Yoga Glossary · Chakras
Solar Plexus Chakra (Manipura)
The third chakra, at the navel — fire, willpower, personal power. Element: fire.
Manipura means 'city of jewels' or 'lustrous gem'. Located at the navel and solar plexus, it is the fire center: element fire, color yellow, seed sound Ram. Traditionally it governs digestion — of food and of experience — and the qualities of will, confidence and self-definition: the inner heat that turns intention into action.
In practice this is core country. Boat Pose, Plank variations, twists that wring the abdomen, and warming breath like Kapalabhati are all Manipura tools, and a strong core sequence mid-class is often sequenced as stoking the fire. The teaching point is balance: enough fire to act, not so much that practice becomes aggression.
In practice
- Boat and Plank heat the navel center fast — that burn is the point of the exercise, in small doses.
- Traditional seed sound: Ram. Color: yellow. Element: fire.
- Twists stoke and wring this center; pair them with full exhales.
Poses linked to this chakra
Related terms
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The Yoga Glossary is an educational study reference. Definitions are standard yoga and anatomy knowledge in plain language; nothing here is medical advice.