Transcription:
Sacral Chakra: The Key to Our Emotions and Creativity

Deborah Howell (Host): Welcome to Stoughton Health Talk. I'm Deborah Howell. And I invite you to listen as we talk about the keys to our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual bodies, and get introduced to the chakras and in particular, this time, to the sacral chakra, which holds the key to opening us up to our own creative pursuits.

Joining me is Amy Krull, a Reiki master teacher, yoga teacher, and holistic health coach. Amy, what a pleasure to have you on with us again today.

Amy Crull: Thank you for having me.

Deborah Howell (Host): I always love our time together. Now, so many of us found new creative outlets during the past couple of years because, you know, we spent more time at home and in nature. That's why I'm really particularly interested in learning about the sacral chakra that can open us up even further to our own creativity. But first off, can you give us a quick overview of the chakra system?

Amy Crull: Yes. So, our chakra system is like a mapping of our mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual bodies. And it's all how they intersect and how they all interact within the body. So we're talking about energy, we're talking about that vibration and where it converges in the body. So when you define the word chakra, it means wheel or spinning disc. So you can just kind of imagine that along your spine, and there's seven major ones in the body. And you've probably seen the picture of the rainbow dots going up a person's spine, that's the chakras within the system. And each one is associated with organs and glands and physical functions and emotional and mental and spiritual issues.

Deborah Howell (Host): Beautiful. All right. Let's now concentrate on the sacral chakra. What is it about it that brings us closer to our own creativity and our own true emotions?

Amy Crull: Well, what's so wonderful about the second chakra is it's literally where we create life. So it's the organs that create life. So it just taps us into that creativity.

Deborah Howell (Host): And where in the body is the sacral or second chakra located?

Amy Crull: So you take your belly button and then it's in the area between your belly button and the top of your pubic bone, so your abdomen.

Deborah Howell (Host): Okay. And what organs are associated with this chakra?

Amy Crull: So it would be the top of your hips, the pelvic area, your lower back and the sex organs, so particularly the ovaries and testes and all the hormones they create and then every fluid system in the body. So, whereas the root chakra did more of the structural and the foundation, the second chakra is the fluid systems, so blood circulation, urinary tract, lymph nodes. So you're talking really about this fluidity throughout the body.

Deborah Howell (Host): So interesting. What other things can you tell us about this chakra?

Amy Crull: Yes. So the color associated with this is orange, this brilliant, beautiful orange. And the sense with it is taste. So this is formed when you are that crawling baby on the ground. And what does a crawling baby do? They put everything in their mouth. So, it's exploration, it's tapping into your senses and how you interact with them in this new world you have found yourself in.

So, when you're talking about identity, you're talking about your emotional identity. Where the root was this physical identity, now we are tapping into our emotions and what's interesting about the second chakra is in Reiki, we call it our hara, H-A-R-A. And it's where we view our life force energy is being housed. So it's truly like this essence of yourself is housed in your second chakra.

Deborah Howell (Host): It is so fascinating to me. And it just makes you want to really tap into it when you say life force. I mean, there's a life force within us. And a lot of times we just ignore it and go through our day as if it doesn't exist

Amy Crull: Exactly. Exactly. So if you're feeling really in your head and you're just feeling like, "Oh, I'm checking off my to-do list," you know, just hands on the abdomen and just take some deep breaths and really just connect with that sense of orange. A lot of times it helps people to visualize that and just tap into that life force energy.

Deborah Howell (Host): As you say that, I want a Dreamsicle. I don't know why, But that orange is such a happy place. It reminds you of, you know, like you said, crawling on the ground, you know, maybe reaching for a Dreamsicle or whatever it is, tapping into our creativity for maybe perhaps the first time.

Amy Crull: Yes, definitely. And a way to kind of help do that is to tap into that playfulness, like you were talking about with the Dreamsicle and more of that flow versus being very stagnant.

Deborah Howell (Host): And then, I guess later in life, it would be a sunset or just the warm memories that sustain us.

Amy Crull: Definitely. It's that connection, that flow definitely.

Deborah Howell (Host): Is there a theme associated with this chakra?

