Continuing the journey along our spine, we come to the third
chakra. This energy center is
located around the solar plexus area, which is above our stomach and just below
our chest. Also known as
the solar plexus chakra, the Sanskrit name for this third chakra is Manipura, which means "lustrous
gem" It is focused largely
on the self, and its many aspects (self-esteem, self-worth, self-perception,
ego, etc.). It is where we
come to recognize our true power and direct our activities, using this power,
towards a higher purpose.
The color for this center is yellow and is
sometimes referred to as our personal sun. Its element is fire.
It is the highest of the three chakras that have to do with the physical
world. Chakra 1 was matter
(earth), chakra 2 was movement (water) and chakra 3 is the result of the two
(matter + movement = energy (fire)).
Manipura brings us light, warmth and energy and is our “get up and go”
chakra. It is asking us to go out
into the world and get things done.
Our inner power is developed when we are willing to go out and have
experiences, make mistakes, learn from them and correct them. It is about transformation, through our
experiences, and making ourselves better than we already are.
The chakras very much build on one another
and we can see the progression here.
Once we’ve built a solid foundation and set up our support in the first
chakra, we have the freedom to explore our emotional world in the second chakra,
so we can see what we like and what we don’t like. It is from these feelings that we are (hopefully) going to
identify our passion(s) in the third chakra. These passions make us want to move forward and continue to
move despite any hardships or obstacles.
So, in the second chakra our job was to find our unique rhythm, while
our job here in the third chakra is to find a way to express this uniqueness.
“Trying to be
someone you are not in order to please others or adhere to societal norms
drains the third chakra”, hathayoga.net.
I’ve shared in a few other posts how I have struggled with finding that
uniqueness within myself. It’s difficult
to share and express this uniqueness when you haven’t quite figured out what that
is. Slowly, through this work with
the chakras and taking the time to focus on myself (and give less energy to
what I “should” be doing), I’m starting to make my way to identifying what my
real passions are, and how I can express them. As I get closer to this place of becoming who I truly am, I find that I am starting to get flooded with ideas of
things I want to do, and ways to express myself. I find my new challenge in this chakra is sometimes actually
doing something about these ideas.
It can be scary and daunting to do something a little bit different,
whether it is something different than you are used to doing, something
different than what those around you are doing, or something different than
what people expect you to do. But,
I’ve started to see examples of how taking action with just one idea that seems
so small can turn into something that is a bit bigger than myself.
I’m starting
to realize that the key to working with the Manipura chakra is to first
identify your passions and then act on those ideas that start to appear to you
as you become more in tune with who you are. So, to end this post, I’m going to share a very small section
from the movie 20,000 Days on Earth.
It’s a good illustration of the importance of acting on our ideas, and
has quickly become one of my favorite quotes.
Have an
amazing week of discovering (or rediscovering) your passions, tuning into your
ideas and finding a way to live them,
Roxanne
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