Body Wisdom: Understanding the Chakras - Volume II

 

October 2026 Issue

Mind, Body & Soul Series
By Leslie Slemmons

 

This is the second in a series of seven articles identifying the Chakras. The second, Sacral Chakra, located just below the navel, is associated with emotion, creativity, pleasure, and connection. In Sanskrit it is known as Svadhisthana, often translated as “one’s own place.”

If you’ve spent time around yoga studios or wellness conversations, you may have heard the word chakra. As we understand it in the West, the chakra system became more widely known through the work of Carl Jung, who used it as a practical framework for understanding how emotions and stress show up in the body.

Each chakra represents an energy center connected to different physical areas and emotional patterns. When these centers are balanced, we tend to feel steady and resilient. When they’re out of balance, the body often lets us know through tension, fatigue, anxiety, or emotional overwhelm.

This is where somatic practices, or therapeutic movement, come in. Somatic work focuses on how the body experiences emotion and how breath, awareness, and gentle movement can help the nervous system reconnect and regulate.

If the Root Chakra, which we learned about last month, is about feeling safe and grounded, the Sacral Chakra is about how we experience life. It influences our ability to feel our emotions, express ourselves, connect with others, and embrace creativity in all its forms.

When this chakra is healthy, we tend to feel emotionally connected, curious, and open to new experiences. Creativity comes more naturally, relationships feel more authentic, and we move through life with a sense of flexibility rather than resistance.

When this area feels depleted, it can be difficult to identify what we're feeling or what truly brings us joy. Life may begin to feel flat, and creativity can seem just out of reach. On the other hand, when emotions begin to take over, it may feel like we're reacting to everything without understanding why.

Our bodies often tell the story before our minds do. The hips, pelvis, and lower abdomen frequently hold tension during periods of stress, grief, or emotional overwhelm. Tightness or discomfort in these areas isn't something to fear or fix—it's simply information. The body has a remarkable way of letting us know when something needs our attention.

This is where somatic practices can make such a difference. Gentle movement, intentional breathing, and paying attention to physical sensations help us reconnect with what we're feeling instead of pushing it aside. As we become more aware of our body's signals, emotions often begin to soften and move through us more naturally.

The Sacral Chakra reminds us that life isn't meant to be managed from the neck up. We are meant to feel, create, connect, and experience the world around us. When we give ourselves permission to do that, we often rediscover parts of ourselves we didn't realize we'd been missing.

Somatic Practice to Try

Place one hand on your lower abdomen. Take a slow breath in and gently sway your hips from side to side as you exhale.

Continue this movement for about one minute, allowing your body to move naturally.

Then, grab a journal and reflect:

How do you connect to your most creative self?

What does this version of you feel like in your body?

What do you believe about yourself and your capacity for greatness?

 

Future columns will explore additional energy centers in the body and the role they play in emotional and physical well-being. To read last month's column, log onto itsallpink.com

 

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Leslie Slemmons is the founder of Peace by Piece Therapy in Bluffton, where she blends traditional therapy with somatic, mind-body practices to help people reconnect with themselves and create lasting change. Visit www.peacebypiecetherapy.care to learn more and subscribe to the monthly newsletter for workshops, classes, special events, and wellness inspiration.