Amy Crull: Yes. So getting back to that fluidity, it's going to be the flow. Kind of like getting out of our own way and just going with the flow. You know, we hear that all the time and just getting rid of our attachments to everything and how we think things should go and maybe being a little more light and just a little more flowy with things. Because with this comes our emotions and we can be very either ruled by them or never tapping into them. This is our area of the body where we seek pleasure. So sometimes it can tip a little too far in seeking pleasure all the time versus denying ourselves of pleasure. So, it really gets into that fear of change, lack of boundaries. And so a more balanced would be this emotional intelligence, this ability to experience pleasure without feeling any guilt or shame about it, nurturing ourselves and others, ability to change and have these healthy boundaries.

Deborah Howell (Host): And understanding we can't control everything.

Amy Crull: Exactly. Again, like going into that flow.

Deborah Howell (Host): Yup. And how can we best connect with this chakra?

Amy Crull: Yes. So, essential oils help, definitely. So we're talking about citrusy, we're talking about grapefruit, orange, lemon, and also jasmine. Jasmine's a wonderful way to connect to our second chakra. Also, rose and clary sage. Ylang ylang is also a really good one as well. Crystals also really help and carnelian. Carnelian is this beautiful orange stone really helps people. Because with this area, trauma to this area can be sexual abuse. And so I help a lot of clients with that. And that is something that carnelian really helps with. It just brings that extra support in. And it also then brings in that creativity, looking at it differently, finding a new path to healing. It's a wonderful stone. I can't say enough about carnelian.

So then there's these yoga poses we can do as well. So when we do these yoga poses for a second chakra, we're getting into that fluidity. So like a cat and cow where you inhale, head goes up, exhale, head goes down in the background. So you're doing the breath with a lot of these poses. Another one would be just being seated, legs crossed, and then doing some circles. That's a really good way of just getting the energy going, that life force energy. When we do circles like that, it just kind of activates it as it start to go up your spine.

Deborah Howell (Host): When you say circles, are you talking arm circles?

Amy Crull: You're seated and legs are crossed and both sit bones are on the mat and you rotate from your hips. So it's just your upper trunk doing the circles left to right. And that just gets that beautiful energy going up your spine.

Deborah Howell (Host): Oh, yeah. Sorry. I'm doing it on my chair and I'm loving it. It's good.

Amy Crull: Yeah. And I always tell people, if it's hard to sit, then put a block underneath you or put a pillow underneath you. It will really support your hips.

Deborah Howell (Host): For sure. I have one last question about the carnelian you mentioned earlier. In a session with a client, what would you do with that cornelian to help that person?

Amy Crull: A lot of times I will just have it next to them on the massage table or, if they are a little more emotional, I'll have them hold it in their hand. And then just suggest that they go to a crystal shop and see if any of them speak to them to take home. But yes, I always feel like it's just help for me on the table. It's just an extra healing that I can give clients in a Reiki session.

Deborah Howell (Host): Got it. Is there anything else you'd like to add to our conversation?

Amy Crull: Yes. So, other ways to connect to the second chakra is to bring this play into your life. So, you know, maybe you love to dance, but you never danced, just put on one song from maybe your twenties or teen years and just dance for that one song. Or play games, card games that you used to love. A lot of times it helps if you go swimming, because that kind of brings out our playfulness. Tapping into that creativity. If you're someone who loves to journal, just say, "You know what? I'm going to write for the next five minutes" and just really connect. A lot of times by the end of that five minutes, you're like, "Oh, I didn't realize that's really the direction I wanted to go," and that can really help.

Deborah Howell (Host): We can all do something.

Amy Crull: Yes, definitely. And so much of the second chocolate work is boundaries. So I tell people when you wake up in the morning, just imagine this white light around you, like this egg of white light around you and your energy stays with you and other people's energy stays with them. And it's just a nice way of putting up that energetic boundary.

Deborah Howell (Host): That is a beautiful way indeed to start every day. How can people reach out to you, Amy?

Amy Crull: So my website is www.speroholistic.com and Spero is S-P-E-R-O and then holistic, H-O-L-I-S-T-I-C. So speroholistic.com.

Deborah Howell (Host): I'll give it one final time, www.speroholistic.com. This has been so wonderful as always, Amy. Thank you so much for joining us today.

Amy Crull: Thank you very much for having me.

Deborah Howell (Host): And for more information, you can head on over to our website at stoughtonhealth.com to get connected with one of our providers. And that concludes this episode of Stoughton Health Talk. Please remember to subscribe, rate and review this podcast and all the other Stoughton Hospital podcasts. I'm Deborah Howell. Have a terrific day.