Practice with Rachel (Sat Siri) on Wanderlust TV: Her new series Root to Rise: Journey Through the Chakras also includes a companion series of free 10-minute introspection and journaling lessons. The 7-part Kundalini Yoga series and samples of thousands of yoga, meditation and movement classes on WLTV are available to you with a free 14-day trial of WLTV. providing access to a huge library that includes dozens of Kundalini classes by Rachel Dougherty.

This chakra is the center of our fire, which represents our personal power. Manipura, as this chakra is also known, is considered the source of the sun’s energy. This element of fire ignites the light of consciousness that prompts us to strive for success and good health in our lives.

Balanced third chakra (manipura)

Spending too much time in the third chakra can burn us out. However, if it is not developed, we can feel weak, afraid and frozen. The feelings of love and happiness that we feel in our heart actually originate from the solar plexus/navel chakra and ascend from there to the heart chakra. This third chakra is very important to understand and one of my favorites to work with.

A couple of years ago I coached a beautiful woman who lost touch with this center. She experienced many losses, the death of her best friend, the loss of her job, and having to move from a place she had lived for 10 years, all in the space of 8-9 months. She literally lost her center, physically and energetically. This manifested itself in a lot of self-doubt and insecurity. She lost her self-confidence, so it was difficult for her to make decisions, she was lethargic and numb.

I made a plan with her where she would do a navel yoga practice every morning, then some fire for 11 minutes and powerfully chant the mantra from the navel center. After that, I suggested that she go outside in the sun (or at least daylight) and walk for 30 minutes every day. She did. She was desperate to feel better.

After only 7 days of this practice, I saw her come back to life. At first just a little spark in her eyes and her soul, then I heard an enthusiasm in her voice that I hadn’t heard from her in months. It was the most beautiful transformation that could be seen: she came back to life. I told her that she, like a sunflower, gets up and greets the sun! And the beauty was that it didn’t take too long to ignite.. she was completely different after 10 days of this practice. After 40 days, she continued, but felt that she had completely regained her strength.

This is the power of reconnecting with this solar plexus chakra: by reconnecting with your inner sun, you can rekindle the fire within, even if it feels like it’s completely extinguished. You can light the glow.

Tools for balancing the third chakra

A well-balanced solar plexus chakra allows us to plan effectively and succeed. Clearing and opening this chakra can make a person a better leader and support them in creating an inspiring life.

Work with the navel: Work on exercises that are commonly considered to strengthen the core: single-leg raises, double-leg raises, cycling. You can look for individual classes on Wanderlust TV that target the core, or try a 10-day challenge designed to focus on developing your core.

Outside the bow: This backbend asana creates a tremendous amount of intra-abdominal massage for the various organs of the digestive system, including the liver and pancreas. Stimulation of the solar plexus in this position contributes to the efficiency of digestion and the effective removal of toxins and waste from the body. The neck stretch stimulates the thyroid gland, stimulating healthy hormone secretion that improves metabolism for ideal body weight control.

Don’t forget you can also practice with me on Wanderlust TV balancing the solar plexus chakra in my Manipura class and then continue your practice with this 10 minute journaling exercise:

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Rachel Dougherty (Sat Siri) is a pioneering new generation Kundalini yoga teacher and trainer. She travels the world teaching Kundalini Yoga in places like Bali, Maui, Mexico and India. She has been practicing yoga and meditation for over twenty years and teaching Kundalini Yoga for fourteen. She practiced Iyengar yoga, Vipassana meditation and many other methods before finding Kundalini yoga. A former ballet dancer with the Australian Ballet, Rachel found ballet meditation in movement, a creative expression that renewed her perspective with every step, turn or leap.

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