Chakra Yoga Series Part 2: Sacral Chakra

After establishing a strong base at the root chakra, Muladhara, last week, this week our practice focused on softening and flow, as we worked up the sushumna, the central energetic axis that runs through the body, to explore the sacral chakra, Svadhistana.

This chakra is the energetic centre associated with creativity, desires and fluid movement. Located in the lower belly and connected to the element of water, it invites us to move into a deeper relationship with feeling, expression and flow.

Inviting Fluidity into the Body

This week in our practice we explored flowing movement. Instead of strong held postures, we enjoyed:

• Circular movements through the hips, spine and shoulders.

• Ripples through the torso

• Flowing transitions between asana’s

• And as always we invited the breath to guide the rhythm of movement

Flowing movements can feel surprisingly liberating. Where the root chakra grounds us, you can read more about that in my root chakra blog, the sacral chakra, whose element is water, invites us to explore what happens when the body begins to move more freely.

Creativity in Stillness

Creativity is often imagined as something expressive and outward, but the sacral chakra also teaches us about creative stillness. Giving us the opportunity to listen to our bodies, responding to sacral chakra manta’s like:

It is time for me to manifest what I need. I ask myself “what do I need?”

Throughout the practice we used simple hand gestures, or mudras, to support this process. We used “Relax Mudra” to help us let it flow, and used our breath like a wave through the body to help us release tension. We also explored Saraswati Mudra, which links directly to it’s namesake, the goddess of creativity. This mudra encourages us to be open to inspiration, tapping into our creativity and joyfully acknowledging out talents and good ideas.

Working with Aroma to Support Flow

Alongside the movement practice, we worked with two essential oils that beautifully reflect the qualities of the sacral chakra.

Juniper Berry has a fresh, cleansing aroma that many people experience as clarifying and uplifting. Energetically, it helps us break through times of stagnation and fortifies our will power with it’s instinctive confidence and positivity.

Jasmine brings a soft, floral sweetness that is often associated with creativity, sensuality and emotional openness. Energetically its Yin leanings help restore our capacity for creative thought. A harmonious oil it enhances our intuition and helps us tap back into our true desires.

Together, these scents supported the theme of flow, supporting students move from grounded stability into a more water inspired expressive space.

A Simple Practice to Try at Home

If you’d like to explore sacral chakra energy in your own time, try this simple practice:

Lie down in semi-supine, knees bent, feet flat on the floor.

Rest the hands on the low belly, fingers interlaced, thumbs apart (Rest Mudra)

As you exhale press the low back into the floor, as you inhale release.

Keep the belly soft at all times. repeat for 2-3 minutes.

If you have Jasmine or Juniper nearby, pop a drop of one or both onto a cotton pad or into a diffuser and let the oils take you deeper..

Notice how you feel. Just a few minutes can create space for creativity and emotional flow.

Continuing the Journey

Our chakra exploration continues next week as we move upward to the solar plexus, Manipura chakra, the centre associated with personal power, confidence and inner fire.

Having established grounding at the root and fluidity in the sacral chakra, we begin to explore how these foundations support strength and self-trust.

Each layer builds on the one before.

And as always, you are warmly welcome to join us. Click to discover my yoga classes, workshops and retreats.

Essential Oils and Themed Yoga Teaching

Working with aroma alongside movement can add a subtle but powerful layer to themed yoga classes, workshops and retreats.

Essential oils like Juniper and Jasmine can deepen the emotional tone of a practice and help guide students deeper into the qualities you’re exploring.

For yoga teachers, learning how to integrate essential oils safely and intentionally can open up new possibilities for creating meaningful, sensory-led classes, workshops and retreats. Check out my practical guide to essential oil safety in yoga classes here

If you're a teacher interested in exploring this approach, I share the framework I use for blending aromatherapy with yoga practice inside my on demand Essential Oils for Yoga Teachers CPD, where we explore safety, how to use scent to deepen your students yoga practice, and ways to weave scent into themed classes such as chakra practices.

