One day in my late 20s I walked across the common space of the magazine at which I worked. One of my colleagues – and a good friend – asked me, “Why are you pressing your fingers into your diaphragm? You do it so often.” The question took me a back – was I doing this? Stopping dead in my tracks I realized my fingertips indeed were buried deeply into that area of my body. In that instant I knew that they sat on top of the internal space where I felt excitement, ambition, stress, fear – all the deep emotions.

Years later, I learned about the Chakra System and became aware of the 3rd Chakra – the Solar Plexus or Manipura in Sanskrit – and its energy of confidence and power. This fiery chakra represented by the sun and with its yellow color holds and nurtures your deepest sense of personal power and self-esteem. No wonder then that my fingers automatically found their way to this area of my body, especially in my 20s when so many life changes occur. As our seat of empowerment in ourselves and others, this area also represents digestive health (no surprise to learn later, then, of some digestive issues that needed tending).

Over the years I became friends with my fiery core at the Solar Plexus and worked hard to understand it in practical terms. Here are some of things I learned.

When the Solar Plexus is in balance, we feel:

Self-confident
Satisfied and happy
Spontaneous
Able to express emotions

When it is imbalanced, we may experience:

Aggressive, dominating behavior
Conversely, timid behavior
A highly critical outlook
Difficulty in admitting “I was wrong”
Poor self-esteem

When I feel a tightening or an uncomfortable burn in my Solar Plexus, I stop. I feel. I “listen” with my whole being. Is this anger? Is this a desire to be “right”? Is this a play of a sheer force of will? Is this over-excitement? Is this nervousness or shyness? As I listen and feel, sometimes I create a triangle mudra with my hands right at my Solar Plexus to nurture it and to tend it so the fires there glow brightly without burning to a crisp or dying to embers. Or I repeat an affirmation connected with chakra: “I trust myself.” When I am right in my Solar Plexus, there is no feeling of gnawing or clutching in this area of my energetic body; my physical digestive system functions better.

Understanding and tending to the Solar Plexus creates secure, confident, compassionate human beings. It can inform how we treat others, how we raise children, how we find success and maturity while respecting others. In so many ways, the fire at the core of our beings shines the light of serenity and ease into the world.

Learn More About the Chakras

Chakra Yoga

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Marcia Appel

In 2006, Marcia, a former journalist and corporate executive, wrote the plan that launched Green Lotus. In 2007, Green Lotus opened, and Marcia and business partner Merry Beth Hovey, who joined in 2009, planted the seeds of service that are the foundation of the Green Lotus philosophy. "As teachers and healers," Marcia says, "we meet students and clients where they are. We learn and grow from each other -- and have fun doing it."