What is the Sacral Chakra? Activate, Balance, and Heal

Ready to learn all about the sacral chakra? Then this post is for you! If you missed my post on the root chakra, you can read more about the body’s first energy center here. And for even more information on chakras, including what a chakra is and an overview on the seven main chakras, check out A Beginner’s Guide to Understanding and Unblocking Your Chakras.

Also, be sure to scroll to the bottom of this page for some awesome freebies! You’ll receive 35 free printable affirmations and 30 journal prompts to open and heal the sacral chakra. Don’t miss these powerful healing tools!

What is the Sacral Chakra?

Located below your navel in your lower abdomen, the sacral chakra is your energy center for creativity, passion, joy, and pleasure. When we experience blockages to this energy center, we often become withdrawn, tense, insecure, and needy.

And unfortunately, blockages to the sacral chakra aren’t uncommon, especially if you live in a culture that prioritizes work, efficiency, and practicality over creativity, fun, and play.

Even as someone who has always embraced creativity, I’ve experienced blockages to my sacral chakra for months at a time. A few years ago, I remember having the thought that I didn’t daydream anymore. It was an unexpected and stunning realization, and I couldn’t quite pinpoint when and how it happened. I just knew that I no longer lost myself in my imagination like I used to, and at the time, I wasn’ t sure if I ever would again.

Back then, I didn’t understand that my body had powerful energy centers or that, when balanced, energy flowed freely throughout my body. But in hindsight, I can clearly see how my sacral chakra had been blocked from this energy flow.

I had “grown up,” and as a result, I traded in my inner child for responsible adulthood – something I thought I was supposed to do now that I was out of school, paying bills, and supporting myself.

But since then, I’ve discovered one of the greatest lessons of my life (something that I actually knew inherently as a child but had lost sight of in the confusion of becoming an adult):

Play is not irresponsible. Creativity is not impractical. Fun is not frivolous.

In fact, it is irresponsible not to prioritize these behaviors and pastimes in my everyday life.

Why Balancing the Sacral Chakra is Important

Joy is your birthright.

Is that hard to say?

I know it used to be for me. It was hard for me to believe that anything good was my birthright. And to think that I deserved good stuff? Absolutely not. It felt all kinds of wrong.

But these aren’t the kind of thoughts we have when we act out of a place of love.

These are the kinds of thoughts we have when we’ve been conditioned to believe our worth is tied to our achievements.

Because the truth is, you do deserve joy. And pleasure. And you deserve to feel good in your skin. And to love yourself fully, without conditions.

And if that still doesn’t cut it for you, a balanced sacral chakra is associated with being more open, honest, forgiving, and compassionate.

If you live in a western culture that prioritizes work over play, hustle over relaxation, and being a responsible adult over embracing your inner child, then learning to recognize the signs of an imbalanced sacral chakra – and how to heal this energy center – is pivotal for embracing lifelong happiness.

(Note that I’m definitely not saying work and being a responsible adult are bad things! It’s all about balance!)

In this post, we’re going to cover all things related to the sacral chakra: signs of balance and imbalance, affirmations, journal prompts, how to heal an imbalanced sacral chakra, and various associated attributes.

Sacral Chakra Attributes

• Sanskrit Name: Svadhishthana (Sva = “self”; shthana = “place”)
• Location: Lower abdomen (below your navel)
• Color: Orange
• Body Parts: Womb, Kidney, Bladder, Lower Back, Reproductive Organs
• Symbol: Six-petaled lotus with a moon crescent in the center
• Element: Water
• Mantra: VAM
• Gemstones: Orange Calcite, Jasper, Carnelian, Red Tiger’s Eye, Coral, Fire Opal
• Essential Oils: Orange, Tangerine, Cinnamon, Bergamot, Neroli, Cypress

Signs of a Balanced Sacral Chakra

The sacral chakra is the energy center for creativity, joy, sexuality, and sensuality. While the root chakra is associated with safety and stability, the sacral chakra is associated with seeking pleasure. While these seem unrelated from one another, this is one of the many examples of how the chakras aren’t just seven separate energy centers; rather, they’re one complete system in which energy flows freely (when balanced) among all energy centers.

You see, when our root chakra is balanced, we feel safe, secure, stable, and centered. Feeling safe in our body and in our physical place in life is one of our most basic needs. But as you can imagine, if the root chakra was blocked, it’s likely that the sacral chakra would become imbalanced as well. When we don’t have a steady foundation, we may overcompensate by becoming more controlling, manipulative, and fearful, and it would be difficult to engage in creativity, play, and joy.

