I have just written a yoga nidra session based on the Manipura Chakra and diaphragm breathing which I will record and share with you however in the meantime I wanted to explain a little more about this energy centre located in the upper part of your belly where the diaphragm resides. The Manipura Chakra is connected to the colour yellow, signifying heat and energy. There is so much we can learn about all of the chakras but I wanted to keep this as a brief introduction and then to add a couple of really simple techniques you can use to help balance this particular chakra.

The Manipura chakra manages your digestive system and organs including the liver, gall bladder, spleen, stomach, pancreas, diaphragm and small intestine.

Blockages can often manifest as anger or fear but this chakra also plays an important role in the development of your beliefs and inner chatter. In the same way that this chakra digests food it also digests thoughts and ideas which guide your behaviour and ultimately the results you get in life.

“If I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning” ~ Gandhi

Unfortunately not all of the beliefs we digest are this empowering. Have you heard of the saying “I’ll believe it when I see it”, well let’s turn that on it’s head….you only see what you believe! If we keep feeding ourselves bad thoughts and ideas we get better and more efficient at digesting them and that’s all we begin to see. So how can we start to change our belief system? Start digesting more good thoughts! You may need to look a bit harder for them at first but the more you do this the easier it gets.

What else can we do to balance this chakra? Our chakras spin both clockwise and anti-clockwise and in an ideal world all of our chakras would be spinning along in a balanced way supporting each other therefore creating an ease to life and a healthy digestive system.

To help bring the Manipura chakra into balance, use your dominant hand and start to make circles in a clockwise direction in the area of this chakra (the upper part of your belly). Do this about 10 – 15 times, shake your hand off and then go back to the Manipura chakra and do about 10 cycles in an anti-clockwise direction. Shake your hand off once again taking a few deep breaths and have a drink of water. Do this on a regular basis, perhaps making it part of your morning routine.

There are many more advanced techniques that can help us to indentify an imbalance or blockage in the chakras but this quick and easy technique will certainly help you and it’s something you can do anytime…..remember to digest more good thoughts and ideas too.