MANIPURA CHAKRA
 
The third chakra and its main characteristics: Manipura
Manipura color: golden yellow
Matching element: fire
Sense: sight
Symbol: 10 petal lotus
Basic principle: the structure of being
Matching body parts: lower back, abdomen, digestive system, stomach, liver, spleen, gallbladder and autonomic nervous system.
Organs related to Manipura: pancreas (liver). The pancreas performs a very important function in the digestion of food. It secretes the hormone insulin which regulates the influx of sugar into the bloodstream and the metabolism of carbohydrates.
The enzymes produced by the pancreas are essential for the balance of fats and proteins.
Manipura chakra







The third chakra, Manipura, is also called the command center. Source of strength, determination and will to affirm one's choices with respect to the world around him: a strong third chakra provides the ability to withstand all challenges.
Here is our will, our determination, the ability not to give up on a goal and to pursue it until we have achieved it.
The first chakra provides us with the root, it roots us to the earth; in the second chakra we venture into an important movement of sensorial and emotional discovery of the world and of the other; with the third chakra we learn to use our power, choosing and giving direction to our life concretely, in alignment with what we want for ourselves.
“I want, I can” is the affirmation of this chakra.
His is a radiant power, shining like that of the sun. In fact, the Sanskrit name Manipura means "the city of the shining gem", or "shining city": mani means "rough gem" and pura means "city".
When a person has acquired a strong third chakra, they know how to start and finish and complete an action. For this reason, in some schools of yoga this chakra is associated with the archetype of the spiritual warrior as the one who is capable of knowing his mission and creating the energy to implement it and bring it to completion, the one who can live with commitment and involvement, by obeying the higher consciousness and commanding its mind and senses.
Curiosity
Asana is the motionless position of meditation, which must be achieved if we are to perceive the chakras and work with their energy. A restless body keeps us in body consciousness, while the chakras are at a more subtle level. This passage from Patañjali is often interpreted as a description of yoga postures. However, according to Yogananda, Patañjali was referring exclusively to the still position to be assumed in meditation, with the spine straight. In this straight spine the chakras are felt. Asana, the position of meditation, must be still, but at the same time energetic, like a bow. It is a positive expression of the third chakra, Manipura chakra and its fire element.
Manipura chakra: Harmonious functioning
A harmoniously functioning and well-opened third chakra generates a sense of peace and harmony with our ego, with life in general, and with our place in life, in particular. We will then be able to accept ourselves completely and respect both the feelings and character traits of others. We will acquire a natural ability to accept our emotions, our desires and lived experiences, evaluating them "in the right light" and recognizing them as elements necessary for our development. All of our actions will automatically be in harmony with the cosmic laws of natural balance that govern both the entire universe and the entirety of mankind. We will be full of light and energy and our inner light, radiating into the surrounding environment, will envelop our body protecting it from negative vibrations.
If, then, the chakras of the inner eye and that of the head are also open, then we will be able to understand that all visible matter is formed by different luminous vibrations. Our wishes will automatically come true because we are so closely connected to the light energy of all things, that we will end up achieving whatever we desire. We will therefore live in the awareness that well-being is our natural right and a divine inheritance.
Disharmonious functioning

If Manipura chakra is disturbed and only partially active, we will try, in an attempt to conquer a power and exercise it, to manipulate everything according to our own desires by trying to control both internal and external reality. However, we will feel oppressed by a sense of discontent, almost of restlessness. Most likely during childhood or adolescence we did not feel accepted. And it is for these reasons that we have failed to develop an effective sense of our worth; as a consequence we will seek in the material world those recognitions and satisfactions that we have not been able to find in ourselves. We will then develop an excessive tendency to be hyperactive, it will be difficult for us to relax and let things proceed simply on their way. Acceptance and material well-being will be of primary importance to us, and we will probably also be quite capable of obtaining them.
We will be inclined to repress any expression of feelings, we will be subject to losing control of our emotions very easily, but our emotionality will only be the consequence of all the anger that we have had to repress for too long a period of time.
Insufficient operation

Insufficient functioning of Manipura chakra will often make us feel depressed and despondent; we will see obstacles everywhere, obstacles that will prevent us from fully realizing our aspirations. The natural development of our personality has been greatly hindered during the childhood period. We had to almost completely repress our emotions, thus ending up repressing far more than we were "able to digest."  Even today we try to win the acceptance and goodwill of others by conforming to their opinions. Faced with a difficult situation, we will feel bewilderment and uncertainty, we will feel so nervous that our behavior will become unpredictable and contradictory. Our wish, where this were possible, would be to avoid any form of risk in life.
Methods to activate and cleanse the Manipura chakra
Experience nature
The golden rays of the sun correspond to the light, heat, energy of the solar plexus chakra. If we consciously open ourselves to its influence, it will revitalize these qualities present within us. The contemplation of a field of ripe wheat bathed in sunlight will give us a very clear feeling of abundance, a feeling that is the consequence of the warm and radiant energy of the sun. If we look at sunflowers we will see a spiral structure in the unity of its complex rosette, while its petals will spread a golden light from within its heart. Concentrating on the contemplation of this natural mandala, we will learn that within the intimate experience of unity there is a well-structured movement that, similar to a dance, radiates joy and energy outwards in a gentle and graceful way.