To learn more about manifesting with the new moon, check out our blog that goes into in more depth.
Face your Fears: When you start going after what you want, there will be obstacles and for a lot of people this entails having confidence to go after it. To help you gain more confidence, which is a cornerstone for the solar plexus chakra, you have to get out of your comfort zone. Do something that scares you and commit to it. Once you start pushing yourself into areas that you fear, it becomes easier to do this more often. This will help to build your confidence and help you to be braver and bolder as you chase your dreams.
Yoga for Your Solar Plexus Chakra
Yoga can play an important role in helping to strengthen chakras. As with meditating, yoga helps to calm your mind and open up your body through breathing. The following yoga poses focus on inner strength and confidence to expand the solar plexus chakra:
· Navasana (Boat pose)
· Dhanurasana (Bow pose)
· Matsyasana (Fish pose)
· Bhujangasana (Cobra pose)
· Virabhadrasana (Warrior I pose)
Crystals
The energetic life force of crystals can be your ally in assisting with opening chakras. Crystals associated with the solar plexus can help you to create confidence in yourself, determination, direction and create abundance in your life.
Citrine: Helps with manifestation, creating abundance. It also helps to overcome fears and instills confidence and courage.
Tiger’s Eye: Has bands of gold and caramel colour to this stone. It helps to release fears and anxiety while assisting in taking action and making decisions with clarity.
Pyrite: Is a powerful protective stone and helps to shield against negative energy. It also helps to ignite ambition, determination and commitment.
Breathwork
In my experience, breathwork has been very beneficial for healing the chakras. Conscious connected breath is an active breathing technique. It over oxygenates the body to start releasing stagnant energy that could be in your body for years lying dormant. This stagnant energy can contribute to blocked chakras and this type of breathing can be helpful for the solar plexus to release fears of self-doubt and bring clarity and focus to your mind.
Meditation
Combining meditation with visualization is a powerful way to open your chakras. The more your imagination can use its creative imagery to paint a world of possibilities, the more you become fully immersed in the meditation. Listen to the free guided audio meditation to assist in opening your solar plexus chakra.
Affirmations
“I follow my dreams with courage and confidence!”
“I am worthy of making my dreams come true”
“I am confident I will succeed.”
“I am worthy of the life I want.”
“I believe in myself”
“I walk my own path”
“I stand fully in my inner power”
“I am authentic to myself”
“My fire ignites me forward”
“I have all the tools I need to make my dream a reality”
Opening Sensations
Each chakra opening can affect people in different ways depending on the person. You may be asking yourself, “What does it feel like when my solar plexus chakra opens?” I have personally had my solar plexus chakra opened from meditating with citrine. Some of these sensations included stomach spasms almost as if your stomach muscles were contracting. Since the solar plexus is associated with the stomach, there can be some unpleasant side effects afterwards including nausea, vomiting, and lack of appetite. You may start to only be hungry when your body needs fuel for sustenance.