The Third Chakra is also known as the fire chakra. In Sanskrit, its name is Manipura, which means “lustrous gem of the city.” This energy center is located at the solar plexus and corresponds with our zest for life, our will, our drive, the ability to express anger and frustration, and the process of transformation.
When our third chakra energy is out of balance, including being low, blocked, or depleted, we may feel depressed or bored—or we might lose touch with our purpose and passion. If the fire chakra energy is in excess, we may feel righteous, impetuous, or quick to anger.
There are healthy ways to express all of our emotions, including anger. In my healing arts private practice, I have found that by exploring our more fiery emotions in combination with sound, movement, and the use of specific essential oils, we can cultivate a deeper connection to our more vulnerable, authentic selves. In Polarity Therapy we call this process “Fire into Water.”
Tending to the Third Chakra with Essential Oils
Essential oils can offer us a new outlook on life and attitude in order to to facilitate what we are capable of accomplishing. Some of the essential oils that support the fire element and are great for the third chakra have a warming quality such as black pepper, cardamom, cloves, marjoram, and rosemary.
Other oils possess stimulating and invigorating properties (such as peppermint). Another oil — ginger — is a well-known digestive aid that may also soothe muscles.
If you are choosing to apply essential oils topically, remember to dilute them by placing 5-10 drops of an essential oil into one ounce of a fatty oil like almond, coconut, or jojoba. If you store oils, place them in a dark glass container to protect them from sunlight.
Fire Element Essential Oils
- Black pepper: warming and promotes sweating
- Ginger: digestive support and muscle relaxation
- Rosemary: promotes clarity
- Cardamom: spicy, refreshing, and uplifting
- Clove: soothing and invigorating
- Marjoram: warming and calming
- Peppermint: energizing and clearing
- Lemon: improves memory and supports circulation
Move Energy with Essential Oils
When I teach fire element asanas and polarity exercises combined with essential oils in my Aroma Yoga® classes, I frequently witness students experiencing powerful shifts in their states of being.
Try these exercises when you need to release anger, annoyance, or frustration, rekindle the passion or motivation for a project that needs your attention, or when you simply need to reenergize.
Third Chakra Energy Exercises
The Ha! Breath and The Woodchopper
Step 1
Before you begin, take a moment to observe any feelings of anger, resentment, or bitterness that you may be feeling; think about a project or relationship in your life that needs rekindling; or become aware of an obstacle that you need to break through.
Step 2
Place a few drops of your favorite essential oil on your left palm and gently rub your right hand clockwise over your left palm three times. Tent your palms over your nose and inhale deeply. Take 5-8 deep, cleansing breaths through your nose to help you focus your intention.
Step 3: Ha! Breath
Stand with your feet hip distance apart, place your left hand on your diaphragm and your right hand over the left. As you inhale through your nose, feel your diaphragm expanding. Exhale through your mouth making a loud, staccato “Ha!” sound. Feel your diaphragm contract as you exhale the sound. Repeat 5-10 times.
Step 4: The Wood Chopper
Start with your feet a little wider than hip distance apart, bend your knees slightly, and as you inhale, raise your arms high above your head and clasp your hands together, as if you were holding an imaginary axe.
On the exhalation, rock the hips forward, leaning back as you prepare to swing the arms forward in an undulating movement. Then bend forward, swing your arms down in front of you quickly as if you were chopping an imaginary piece of wood on the ground in front of and loudly say “HA!”
Slowly rise up with your hands clasped above your head. Repeat three to four times. After completion, stand for a few moments, closing your eyes and take a moment to notice what you are feeling.
Yoga Asanas for the Fire Chakra
Because the third chakra rules digestion, twists such as Revolving Chair Pose can be great choices to tone the digestive organs and center of the body and support elimination.
Fire Meditation for the Third Charka
Breathe fresh energy into the solar plexus, and imagine filling this area of your body with sparkling yellow light. Relax.
Affirmations for the Third Chakra
I now release all conflict and images of weakness. I take full responsibility for energizing my body and keeping it sound. I dissolve all cords between others and myself. I release competition, power battles, habits and judgments that drain my energy. I affirm that my human will is supplied and guided by my Divine will.
I open the inner door between Body and Soul, that the Light may flow through. (Breathe!) I am the conscious energy in this body, an offspring of the Eternal Light within me. I choose to live here and now, guided by an intuitive sacred awareness of different levels within me. I walk the narrow edge with grace and balance, free of excesses. Thank you, Creator, for my life, for power, and the will to choose.
Tracy Griffiths, BCPP, LMT, CAC is the co-owner of the Life Energy Institute and a Board Certified Polarity Practitioner Instructor. She is the creator and author of Aroma Yoga®, a blend of conscious movement, breathing exercises, and chakra meditations combined with therapeutic grade essential oils. Tracy leads the essential oil therapy component of the Urban Zen Integrative Therapy (UZIT) program and believes wellness should be easy and accessible to everyone: aromayogaguide.com.