Take Embodied Action in Your Solar Plexus with These 5 Yoga Asanas
“If you always put limits on everything you do - physical or anything else - it will spread into your work & into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus. And you must not stay there. You must go beyond them.” – Bruce Lee
The Solar Plexus Chakra – Manipura – translates as “place of shining gem,” and is located within your spine, at the level of your navel.
Manipura Mindfulness
If you’re able, find a comfortable seat, or lay down, and take a few moments to connect with your breath.
Allow your breath to slow down and deepen.
Bring your hands to your navel and as you breathe, feel as your hands rise and fall with the movement of your belly.
Begin to notice the heat of your hands on your belly.
The warm sensation of your own body heat warming and stimulating your core.
Visualize a large, bright, yellow ball of light residing here.
As you deepen into each breath, watch this light grow and expand
Until it envelopes your entire being.
Sit in this radiant warmth and notice what you feel.
Before continuing further, take note of anything you picked up on as you brought your awareness and your breath to this space in your body. It could be a simple thought, an emotion, a visual… Notice if any of the information you read about here, aligns with your experience.
Let’s begin.
Manipura: Embodied Action
The solar plexus is your center of embodied action. Imagine this center as your inner fire, your drive and motivation.
If your root chakra helps you to ground into the present moment, which activates your sacral chakra into feeling safe and secure, opening up the space for creative thought and expression, the solar plexus puts that creation and expression into embodied action – with the confidence to back it up.
Not surprisingly, the element associated with the solar plexus, is fire. And of course, the astrological sign associated is Sagittarius. If you’ve ever met a Sagittarius, you know the ball of energy they are, constantly seeking to explore the corners of the Earth a little farther, filled with ambition and drive. An embodied solar plexus energy, for sure.
Experiencing from Your Solar Plexus
Your solar plexus, being as it resides behind the navel, rules over your stomach, pancreas, gallbladder, digestion, metabolism, and detoxification systems of your body.
Using that same visual of an inner fire, the solar plexus acts as an internal heating source that allows everything to keep moving in and through your body. Like an inner furnace that is literally burning up and fueling your entire system.
This ongoing heat encourages you to keep pushing forward – physically and otherwise – and to use your determination and stamina to keep striving toward your goals, of all kinds.
Thinking and Feeling from Your Solar Plexus
Since we’re all human here, I think it’s safe to say that most people can relate to that inner doubt or critic that can sometimes accompany that inner fire and drive to get out and explore and create within the world around us.
With the solar plexus being your inner fire – igniting your passions – your thoughts, feelings, and beliefs about yourself are like the fuel you can use to stoke that fire… or put it out.
Sometimes, especially in a time like ours, where we find ourselves moving our bodies less and getting caught up in the mind more, we forget the power behind taking action in conjunction with mindfulness and intention. All of the thoughts and careful planning are fantastic, and certainly have their places in your life.
But don’t let the spiral of the mind prevent you from taking action and believing in yourself along the way.
Balance vs. Imbalance in the Solar Plexus
You can probably already get a sense of what a balance vs. imbalance solar plexus feels like, but let’s lay it all out just in case.
Here are some symptoms associated with an imbalanced solar plexus chakra:
Indigestion
Irritable bowel syndrome
Ulcers
Diabetes
Issues with the pancreas, liver, and colon
Heartburn
Sensitive or bleeding gums
Over analysis (paralysis by analysis)
Uncontrolled anger and irritation
Low self-confidence
Doubt and mistrust towards the people in your life
Insecurity and low self-esteem
Rigid and controlling behavior
Self-victimizing mentality
Lack of direction and motivation
Difficulty setting boundaries
Embodying Your Solar Plexus
Rather than getting discouraged with the lengthy checklist of imbalance symptoms, take embodied action! (See what I did there?)
There are lots of fun and creative ways to get back into your solar plexus and get that energy flowing and moving. Here are just some ways to do so, but get creative and follow your own intuition and instincts.
Embodied Affirmations for the Solar Plexus
I feel calm, confident, & powerful.
The only thing I need to control is how I respond.
I create positive change in my life.
I honor the innate power within me.
I release my fear of the unknown & take action when I am guided.
I trust myself to take action while also using mindfulness and intention.
Breathwork for the Solar Plexus
Breathwork can be incredibly effective and powerful to ignite your inner fire and stimulate and activate your solar plexus. You’ll want to focus on breathwork techniques that maybe utilize a quicker pace and more intense uses of the inhale and exhale.
Kapalabhati
Kapalabhati breath is the use of forceful exhales and sips of air on the inhale. To begin, start by taking a deep cleansing breath with a nice long inhale and exhale. On your next inhale, take a full inhale and then forcefully exhale as you draw your core in quickly. Take a quick sip of air on your next inhale and quickly and forcefully exhale. Your exhales should be slightly longer and deeper than your inhales.
This technique is great for stoking that inner fire and bringing you right back to the present moment.
Asanas for the Solar Plexus
When thinking about yoga asanas to activate the solar plexus, you’ll want to focus on your abdomen, your core, and any poses that stimulate this area of your body.
Here are just a handful of some asanas that you can incorporate into your solar plexus practice:
Child’s Pose
Begin in tabletop. Bring your toes together to touch and create space between your knees (I love bringing each knee to the edges of my mat to really sink in). Allow your chest to sink down toward the mat and rest your forehead directly on the mat. Either reach your hands toward the top of your mat, or bring them alongside you for a more nurturing effect. Let your hips sink toward your heels and relax the shoulders and neck.
Camel Pose
Begin upright on your knees, with your knees hip-distanc apart. As you inhale, reach your arms overhead. As you exhale, you have a few different options:
Bring both hands down to the small of your back and arch backwards.
Bring one hand down to one heel while your other hand stays at the small of your back.
Bring both hands down to both heels and keep your chest reaching up toward the sky.
For all of these options, draw your glute muscles together to help support your lower back.
Wheel Pose
Begin on your back with your feet planted hip-distance apart. Bring your hands to plant on the mat by your head and shoulders, with your fingers facing your shoulders. As you exhale, ground down into your feet and hands and simultaneously press your hips and chest up to the sky. Turn your gaze behind you and relax your head and neck.
Bow Pose
Begin seated with your feet planted on the mat and bring your hands behind your knees. Draw your core in and straighten your spine as you lift both feet and legs up off the mat. Your calves should be parallel to the floor. You can keep your hands behind your knees, or bring them alongside the outside of your knees and legs. Hold and continue drawing in your core.
Supine Twist
Begin laying on your back. Inhale your knees into your chest and extend your arms out into a “T” position on the floor. As you exhale, bring your knees down to the right – either resting on the floor or a block. Keep your shoulders pressing into the mat. And turn your head toward your left shoulder to increase the twist. Hold here and switch sides when you’re ready.
Feel, Ignite, Embody, Act
As you work with your solar plexus and the energy residing here, allow your lower chakras to speak to you and encourage the movement within the solar plexus. As your root grounds you here, now, your sacral chakra turns on and begins imagining, creating, and expressing, and your solar plexus becomes fueled to take that embodied action inspired by your sacral and root.
Listen to it. Fuel it. Embody it.