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Wouldn't it be wonderful if you could just flick a switch and turn on your creativity? Sadly, at times, tapping into your creativity can feel like trying to squeeze water from a stone. The good news is, there are ways of encouraging creativity and one of these ways is through balancing your sacral chakra.

Chakra is the Sanskrit word for moving wheel; the chakras are vortexes of energy present in the ethereal body and in corresponding locations of the physical body. There are seven major chakras and they function as pathways for energy to be taken in.

The sacral chakra, sometimes called the spleen or navel chakra, is located in the lower abdomen, approximately two inches below the navel. It governs sexuality, self-worth and creativity and is also associated with desire, pleasure, emotional balance and the abundance that you allow into your life for the fulfillment of your desires.

If this chakra is functioning well, you will experience enriched creativity, enhanced emotional gratification and courage, sexual vitality and positive self-esteem. If this chakra is blocked, however, both sexual and creative frustration occurs. You may have difficulties tapping into your creativity. Or you may have brilliantly creative ideas, but problems with manifesting your projects. A blockage can also manifest physically with lower back pain, sciatica, problems of the reproductive system, lowered libido and urinary problems.

Luckily, there are many tools to help balance the chakras. I've listed some of the correspondences for the sacral chakra together with guidelines on how to use these tools to balance this chakra and hence enhance your creativity.

COLOR: Orange

Surround yourself with orange. Wear it, eat it (preferably in the form of food) or paint your studio or workspace with it. If you meditate, visualize orange around the area of this chakra.

MUSIC: sensual flowing music with passionate rhythms (think Marvin Gaye's 'Sexual Healing')

Dance, using your hips. Gyrate, baby, gyrate!

GEMSTONES: any orange stone - carnelian, orange jasper, fire opal, moonstone

You can wear these stones as jewelry or carry them in your pocket or purse.

ESSENTIAL OILS: sandalwood, jasmine, ylang ylang, clary sage, bergamot, orange blossom

Burn oils in an oil burner. Combine 10 drops or use singly in a bath. (This is particularly effective as water is the element governed by the sacral chakra.). Put some drops on a handkerchief and sniff it when you need inspiration. Make yourself a massage oil by adding a few drops of essential oil to almond oil.

Now you know what to do to get your creative juices flowing; go take a bath whilst eating a mango, come out and drape yourself in orange clothes and jewels and start swaying those hips to a cool groove.

Then, go create!