Important Signs to Look for When Opening Your Solar Plexus Chakra

Home to your internal power, your solar plexus chakra could be opening without you even realizing it.

Woman opening arms in a field in approach to aligning her solar plexus chakra.

Represented by the color yellow, your solar plexus chakra is known for being the source of your internalized power. Qualities associated with your internalized power include confidence, willpower, self-esteem, and independence. Physically, the solar plexus chakra is located around the diaphragm, just below the rib cage and above the naval.

If you have been feeling confident, purposeful, self-sufficient, motivated, among other similar feelings, chances are your solar plexus chakra is on its way to opening. Though, before looking for signs if your solar plexus chakra is opening, you should first unlock it.

If you feel your solar plexus chakra is on its way to opening, here are some things to look for:

  • Behaviors You Already Exhibit
  • Signs the Solar Plexus Chakra is Being Held Back
  • Ways to Continue Opening Your Solar Plexus Chakra
The solar plexus chakra shown n a vibrant yellow, represented by an upside down triangle.i
The bold yellow representing the solar plexus chakra complements the bold traits that go alongside the chakra.

Behaviors You Already Exhibit

With all the ways to open the solar plexus chakra, chances are you are already exhibiting several of these behaviors.

Without even thinking about it intentionally, there are so many ways that your solar plexus chakra can begin to open, which is why you are most likely already opening it. If you have been feeling confident, independent, and self-reliant, chances are you are opening it without realizing it.

The first behavior is from your diet. If you have found yourself eating more yellow foods, chances are it is helping open your solar plexus chakra. Why yellow specifically? Since the solar plexus chakra is associated with the color yellow, food that you consume that is yellow enhances the chakra.

Examples of yellow foods include, but are not limited to, bananas, lemons, and cheese. There are also a few spices - while not yellow - that also boost your solar plexus chakra. These spices include mint, cumin, and ginger. If these are foods or spices that you regularly enjoy, chances are they have secretly been opening your solar plexus chakra.

Another simple behavior you may already be exhibiting is going outside. As simple or obvious as it may sound, your outdoor activity is connected to your solar plexus chakra because of its connection to the sun and fire. Chances are if you’ve been on vacation sunbathing, tending to your garden and doing yard work, or have been making a conscious effort to go outside a little bit everyday, it’s likely that this exposure to the sun and being outdoors is opening you solar plexus chakra.

If you engage with aromatherapy regularly, it is possible that it is helping to open your solar plexus chakra. Aromatherapy is particularly beneficial to the opening of the solar plexus chakra when citrus scents are being used. However, if properly engaging with aromatherapy, the use of any scents will assist in the opening of your chakras.

Meditation is very important in the opening of all of your chakras. So, if you have been meditating more frequently, chances are it is enhancing the opening of your solar plexus chakra. Even if you are not engaging in meditation that is specific to the solar plexus chakra, or even chakras in general, the act of meditating is still working to open up your chakras.

Of course, you can’t forget about doing yoga. If you regularly practice yoga, or have begun practicing more often, chances are that it is contributing to the opening of your solar plexus chakra. Doing any form of yoga or yoga routine help to center yourself and open all of your chakras. So, while it may not be centering in on your solar plexus chakra in particular, it is still contributing to its opening.

If meditation or yoga are practiced in tandem with any other solar plexus chakra opening behaviors, it is very likely that they are helping to reinforce those behaviors. Thus, these will work together to open your solar plexus chakra.

Woman practicing yoga in warrior two pose.
Practicing yoga, even if it is not particularly for the chakras, helps to enhance the opening of your chakras.

Signs the Solar Plexus Chakra is Being Held Back

If you have been exhibiting the specific behaviors from the section above, but aren’t seeing the benefits of the solar plexus chakra, it may be blocked.

