What am I really feeding? 

How many of us have asked ourselves that—have considered that the mindless snacking, nightly glasses of wine, shopping binges, searches to the end of the internet, and other senseless and even addictive behaviors might actually represent the hungry cries of our famished second chakras?

I hadn’t, until recently. And then, finally, the barometric nature of the body’s ability to tell us exactly what it needs and when it needs it made all the sense in the world to me.

Put simply, distractive behaviors are futile attempts to satisfy and snuff out the calls of the second chakra. Thus addiction, weight gain, and binging behaviors mean that there is something we should be doing, but are not. So we also have to ask ourselves:

What am I ignoring?

The second chakra is the body’s energetic center for creativity and desire. It is where we feel, enjoy, and establish pathways for prosperity. The body’s physical representation of this chakra is the sex organs, because there is more than one way to be a creative being. But, when this chakra is not allowed to do what it was born to do (create), we will likely find ourselves suffering through the discomfort of bulky extra pounds, or giving into behaviors as unproductive as flipping aimlessly through TV stations when at the end of the day we find ourselves unable to sleep.

Of course we can’t sleep—we’ve squandered away another glorious day of our precious lives.

For me, the rounded curve of my lower belly is my telltale heart beating beneath the surface when attempts to stuff it shut with petty snacking have failed. It’s a phenomenon I’ve encountered my whole life, but until recently did not understand.

I remember being just a young child at gymnastics class and noticing critically the way my stomach poked out, unlike the flattened abdomens of the friends around me. I was just under 10 years old, and already I felt fat. The truth is, I just didn’t know how else to label what I was experiencing. I was hyper aware that something with me was “off,” and it was manifesting physically.

I can see it clearly now, looking back. Despite my own love for people of all shapes and sizes, some part of me believed that extra pounds made me unlovable, and the only solution I ever knew was to try to make it go away.

I worked so hard my whole life attempting to keep my belly flat and “happy.” Not until a moment of meditative clarity did I recognize that my body was trying all the while to speak to me, to urge me along my path. It wanted me to write, to teach, to create—to harness and encourage the things that, in my youth, were never harnessed and encouraged. These are the things it would take me decades of diligent work as an adult to become good at. My second chakra wanted me to do what I was put on earth to do, to follow what made my life—and me—phenomenal.

I’m 37 now and, whilst relatively thin, the outward curve of my stomach is still the place that speaks to me the loudest. At times in my life it’s been flat and toned, but too often it rounds back into its familiar state. I had always just attributed this to my diet and exercise, striving to tighten the reigns from time to time, but never could I have imagined what was actually causing my unwanted pooch.

All these decades, my body was quite clearly trying to communicate, but never did I recognize or suspect that my life purpose had anything to do with it. Through all the stomach upsets, cramps, and bloating, I failed to connect my body’s physical appearance with my adherence to my path.

Each of us knows our body in the most intimate way possible—every curve, every tendency, and more importantly, every flaw. No matter the size of our waistlines or curve of our hips, the shape of our thighs or the jiggle of our arms, we are beautiful and worthy of love. In any moment, we are the incredible, creative beings our second chakras were born to support. But, if there are parts of our lovable, physical selves that at times seem to weigh heavily on our minds, we can try asking our bodies what they need—what we’ve been ignoring for far too long.

Knowing our path and purpose can seem a daunting goal of discovery, but in fact we already know them better than anyone ever could.

We know what we loved to do as children—how we lined our dolls up and taught them lessons, or we ran wild and free faster than anyone around, or how a brush in our hands brought life to a canvas. We know who we most admire in life, perhaps even with a tinge of jealously. Is it the author of the book we could have written, the lawyer on the case we should have argued, the chef behind the meal that we could have made? These are our keys to who we are. Knowing them is one thing, but only living them will bring us peace. Only living them will quiet the loud cries of our second chakras.

Our chakras are here to help.

The second is here to provide us the necessary means to leave our mark on this beautiful existence. On the days when we are embodying the gifts we’ve been impassioned with, we will notice our bodies fully representing our beautiful beings without any room to criticize. But, if our bodies are troubling us—if we’re battling with those extra 10 pesky pounds—we have to ask ourselves why.

What are we not doing that makes us come alive. We may be teaching, but not designing. We may be cooking, but not learning. We may be painting, but not writing.

Try it.

Try listening to your second chakra. Notice when you’re grabbing for that endless bag of chips, greasy fast food, or chemical-laden candy, and instead ask yourself:

What reminders has my body been trying to give me that I’ve snuffed out with distractive behaviors?

What am I ignoring?

What am I really feeding?

~

Relephant read:

How I Used my Body Weight to Protect Me.

Your Emotional Pain may be Causing your Digestive Issues.

~

Author: Kristen Campbell 
Image: another sergio/Flickr
Editor: Khara-Jade Warren
Copy Editor: Travis May
Social Editor: Leah Sugerman