Swadhisthana chakra is shown as having six petals, bearing the Sanskrit letters ba, bha, ma, ya, ra, and la. The seed sound in the centre is vam. The tattwa for the element of Water is shown as a silver crescent.
(Sanskrit: स्वाधिष्ठान, Svādhiṣṭhāna) called 'One's own abode' is the second primary
chakra according to
Tantrism.
Description
Swadhisthana is positioned at the tailbone, two finger-widths above
Muladhara. It has six
petals which match the
vrittis of
affection,
pitilessness, feeling of all-destructiveness,
delusion,
disdain and
suspicion. Its corresponding point in the front of the body (i.e. its kshetram) is at the pubic bone.
Swadhisthana is associated with the
unconscious, and with
emotion. It is closely related to
Muladhara in that Swadhisthana is where the different samskaras (potential karmas), lie dormant, and Muladhara is where these samskaras find expression. Swadhisthana contains unconscious desires, especially sexual desire, and it is said that to raise the
kundalini shakti (energy of consciousness) above Swadhisthana is extremely difficult for this reason. Many saints have had to face the temptations associated with this chakra.
Swadhisthana is said to contain
Kriya Shakti.
Symbolism
- Associated Body Parts: Reproductive organs (ovaries in the female, prostate in males) Tongue
Practices
Practices in kundalini yoga for controlling and balancing the energy in Swadhisthana chakra include
vajroli mudra ( contraction of the genitals ),
ashvini mudra ( contraction of the anus ) and various
asanas and pranayamas.
Other Associations
Due to its relation with sexuality, Swadhisthana is often associated with the
testes or
ovaries in men and women, as a part of the endocrine system. These produce the hormones
testosterone or
estrogen, which are important factors in sexual behaviour. These are also the locations the spermatoza or eggs are stored with their latent genetic information, like the latent samskaras that lie dormant within Swadhisthana.
Western occultists make the kabbalistic association of Swadhisthana with the
Sephirah Yesod. Yesod is also associated with the sexual organs. Its function in the tree of life is to gather the different energies that have been created in the descent down the tree and to distribute them to Malkuth, the material world, where the energy can find physical expression.
Alternative names
- Tantra: Adhishthana, Bhima, Shatpatra, Skaddala Padma, Swadhishthana, Wari Chakra
