Solar Plexus ~ A Place of Profound Power
In one of my classes this week, someone asked a question about the abdomen.
Often when I teach, it is the students that are guiding the inquiry and together we discover something really insightful. During this particular class, we spent a lot of the class paying attention to the area around the navel.
As I tune people into their body, I also pay attention to myself. When I tuned into this area, it was abundantly clear to me how powerful and important this place in our body is. I was looking for words to articulate this place we were focusing on, and 'solar plexus' came to mind.
Despite knowing the body well, I don’t have an overly educated knowledge of the technical terms of our anatomy. After class, I wanted to understand better what exactly is the ‘solar plexus' so I sat down to do a little research.
And wow! What I read was fascinating and worth sharing.
Here is a formal definition:
"The solar plexus, or celiac plexus, is a complex network of nerves located in the abdomen, near where the celiac trunk, superior mesenteric artery, and renal arteries branch from the abdominal aorta. It is behind the stomach and the omental bursa, and in front of the crura of the diaphragm, on the level of the first lumbar vertebra."
This area of the body has direct and quick communication to the brain. This area of the solar plexus is basically a bundle of nerves. It is deeply related to breath, emotions and digestion.
To give us a more simple understanding of this area, let's look at some of these expressions in English that speak to the feeling of what this area is all about:
We know what it means to get 'gut punched' in life.
Or we have a ‘gut feeling’.
Or we can ‘Get the wind knocked out of us.’
The vagus nerve runs directly through this area. The vagus nerve runs from the hypothalamus area of your brain, which links the nervous system to the endocrine system, through your throat and chest and diaphragm. It wraps around your heart and solar plexus and continues into your stomach and all your digestive organs.
No wonder this area can hold so much feeling. We can ‘tie our stomach up in knots’ when we feel stressed. And we get stress relief when we take a deep breath.
We can help ourselves calm down with a deep breath because when we breath deeply, the diaphragm moves and the vagus nerve is stimulated. This helps to regulate and balance our nervous system.
It is incredible to think how the body and mind and emotions are so deeply connected.
What I love about Yoga is it allows us to get in contact with all these different layers of Self. I still don't understand everything about the technical aspects of our anatomy, but I do know through my own experience, paying attention to our body is enough to give us real and tangible benefits.
By becoming more aware of ourselves, we see where we have patterns of holding, or protecting and we have a chance to let these tensions go.
We can look inside ourselves and FEEL where our blocks are. We can witness where we feel stuck when we pay attention.
Holding tension creates blocks in the energy body and translates to the physical body. It is amazing to think that our thoughts and emotions affect the physical body and our health so directly.
According to Yogic philosophy when the manipura chakra is blocked, we can suffer from low self-esteem, have difficulty making decisions, and may have anger or control issues. To read more about Manipura chakra, check out this article.
I also found this article and liked the exercise at the end to challenge our own self doubt and criticism.
It is difficult to encompass everything I want to discuss about this area in a Blog post, but I hope this short discussion will inspire you to pay more attention to your gut, and what you feel there. There is a lot of messages for us in the solar plexus.
Yoga is not a magic pill, but it does empower us to heal ourselves.
If you are looking for whole health, this area is an important place to pay attention to. It can feel vulnerable to become aware of what is happening in the guts. It tunes us into our own intuitive nature. It asks us to face the truth of what we are feeling.
If you know you struggle in this area of the body, these are some positive affirmations you might wish to practice:
- I feel calm, confident, and powerful
- I feel ready to face challenges
- I feel motivated to pursue my purpose
- I am ambitious and capable
- I forgive myself for past mistakes, and I learn from them
- The only thing I need to control is how I respond to situations
- I can create positive change in my life
- I stand in my personal power
If you want to get more in touch with your body and learn to take care of your health in preventative ways, develop a consistent Yoga practice. It will allow you to tune into yourself and provide opportunities to let go of where you might be blocking your own health and wellness.
Need guidance? Book a free call with me to see what next steps you can take on your wellness journey.
