In this article I am going to cover the 3 clear signs that your solar plexus is underactive or weak.
I’m also going to talk about some common reasons for an underactive solar plexus chakra and then I’ll go into some suggestions for bringing more balance to this area of your chakra system.
If you would just like to skip to one section of this article only, you can use the links below, which will take you straight to the relevant section:
- Signs of an underactive solar plexus chakra
- Common root causes of solar plexus under-activity
- How to fix an underactive solar plexus
OK, let’s just have a quick look at where the solar plexus is located, and what it represents.
The solar plexus is the third chakra in the chakra system, and it’s located just above the belly button.
It is the centre of our personal power.
From the solar plexus, we move towards what we want in our lives, and we move away from what we don’t want. This is the place where we assert ourselves and our will, maintain our boundaries, and navigate conflict in our relationships, in order to come to a win/win solution. This is also where we have the courage and the confidence to try something new, and where we take responsibility for our choices and ownership of our life.
The keywords of the solar plexus chakra are: power, responsibility, endurance, courage, strength, willpower, self-discipline and achievement.
Here are three key signs that point towards a weak or underactive solar plexus:
1. You let other people walk all over you
If you are someone who pays more attention to what other people want, than you do to what YOU want, that is a sign that your solar plexus is underactive.
The solar plexus is the centre of our ego. It’s about getting what we want; and standing up for our own interests. If we are not standing up for ourselves and it’s a habit (rather than a one-off occurrence), the solar plexus is underactive.
If you have a lot of energy vampires around you, and you tend to give more than you receive, that’s also a sign your solar plexus is weak.
If you say ‘yes’ automatically to requests, without even considering whether the request is something you WANT to do, that’s also a sign your solar plexus is weak.
If on some level you believe that setting boundaries with others makes you a bad person, your solar plexus is weak.
If the people around you often behave quite poorly and you let them get away with it, your solar plexus is underactive.
You teach other people how to treat you, through what you will put up with and accept. If you’re not setting the standard and teaching people how to treat you (i.e. with care and respect), your solar plexus is underactive.
Let’s have a look at the second sign your solar plexus chakra needs some love:
2. You struggle to reach your goals (even the small ones)
When the solar plexus is balanced and healthy, we have the staying power and the self-discipline to show up and do the work that will get us from A to B in life.
We can break large projects into smaller tasks, and chip away at those over a period of time, knowing that it is taking us towards our goals, bit by bit.
Those who have an underactive solar plexus often do not set any goals in the first place because they don’t believe they can reach them. If they do set goals, they don’t show up to do the work. They procrastinate. They waste time. They feel too scared to move forwards. They get distracted, and they self sabotage. They lose faith in themselves.
For your solar plexus to be weak, you would have to struggle to meet the majority of your goals in life. This one doesn’t apply if you manage to get most things done and completed.
3. You feel powerless
The third sign that your solar plexus is weak is when you feel that you have no agency and no power to effect change in your life.
We can of course always direct the course of our lives through our mindset, actions, habits and decisions.
But when the solar plexus is underactive, you’ll feel like a leaf that is being tossed about in the wind. You will feel that there’s no point in trying at anything, because you’re not in control anyway, and what you do, choose and think makes no difference.
When the solar plexus is underactive in a person’s chakra system, they have usually surrendered their free will and they no longer take ownership of their life. They blame others (and the forces of fate) for outcomes in their life. They don’t bother making lemonade out of the lemons they’ve got.
Such a person may feel a sense of lethargy and a lack of motivation.
So those are three clear signs that your solar plexus is underactive. For this to apply, you’d usually need to see at least one of the signs in your life.
Next I am going to list some common reasons for an underactive solar plexus chakra.
The #1 reason for someone having a weak solar plexus is that they were raised with an overprotective, controlling and overbearing parent(s).
The energy of the solar plexus naturally awakens and comes into its own during our teenage years, when we start to desire more independence. However, if your attempts at independence were quashed during your teenage years, and you were constantly told what to do, think and want, this weakens the development of the solar plexus, and sets us up for an underactive solar plexus later on.
The second common reason for a weak solar plexus is being involved in one or more abusive relationships. This could be a romantic relationship and it also includes an abusive upbringing. Abusive relationships adversely affect the solar plexus chakra because they undermine our sense of sovereignty, and our trust in ourselves. Abusive relationships always involve an element of control, and in such relationships we often hand over our power in order to keep the peace. This is detrimental to the solar plexus chakra, which demands that we stand in our power, know our boundaries, and enforce them.
Something else that can undermine the solar plexus is being involved in a religion or a cult, where ‘group think’ is encouraged and thinking for oneself or questioning the religion or the beliefs of the organisation, is frowned upon. Again, this is damaging for the solar plexus because in a situation like that, we are required to hand over our power to someone else.
Now let’s have a look at how we can fix an underactive solar plexus chakra:
A great way to strengthen the solar plexus is to take an assertiveness training or class. Assertiveness is like a muscle that can be strengthened.
If your solar plexus is weak, it can also be helpful to stop saying yes immediately to requests, but instead taking the time to connect with what you do and don’t want. Sleep on requests.
Getting in touch with your anger is another way to balance the solar plexus. Anger is a valuable emotion in that it shows us where our boundaries are, and when they are being violated. Sometimes people can be afraid of their anger, or feel it’s a ‘negative’ emotion that is to be avoided. However, anger can be constructive the majority of the time, as long as we use it to guide us.
I wrote an article on connecting with your anger here: Is Anger Unspiritual?
One of the most effective ways to strengthen your solar plexus chakra is to cut a negative cord to an overbearing, overprotective, abusive or controlling person. This could be someone who is either currently in your life or was in your life in the past. Having negative cords to controlling people is draining for the solar plexus chakra.
If you’d like to learn to cut negative cords, my Intuitive Healing Program teaches people how to do this. It is currently closed but you can get on the wait list for when it opens later this year.
My Chakra Meditation Kit also teaches you an exercise for cleansing and balancing all your chakras, including the solar plexus chakra.
