Open Up Your Sacral Chakra For Better Love & Sex

The sacral chakra, Svadhisthana, is the second chakra. Located in your pelvic area, this energy center governs physical pleasure. Where the root chakra is concerned with survival, this one is all about enjoyment -- emotional, sexual, and creative pleasure are all governed by it. If this chakra is blocked or unbalanced, you can experience difficulties in emotional communication, a lack of sexual pleasure, and stifled creativity. Fortunately, opening, healing, and balancing Svadhisthana isn't complicated.

The Chakra of Pleasure

The sacral chakra is so named because it sits at the level of your sacrum, the last vertebrae before your pelvis. If you place your hand about three inches under your belly button, your hand is resting over this energy center. Other sources place it in the genital area.

It's typically represented by the color orange, and symbolized by a six-petaled lotus or a crescent moon. This chakra is associated with the element of water and the body's lymphatic system. It's tied to creativity, fantasies, sex, sensuality, relationships, and the expression of pleasure.

How can I tell if my sacral chakra is closed?

Many things can cause a blockage in this area, including stress and trauma. When the sacral chakra is blocked, you might experience artistic or writer's blocks, toxic relationships, lack of sexual pleasure, emotional frustration, and difficulty feeling loved or appreciated.

These feelings can spring up for other reasons, and can easily be confused for something else. If you aren't absolutely sure if you're suffering from a blocked chakra, there's an easy way to find out: Use a pendulum.

You may wish to have a partner help you with this. Lay on your back in a comfortable spot. If you can, hold a chakra pendulum over the area of the sacral chakra. If you cannot, have a friend do so for you. Watch the pendulum and interpret its motion. If it stays still or swings sluggishly, this can be signs of a blockage. If the chakra is open and healthy, it should swing with medium speed and a smooth motion.

Healing, Balancing, and Unblocking the Sacral Chakra

If this energy center appears to be blocked, here are some things you can do. You may need to try different combinations of the following tools and techniques:

Crystals

Wear or carry crystals associated with the sacral chakra. If you can, wear them as a belly chain or keep them in your pockets as near to the area as possible. Orange stones work best here, especially carnelian, tiger eye, orange or honey calcite, amber, or tangerine quartz.

Colors

As the orange chakra, it is best stimulated by -- you guessed it -- the color orange. Bring orange flowers into your home. Wear orange clothing. Decorate with orange candles (bonus points if you dress them with the chakra-opening oils below).

Aromatherapy

This chakra benefits best from uplifting and aphrodisiac scents. Try jasmine, patchouli, rose, ylang ylang, or tangerine. Add them to a diffuser, place them on cotton balls around your home, dress candles, or dilute them into a neutral carrier oil and to make a massage blend. Use this blend to gently massage the area over your sacral chakra.

Affirmations

Speaking affirmations is an excellent way to break negative thought patterns. Repetition helps you train your brain to adopt a certain mindset, which can be very helpful for overcoming the feelings of a blocked chakra. For sacral chakra, try saying the following three times a day:

"I deserve pleasure.
I am a sexual being, and this sexuality is sacred.
I deserve to be loved and desired.
I am independent and respectful of other's boundaries.
I deserve pleasure."

Treat this as a kind of speaking meditation or manifestation practice. Anoint an orange candle with some tangerine or orange oil. Get into a relaxing posture, light the candle, and repeat the affirmations until you feel emotionally ready to go on.

Exercise

The sacral chakra is about enjoyment and sensuality. Considering trying somatic healing dance or other joyful movement to keep this area open and healthy.

Take a Spiritual Bath

Baths can be a deeply sensual, confidence-boosting experience if you allow them to be. Draw a tub of fresh water, and add sea salt, orange flower water, rose petals, and dried jasmine. If you like, you can even experiment with adding honey or milk to your bath -- whatever helps you feel luxurious and desirable. Sit in the bath and allow your sacral chakra area to soak, as you visualize streams of orange energy swirling into and around it.

A Good Diet

Believe it or not, a good diet can have an enormous impact on your ability to feel desirable and enjoy sexual pleasure. Choose foods that are not too high in salt, and help your skin look its best. Pick items that are juicy, luxurious, and bright orange. Oranges are an obvious choice, as are mangoes, pumpkin, yams, and peaches. Aphrodisiac foods like dark chocolate or oysters are good choices, too.

An open, balanced, healthy sacral chakra allows you to enjoy the sensual pleasures life has to offer. Without it, things just are not the same. If you feel that your sacral chakra is blocked, you can fix it using any of these strategies.