As simple as it may sound, if you are experiencing the opposite feelings to those associated with an open solar plexus chakra, chances are it is being blocked. If you aren’t experiencing feelings of confidence, independence, and willpower, but rather feelings of uncertainty, shame, and dependence, it is very likely that the solar plexus chakra is being blocked.

It should also be noted that any instances of self-doubt or insecurity, no matter how small, are tied to the solar plexus chakra being blocked. While you may be very confident in one aspect of your life, say your work life, but very insecure about another, say a romantic relationship, the insecurity that is present in that romantic relationship is tied to a blockage in the solar plexus chakra.

Another indicator of the solar plexus chakra being blocked is indigestion or constipation. Since the solar plexus chakra is located above the navel and below the ribcage, its main area of concentration is the bowel area. With this, when the solar plexus chakra is not working at its full capacity, it can create turmoil within your stomach causing these issues.

Since the stomach is involved in the solar plexus chakra, your hunger levels can also indicate a blockage in the chakra. If you find yourself overeating or eating when you aren’t hungry, these could be indications that your solar plexus chakra is being blocked.

If you are experiencing these symptoms of a blocked solar plexus chakra, there is no need to worry. Practicing the behaviors in the section above or incorporating the behaviors in the section below will allow you to tackle the blockage head on and lessen its impact.

Woman sits in the sun mudra pose, a pose focusing on opening the solar plexus chakra. Sitting cross-legged with her back straight and hands resting on her knees with her thumb and ring fingers touching.
The sun mudra is one of the yoga poses that focuses on the solar plexus chakra. Sitting cross-legged with your back straight, place your hands on your knees with your ring finger and thumb touching.

Ways to Continue Opening Your Solar Plexus Chakra

With your solar plexus chakra opening up, here are some ways to ensure it stays open.

While you may already be exhibiting behaviors that are opening up your solar plexus chakra, there are also many approaches you can take towards opening it with more intention behind it. There are chakra-specific yoga classes that you can take that will focus on the solar plexus chakra. Engaging with these chakra specific classes will surely enhance your already opening solar plexus.

However, if an entire yoga class focused on one specific chakra seems a bit much, there are also specific yoga moves that are particularly beneficial for opening your solar plexus chakra. All of these poses focus on the abdominal area, in which the solar plexus chakra is located. By focusing energy on this specific area, it engages with the chakra in a more impactful way. Such moves include the boat pose, the reverse plank pose, the cow pose, the camel pose, and the surya mudra pose.

Another intentional way to engage with your solar plexus chakra is to follow meditations specific for your solar plexus chakra. Chakra specific meditations can be found as a part of a series of chakra meditations, or as individual meditations. Either are great ways to engage with the chakras. You can find these types of meditations on YouTube, by searching for solar plexus chakra meditation. These guided meditations can also be found through professional yoga teachers. Of course, there are also apps that you can download for your phone that contain various guided meditations for the solar plexus chakra.

Finally, you can begin doing positive affirmations that directly correlate to different qualities that are associated with the solar plexus chakra. As with any affirmations, the repetition of putting positive thoughts into your head and into the atmosphere helps to manifest them into your reality. Solar plexus chakra related affirmations include:

  • “I am confident, independent, and powerful.”
  • “I am motivated and self-sufficient.”
  • “I stand in my personal power.”

Also, you don’t have to repeat these affirmations out loud. While you are more than welcome to say them out loud, but by just repeating them in your head or writing them down, they have the same effect as saying them outloud.

As with any chakra, the solar plexus chakra ebbs and flows. So, if you are currently experiencing symptoms of a blocked solar plexus chakra, there is no need to worry. Follow the tips from this article to help get your solar plexus chakra opening. On the other hand, if you find yourself even more confident that your solar plexus chakra is opening, keep up with the behaviors that have gotten you here and incorporate some new ones that pertain specifically to the solar plexus chakra.

Dean Pinnell

Dean Pinnell is a senior at the University of Pittsburgh studying Communication and Fiction Writing.
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