Shifting Writer’s Block With Energetic Self-Care

Befriending and caring for your sacral chakra

Writer’s block; fact or fiction? A reality or an excuse? I witness writers debating this issue endlessly. I am a writer and an Energy Practitioner, so it will come as no surprise that I approach this topic from an energetic perspective. This approach can assist any creative to spring into action when the dreaded artistic block descends. It can also assist you to see projects through to the end, rather than abandoning them for a new, exciting idea.

What has energy anatomy got to do with writing?

We are all creatures of energy. We have our physical anatomy and our subtle body anatomy. The latter is our energetic system consisting of meridians, chakras, and the seven layers of our auric field. Meridians are lines of energy, pathways if you will, chakras are energetic spinning wheels where the energy is spurred to travel onwards and the auric field is an outer projection of this energy system, surrounding our physical body.

Think of the main meridians as ‘A’ roads, carrying the energy up and down your body and off to the ‘B’ roads. The chakras are the roundabouts. As with the A1, the cars (energy) need to travel at an appropriate speed and direction to keep everything working in optimum fashion. The roundabouts (chakras) ensure this happens. Go round the roundabout in the wrong direction and mayhem will ensue! The traffic will become stagnant and unable to flow. The auric field is a little like the Ready Brek glow (for those of you old enough to remember the breakfast cereal ad!) There are seven layers that correspond to the seven core chakras and our human energy.

When you have a creative block, I will wager you actually have an energetic imbalance within your sacral chakra. This is the second core chakra and relates to our creativity. It could be blocked and stagnant, meaning you feel an absence of any creativity at all. The flip side to this is a million wonderful, creative ideas flying around, but you cannot realise any of them. This indicates an overactive sacral chakra.

Chakras develop at various times in our life and each pertains to different energies, experiences, and influences. As mentioned above, creativity lives within the second chakra, Svadhisthana, or sacral chakra. Along with our creativity, it also deals with the matter of our sexuality, financial stability, our sense of control, and being linked with our third chakra, the solar plexus or Manipura, our personal power.

Befriend your sacral chakra

The sacral chakra is a true workhorse for us writers, but as you can see, it is far more complicated than being purely our creative centre. It is here we store an energetic imprint of any sexual trauma, issues of control, financial difficulties, and all those abandoned creative projects. These elements will affect the efficiency of our connection to creativity.

If you have started countless creative projects, only to repeatedly abandon them, the energy of this will live here. There will be an increasing resonance of disbelief in your ability to see a project through, impacting your self-esteem and sense of personal power living in the next chakra, the solar plexus.

So what can you do to show your creativity some love and care?

As a writer, if you find your creativity feels blocked at times, or you keep abandoning your projects, it’s surprisingly simple to enjoy some energetic self-care which can have a huge impact on this issue.

• Begin by finding a quiet space where you will not be disturbed for five minutes or so. Turn off your phone notifications. You may like to play some calming music or sounds of nature. Sit or lay down where you feel most at ease and comfortable.
• Gently allow your eyes to close and mindfully direct your attention towards your breath. Allow yourself three deep breaths, breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth, inviting the rhythm of your breathing to reset itself. Then simply notice your breath with your full attention. Where in your body can you feel the breath?
• If your mind wanders, and it most likely will, it’s absolutely fine. Simply imagine the intrusive thoughts as cars speeding past you. You decide not to get in and invite them to continue on their journey, returning your attention to your breath.
• It will only take a couple of minutes for you to begin to feel calmer and focused on your breathing. Beginning with the top of your head, move your attention slowly down your body, all the way to your feet. As you do this, check in with each area of your body and imagine it warm and relaxed. Notice any areas of tension and invite your outward breath to release it.
• Pay particular attention to your brow, jaw, tongue, shoulders, abdomen, and hands. These are all areas that can store great tension.
• Once you have done this, bring your palms, one on top of the other, onto your sacral chakra (the area below your belly button and above your pubic bone, pictured in orange in the above diagram). You are now going to connect with your sacral chakra energy.
• Imagine a beautiful orange light gently swirling in a clockwise direction. Really visualise the shade of orange that feels right for you. Invite this energy to rotate at just the right speed; not too fast and not too slow.
• Remain here for a few minutes, using your breath to inhale this sacral energy and exhale it throughout your body. As you fill with creative energy, particularly visualise it extending down your writing arm and to your imagined pen.
• If you enjoy affirmations, this is a wonderful time to engage with one. “My creativity is free to be expressed”, “I release my words with kindness”. The thing about affirmations is they always work best if they are personal, so use the words that best suit you.
• When you feel ready, gently open your eyes with three deep breaths.

It can work beautifully to instantly begin to write following this exercise. I use this at the beginning of my Creative Journaling classes. However, it will still hold great benefits as a standalone practice, connecting you to and freeing your creative energy.

Writing is an energetic act, you are an energetic being. Why not give this a go and experience an increased connection to your creativity? Good luck, enjoy and let me know how you get on!