Below are some of the signs and characteristics of having a balanced sacral chakra:

• Creative
• Joyful
• Playful
• Prosperous
• Sexual
• Sensual
• Passionate
• Energetic
• Compassionate
• Forgiving
• Open
• Honest
• High self-esteem

Signs of an Imbalanced Sacral Chakra

When the sacral chakra is balanced, we feel joyful, creative, open, passionate, and honest. But when our energy is blocked from flowing freely through this energy center, our joy and passion shrinks. We become withdrawn, tense, and insecure.

It’s also possible for this energy center to become overactive. When this happens, we’re more prone to becoming controlling, manipulative, and aggressive.

Here are some of the signs associated with an imbalanced sacral chakra:

• Withdrawn
• Tense
• Insecure
• Needy
• Codependent
• Irritable
• Controlling
• Manipulative
• Overdramatic
• Aggressive
• Materialistic
• Fearful
• Judgmental
• Prone to addictive behavior
• Lack of creativity
• Fear of pleasure

Physical Signs of an Imbalanced Sacral Chakra

An imbalance in our energy centers affects not only our emotional and mental health but our physical health as well. As the sacral chakra is associated with our reproductive organs, the common physical ailments are correlated to these organs. Other affected body parts include those in neighboring areas of the body, such as the lower back.

These are some of the physical ailments you may experience with an imbalanced sacral chakra:

• Constipation
• Urinary problems
• Lower back pain
• Kidney issues
• Yeast infections

Sacral Chakra Affirmations

Affirmations are a powerful tool in your total self-care routine. When reciting affirmations to balance your sacral chakra, remember to embrace your joy and creativity. Have fun with it!

For example, take the affirmation, “I embrace life with vigor and passion.” You don’t have to recite this statement with the pep of a high school cheerleader, but the affirmation itself won’t help you if you recite it with tension, monotony, or lack of enthusiasm. So whether you’re saying it silently or aloud, make sure to really feel the words in your being. In this example, you want to actually feel vigorous and passionate.

Affirmations

• I am open to the flow of creativity.
• I am creative, passionate, and inspired. 
• My emotions flow freely in a balanced and healthy way. 
• I live a creative, vibrant, passionate life.
• I deeply respect and honor my sacred body.
• I honor my own divine sensuality.
• I am a sensual and passionate being.
• I am cultivating a beautiful life free of stress, worries, or fear.
• I deserve absolute and unconditional bliss.
• I make space in my life for play.
• I radiate passion and prosperity.
• I embrace life with vigor and passion.
• Limitless joy is my birthright.
• I embrace intimacy with others.
• I honor my desires.

For more powerful sacral chakra affirmations, be sure to check out my post, 35 Sacral Chakra Affirmations to Live a Passionate, Fun, Creative Life. And be sure to scroll to the bottom of this page to get your free printable affirmations and journal prompts!

Sacral Chakra Journal Prompts

Journaling is a powerful method for healing your body’s energy centers. There are no hard-and-fast rules for when to journal or how long you should spend journaling. Just allow yourself time to consciously consider the journal prompts. Don’t try to give the “right” answers to questions. And also, don’t feel like you need to stick with the prompts. If you start out writing about all the opportunities in your life for play, and this drifts off into a memory about making sandcastles when you were a child, let it! Embrace your inner child and see where your imagination takes you.

Journal Prompts

• What can I do in my daily life to add more opportunities for play?
• How do I express my creativity? What are my favorite creative activities? How can I make space for more creative outlets in my life? Have fun with this. Make a list of all the possible creative practices you can think of, no matter how far out there they sound, and see what resonates.
• Write a love letter to your sacred body. Express appreciation, respect, and reverence in your words.
• Envision a day as your highest and most authentic self. Write about a day as your highest self, emphasizing your joy, creativity, passion, and vigor. Be sure to write in the present tense!
• What types of situations and experiences make me feel tense, insecure, and withdrawn? What can I do to help myself in these situations? Are there any frequent experiences like this in my daily life that I can change?

For more powerful sacral chakra journal prompts, check out my post, 30 Journal Prompts to Open and Heal Your Sacral Chakra. And be sure to scroll to the bottom of this page to get your free printable affirmations and journal prompts!

Activating and Healing the Sacral Chakra

Below are 11 powerful practices for sacral chakra healing. For deeper insight into how to open, balance, and heal the sacral chakra, check out my post, Sacral Chakra Healing: Open & Balance the Sacral Chakra.

Color Therapy

Immerse yourself in all things orange! This could mean eating orange foods, such as mangoes, cantaloupe, and oranges; wearing orange clothing; surrounding yourself with orange items; painting with the color orange; and lighting orange candles, among other things. If you don’t generally have a lot of orange around, see if you can pick up a few small items to have around for moments when you feel an imbalance in this energy center.