You can learn more about the training here: Essential Oils for Yoga Teachers CPD

Sources and Inspiration

The themes explored in this class were informed by my own knowledge of traditional yoga philosophy and aromatherapy as well as inspiration from:

• Anodea Judith’s Chakra Yoga, published by Llewellyn Books

• Aromatherapy for healing the spirit, Gabriel Mojay, published by Healing Arts Press

• Mudras for Body, Mind & Spirit by Gertrud Hirschi, published by Tarotdeck

These sources often inform the framework I use when designing themed yoga classes that integrate movement, breath, subtle energy and essential oils.

Chakra Yoga Series Part 1: Root Chakra

Returning to the Root: Exploring Grounded Presence in This Week’s Yoga Classes

This week in class, we slowed down.

Not because we were tired, not because we needed less, but to explore the root chakra, to reconnect to the earth and explore the power of this chakra in helping us step away from our thoughts, our to-do lists, and the constant forward pull of life.

We came back to the ground.

We explored the root chakra — Muladhara — the energetic centre associated with safety, stability and belonging. Located at the base of the spine and connected to the element of earth, it governs our sense of being supported, physically, emotionally and energetically. It’s associated with the colour red and is represented by a lotus flour with four petals.

And perhaps more importantly, it influences how safe our nervous system feels in the present moment.

Ground Before You Grow

There’s a quiet wisdom in starting at the root.

In yoga, we often speak of expansion — opening the heart, awakening insight, rising into expression. But growth without grounding can feel unsteady.

This week, we prioritised steadiness. We started at the pelvis, connecting to our root chakra with our pranayama (breath) our minds through visualization's and physical through our movement. In standing we pressed firmly through the feet, allowing the upper body to be soft and flowing, whilst the lower body was string and connected.

Simple things. Foundational things.

And yet they shift so much.

Safety Is a Felt Sense

When we focus on grounding practices, we are sending subtle cues of safety to the body.

The nervous system responds to rhythm, pressure, containment and connection to the earth. Longer exhales gently stimulate the parasympathetic response. Strong, steady postures build a quiet resilience.

In a world that constantly pulls our attention upward and outward, rooting down allows us to reconnect to what matters.

Working with the Earth Through Aroma

Alongside the physical practice, we also worked subtly with scent in my Tuesday Morning Ditchling class and post Wednesday evenings flow yoga.

Earthy essential oils can deepen the experience of grounding, offering an anchor through the breath. This week we explored vetiver and patchouli — both traditionally associated with root energy.

Vetiver has a deep, smoky, almost ancient aroma. It settles quickly in the body, centres and connects us to mother earth — calming, nourishing, relaxing the body and mind. Many people describe it as feeling like a weighted blanket for the nervous system, it’s also known as the King of Sleep!

Patchouli carries a warm, earthy scent that brings awareness back to the physical body. It can be especially supportive when we feel scattered or disconnected, gently grounding and stabalising the mind when overthinking and worry develop.

Used lightly and intentionally, scent becomes another pathway back to presence — not overpowering, simply supportive.

A Small Grounding Ritual You Can Try

If you’d like to work with root energy at home, try this:

Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
Soften your knees slightly.

Scrunch and release your toes three times.
Imagine roots growing from the soles of your feet into the earth beneath you.

Take five slow breaths.
Let your exhale be longer than your inhale.

If you have vetiver or patchouli to hand, place a drop on a cotton pad or in a diffuser and allow the aroma to accompany your breath.

Notice what shifts.

Building Upwards: Next Week’s Theme

Having established steadiness at the root, next week we gently begin to move upward.

We’ll explore the sacral chakra — Svadhisthana — the centre of fluidity, creativity and emotional expression.

If the root asks, “Am I safe?”
The sacral chakra asks, “Can I feel?”

Our practice will soften, spiral and flow a little more. We’ll work with the element of water, inviting mobility into the hips and space into the lower belly. Where this week was about steadiness and containment, next week will be about permission — to move, to feel, to explore.

If you’ve been feeling unsteady, overwhelmed or disconnected from your body, this kind of themed, intentional practice can be profoundly regulating.

You don’t need to understand chakras to benefit. You simply need a willingness to arrive as you are and take from each practice what works for you.

And you are always welcome.

I run yoga classes and retreats across Sussex and Kent, blending my passion for yoga and aromatherapy to support you through life.