Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign.
[00:00:11] Welcome to deep in your yoga practice. I'm Lauren Leduc, the owner and founder of True Love Yoga in Kansas City, Missouri. And today we're going to talk about the solar plexus chakra, personal power, purpose and the fire within.
[00:00:25] I welcome you to this episode and do want to let you know that this is part of a larger series. I did do a whole episode on the chakra system itself and how it works and how to view it. Is it myth? Is it metaphor? Is it something real? And we've already aired episodes on the root chakra and the sacral chakra. You don't necessarily have to go back and listen to those first, but do know they are there and they will help provide a foundation to contextualize this episode. When we looked at the root chakra, we really talked about grounding and connecting with the earth and our bodies. With the sacral chakra, we're talking about emotional flow and relationships and creativity. And now we are stepping into the solar plexus, which is the center for personal power. This is Manipura, the solar plexus chakra. This is a great time to explore this energy.
[00:01:21] Maybe you listened to the Sankalpa episode from last week and you would like to add a little bit of fire to your intention and some clarity, action and discipline, which all come with this beautiful sunny solar plexus chakra. So what is the solar plexus chakra? It is located in the upper belly, so just above the navel around the diaphragm. It is our energy center that is associated with the element of fire or agni. Its color is yellow like sunlight or a flame. And its symbol is a 10 petaled lotus with an inverted triangle which represents transformative fire. It's associated with willpower, confidence, self trust, determination, healthy boundaries, with bravery or courage, with discipline, personal identity and taking aligned action. It's also associated with our digestive system and the pancreas, metabolism as well as nervous system regulation, especially around task orientation. Its themes, if it were to ask questions, would be who am I, what am I here to do? And how do I act on my purpose? Let's connect this to some yoga philosophy. First is the niyama called tapas. This is a spiritual discipline. This is the heat of discipline, consistency and transformation. It is showing up over and over and over again with fire, with devotion. This isn't punishment, it is a self generated devotion and inner fire. So it is what drives us. It's who and what we're devoted to. And it's the fuel that feeds our Purpose and our behaviors. We also can relate the solar plexus to Dharma, especially Swadharma, your individual purpose, your soul aligned purpose and direction. Manipura is where Dharma becomes an action instead of an idea. So if you are someone who has a lot of ideas but has a difficult time acting on them, harnessing Manipura is going to be so incredibly powerful. We can also relate this to the Bhagavad Gita. Arjuna, who is the protagonist of the story, is meant to harness his purpose. The Bhagavad Gita also talks about selfless action or Karma Yoga, which is driven by clarity. So it's action that is aligned with Dharma and untethered to results. We act without attachment, but instead with full intention. So we practice. Or you might recall from the last episode practice abiasa showing up consistently and viragia or letting go of the results, accepting the present moment. Let's talk about signs of a balanced or imbalanced solar plexus chakra. A balanced Manipura will feel this strong sense of self, healthy confidence, an ability to make decisions, a steady follow through. You'll feel good boundaries. You'll feel empowered, but not overpowering.
[00:04:34] So empowered. Without ego and a warm enthusiasm. An underactive Manipura will feel like a lot of self doubt, difficulty making decisions, people pleasing, maybe low motivation, digestive issues even, and feeling powerless or stuck. An overactive Manipura might feel like perfectionism, being over controlling, anger or impatience, maybe overworking or work addiction, needing to prove oneself and a sense of rigidity. So let's talk about practices to balance and strengthen the solar plexus both on and off the mat. So on the mat we might tune into this chakra through things like core work. Think boat pose and forearm plank and anything else that fires up the core through twists.
[00:05:23] So we rotate the body, releasing stagnation through warrior poses. So really feeling that embodiment of courage and strength. Maybe through back bends that expand the front body. We typically associate with these with the heart. But we need the fire and strength of the solar plexus as well to support the heart here. So think camel bow and bridge. Maybe through breath work like Breath of Fire or Kapalabhati and maybe through sun salutations. These are honoring the sun, they're honoring Surya, they're honoring fire.
[00:05:57] So they're a beautiful way to tune into that inner heat energetically. On the mat we can think of lengthening inhalations to expand our diaphragms. We we might visualize flames or sunlight in the center of the body and we might focus on inner strength rather than aesthetics, or what is happening necessarily physically. We can also strengthen or balance manipura off the mat through different lifestyle practices.
[00:06:23] That might mean journaling about goals and purpose, maybe setting important boundaries. Maybe it's taking one small courageous action, maybe eating spiced or warm nourishing foods.
[00:06:35] Maybe it's establishing a morning routine that can help carry you through the day with some structure. Maybe it's celebrating small wins, so showing up consistently for oneself and really taking the time to acknowledge that maybe it's saying no to something that drains you and maybe it's doing one thing you've been avoiding. Sometimes the things we're avoiding kind of point to this shadow of ways that we're feeling inadequate, so we can confront those things head on and with compassion and with patience. And that typically will help build our confidence and provide a sense of relief. We might practice mantras such as I am strong, I trust myself, I act with purpose, and I can do hard things with grace. Let's talk about embracing personal power with compassion. Empowerment never means dominance over others. Balanced solar plexus means power with others, not power over others. Yogis can cultivate strength without ego driven ambition. We show up and we let go of the results. This might be your invitation this year to step into a sense of leadership, of being a role model, being the person maybe you needed in your life when you were younger, and being that with a great sense of respect and reverence and humility.
[00:08:02] We are not better than we are simply trying to be our best selves. Here are some journaling prompts that might help you feel more aligned with your solar plexus. The first is, where in my life do I feel powerful? Next is, where am I giving my power away? Then what action is my intuition asking me to take next? Then what fear am I ready to release in 2026? And finally, what does confidence feel like in my body? If you are interested in diving more deeply into the chakras and into the solar plexus, I have a book, embody your inner goddess. And we spend one week with each chakra, each day with equality of that chakra. And that quality involves an affirmation, maybe a story, some yogic teachings, reflections and embodiment practices. So going through the book is this very systematic way to check in with each of your energy centers and to find more balance and self love and wholeness. I'll link to it in the show notes if you're interested in and I'll also say it's going on right now. But if you're interested in our 300 hour yoga teacher training for the yoga teachers out there, we do spend a month with each chakra and dive deeply into how to embody it in your teaching, how to incorporate it into your teaching as well.
[00:09:18] And if you'd like to join the wait list for next year you can go to our website and learn more about that. The curriculum involves advanced energetics and sequencing and intuitive leadership. I want to encourage you to embrace the warmth of your own inner fire.
[00:09:32] You have the right to take up space, to act with purpose and to move forward with confidence. May your inner fire burn steadily. May it guide you toward your purpose with clarity, courage and compassion. Thank you so much for joining me. The next chakra episode we will be diving into the Heart chakra. I'm so excited to talk about the heart with you and I hope that you have this beautiful inner fire that carries you forward through the week. Thank you so much for joining Shanti Om Peace.
