Chakra Feast #2: Feeding my Sacral Chakra

Before I get into anything else, check out Katie's most recent giveaway for some awesome stuff from CSN.

Today was Week 2, Day 2 of my Chakra cleansing ritual. After last week's successful one-on-one time with my Root Chakra, next stop was Sacral Chakra re-alignment, otherwise known as Swadhisthana.

Located in the sacrum, your Sacral Chakra corresponds to the proper functioning of your sexual organs, and thus your hormones and reproductive cycles. A healthy Swadhisthana opens us up to the development of our creativity, our passion, our joy, and enthusiasm. Given its location, our Sacral Chakra pumps all our energy from our base of our spine to our brains, keeping it young, vibrant, and nourished. Given that function, it's directly related to our sexual energy and virility. That makes total sense: an open sacral chakra simply means you are able to feel, whether emotionally or physically. It allows us to emotionally and physically connect with others, and generally be open to the world, to manifest our desires, and to 'let go'.

My hunch is that belly dancing is probably the best physical activity to open up your sacral chakra. Given the pelvic and hip awareness it requires, dancing (and belly dancing in particular) is especially suited to creating emotional and physical awareness of the sacral chakra, our sensuality, femininity, and sexuality. In fact, belly dance was initially practiced for the very purpose of helping women prepare for child birth, it was almost a coming of age ritual allowing young women to discover, love, and appreciate their bodies.

Feelings of guilt, addiction, a lack of self-confidence or sexual energy, and control issues may all be signs of a closed off sacral chakra. Specific physical dysfunctions might include lower back pain, sexual dysfunction, or urinary problems. On the flip-side, if you are over-active, overly emotional, or have control issues your sacral chakra might be on overdrive and you may want to tone it down a little!

Sacral Chakra foods are juices are all things sweet. I began my day with a pineapple-papaya juice. In honor of springtime/May Day/Beltane/Arbor Day, we went to the National Arboretum with my parents and walked along fireworks of azaleas. It was gorgeous, but meant I was only able to have a glass of coconut water before we headed out (it's sweet!). In perfect timing for my chakra feast of the week, today was also Beltane, the last of the three spring fertility festivals in Celtic lore. Most infamous for its traditional Maypole dances, Beltane is the ultimate festival of spring, fertility, and sexual health.

Marking the passage to the height of spring, the first of May celebrates a time when the earth becomes a sensual bounty: flowers are blooming and their fragrance dances in the air, the trees are green, the birds and singing, all our senses reach a total high after the long days of winter and as spring comes to a peak... as the owl in Bambi would say, it's just that time of the year when we're all twitterpated:

It's a time of gaiety, joy, and energy. To celebrate, we feasted on watermelon and kiwi. We also had a new invention of mine for the occasion I'll simply call "sensual sorbet". It was frozen berries blended in the Vitamix 'spiked' with herbs made to enhance both the male and female libido (ginseng, damiana, dong quai, saw palmetto, muira puama and passion flower). I topped that with cocoa nibs and crushed spicy chocolate. It was delicious.

Finally, here are positive Sacral Chakra affirmations for the day, and I do confess I still have to work on these. All the more reason for me to state them to the world:

I unconditionally love and approve of myself all the time.

I give myself permission to enjoy life to its fullest.

I am perfect, and deserving of what I want.

I allow prosperity and abundance into my life, always.

I am open to myself, to beauty, joy, and harmony.

I love myself exactly as I am right now.