The Fire Within: Exploring the Solar Plexus

There comes a time on the healing path when it’s time for decisive action. We must choose. We must reclaim the reins from fear and embody our own power.

This is the domain of the Solar Plexus Chakra—the radiant center of will, identity, and personal authority.

🔥 The Center of Power and Purpose

Known in Sanskrit as Manipura, the solar plexus chakra is located just above the diaphragm. Its element is fire and its color is yellow—bright, potent, catalytic.

Where the sacral says I feel, the solar plexus declares: I will.

This center governs our personal will, sense of self, boundaries, confidence, and how we move in the world. It is where our choices are born, our actions are fueled, and our individuality crystallizes.

In Esoteric Healing, this is typically the first center balanced, because for most of humanity it is the largest and most active chakra. Much of our learning takes place here.

🌞 Insights from Session Work

I often think of the solar plexus as the “governor” of the personality body—our own inner sun. It’s where personal will resides, and where we often grip the hardest. In session work, I frequently see this center appear as a tightly held fist, energy bound up and not flowing in or out.

Though we often associate emotions with the sacral, the emotional permanent atom overlays the solar plexus. This means our general emotional health directly affects the condition of this center.

Distortions here show up in many ways:

• Some people repress feelings, stuffing resentment until it compresses into bitterness or explodes outward.

• Others overextend their will, controlling or dominating to feel safe.

• Still others collapse inward, “playing small,” avoiding conflict, and suppressing their identity.

In all of these, the solar plexus is calling for balance, for a healthy relationship between personality and soul.

⚖️ Signs of Balance & Imbalance

Balanced Solar Plexus:

• Self-respect and confidence

• Healthy boundaries without domination

• Steady personal identity, resilient to criticism or rejection

• Ability to take aligned action without over-effort

• Digestive ease and balanced energy

Imbalanced Solar Plexus:

• Low self-esteem or chronic self-doubt

• Procrastination, indecision, or overwhelm

• Perfectionism, control issues, anger, or reactivity

• Digestive disturbances, ulcers, adrenal fatigue, blood sugar swings

• Over-identification with materialism or external validation

🌟 From Personality Will to Spiritual Will

The solar plexus is where much of humanity’s evolutionary lesson resides: learning to lift from the solar plexus into the heart. My teacher Diane often reminded me that the work of our time is moving from the reactive grip of personality into the openness of the heart center, and eventually into spiritual love.

As this center harmonizes, we learn to release fear-driven control. Personal will transforms into spiritual will, and we begin to trust the unfolding of life, even when we don’t understand it.

This shift brings a profound sense of peace. We no longer need to dominate, hide, or prove. Instead, we allow the soul’s light to govern.

(Interestingly, though we might associate will with Ray 1, the solar plexus is aligned with Ray 6—Devotion and Idealism. At lower turnings, this shows up as personal desire. As frequency lifts, it transforms into aspiration toward the good of the all.)

🍃 The Body Connection

The solar plexus governs the digestive system and works in close relationship with the spleen chakra, the organ of vitality. Its endocrine correspondence is the pancreas, which regulates balance and the “sweetness” of life.

• Stomach: how we digest life. Resistance here can manifest as worry, ulcers, or reflux.

• Small intestine: receptivity, our ability to absorb lessons.

• Large intestine: release of what no longer serves. Stagnation here often mirrors resistance to change.

• Liver: renewal and creativity; imbalance presents as anger or stubbornness.

• Gall bladder: richness of life; distortion may bring jealousy or resentment.

• Spleen: receives prana from the environment and distributes vitality. Congestion here shows up as anxiety, fatigue, or worry.

The solar plexus teaches us that healing is about how we digest, absorb, and release the experiences of life, trusting that each one is for the benefit of our Soul’s growth.

💛 Practices to Support the Solar Plexus Chakra

• Seed sound RAM – chanting helps bring coherence to this center.

• Visualize yellow light – imagine a sun in your belly, growing warmer with each breath.

• Engage your will – choose one small, aligned action today.

• Support digestion – care for your gut physically and energetically.

• Shift your language – replace “I should” with “I choose” or “I could.”

• Release perfectionism – let good enough be enough.

🌻 A Question to Sit With

Where have I been giving my power away—through doubt, people-pleasing, or over-effort?

 And what would it look like to call that energy back with love?

💠 In Closing

The solar plexus is a center to take our time with—an anchor of lessons, power, and refinement. It asks for patience, compassion, and the willingness to stay with the fullness of the work required here.

Let your fire be sacred. Let your choices be conscious. And let your power rise from the inside out.

I’ve recorded a short Practice for the Solar Plexus if you’d like some support working with this center. You can find it here. 

💌 I’d love to hear how the solar plexus shows up for you. Do you notice the fire of will, moments of resistance, or places of newfound strength? Share your reflections in the comments or simply hold the intention in your own practice. This post is part of my Soul-Centered Chakra series—subscribe to stay connected as we journey next into the Heart Chakra.