Swimming

The sacral chakra’s element is water, so a fun and relaxed day at the pool, lake, or beach is a perfect way to restore balance to this energy center. If you’re not big on swimming, relaxing near a body of water will still get you these same benefits.

Take a Bath

If you’re not able to go to any pools or lakes, create a relaxing water environment right at home. Draw a warm bath, turn off the lights, and maybe even light an orange-cinnamon scented candle.

And if baths aren’t your thing, take a nice, warm shower. You can even close your eyes for a few minutes and do a mini-meditation, visualizing a bright orange light below your navel.

Create!

The sacral chakra is the energy center of creativity, so one of the best ways to heal this energy center is to create! Paint, draw, write, cook, bake, or choose your activity of choice to express your divine creativity. Try not to follow an outline, template, or recipe. Simply allow your inner creative to flow freely! This can be especially helpful if you’ve noticed your life has revolved around work, deadlines, and other stressors of daily life.

Journaling

Find a quiet place where you can focus on writing, and set the intention to balance your sacral chakra before you begin. If you want, you can use any of the prompts above. You could also incorporate affirmations into your journaling by writing down powerful sacral chakra affirmations in your writing.

Dancing

Some of the signs of an imbalanced sacral chakra are feeling tense, withdrawn, insecure, and fearful. Dancing is a beautiful way to release tension and embrace flow. Find somewhere you feel comfortable, put on some music that makes you feel good, and let yourself flow without judgment. Light some candles or use some essential oils if possible. You can make this an even more powerful practice by immersing yourself in the color orange while dancing.

Yoga

Each chakra has associated yoga poses to help heal imbalanced energy. For an imbalanced sacral chakra, choose hip-opening positions.

Here are just some of the poses for healing the sacral chakra that you can incorporate into your yoga practice:

• Pigeon
• Butterly
• Cobra
• Frog
• Goddess squat

Here’s a great video from Allie – The Yoga Junkie on cleansing your sacral chakra.

Meditation

A powerful practice to heal your sacral chakra is to visualize a bright orange light just below your belly button. See the light growing brighter as you inhale and bigger as you exhale. You might think of this light like a beautiful orange sun.

Here are some root chakra guided meditations using the free Insight Timer app:

• Sacred Sacral Chakra Balancing by Loula Love
• Sacral Chakra Meditation by Sarah Da Silva
• 2nd Chakra Svadhisthana Sacral Meditation by Amelia Lina Sawyer

Affirmations

Affirmations are a great tool to help heal any of your energy centers because they can be recited (either silently or out loud) almost anywhere. To make the most of affirmations, see if you can combine it with another practice. For healing the sacral chakra, you might repeat them while you’re in the shower or bath. You could also incorporate them in your journaling or recite them as you hold your crystals.

Gemstones

Some of the gemstones associated with the sacral chakra are orange calcite, jasper, carnelian, red tiger’s eye, coral, fire opal, moonstone, amber, and orange amethyst. You can hold these crystals during meditation, carry them in your pocket during the day, or keep them nearby on your desk as you work.

Here’s a few more posts to help you get started with using crystals and gemstones to heal the chakras:

• 7 Chakra Healing Crystals to Restore Inner Harmony
• How to Use Crystals: Grids, Pendulums & More

Essential Oils

To open and activate the sacral chakra, you can use the essential oil(s) of choice in your diffuser, add them to your bath, or apply to your skin below the navel. (If applying to your skin, please make sure to use high-quality oils and always follow directions for dilution. Also note all other safety instructions, such as amount of time you should wait before going out in the sun. I am not a qualified aromatherapy practitioner, so if you have any questions about safety, please make sure to refer your questions to a professional. Always err on the side of caution.)

Here are some of the best essential oils for healing the sacral chakra:

• Orange
• Jasmine
• Rose
• Geranium
• Clove
• Nutmeg
• Cinnamon

For more information on how to use essential oils to heal the chakras, check out my post, A Guide to Essential Oils for Chakra Healing.

As always, with all the practices listed above, make sure to be intentional with your thoughts and actions. Whether you’re reciting affirmations, going swimming, using essential oils, or utilizing any of the other practices on this list, set the powerful intention to balance and heal the sacral chakra, and let that intention guide you as you move forward.

---

For more more chakra resources, plus uplifting affirmations and self-love encouragement, be sure to follow me on Pinterest and Instagram!

---

Are you ready for your freebies? Enter your name and email address below for your free printables! (Note that it may take an hour or two for the email to come through.) Plus, receive a weekly newsletter with resources, affirmations, and new blog post updates straight to your inbox. (Don’t worry, I hate spam, too! I only send one email a week, never share your personal info, and you can unsubscribe anytime.)

First Name Email Address   Send me my freebies!

---