The second chakra, or sacral chakra is located in the hips.  The second level of awareness in our emotional anatomy is pleasure.   For example, now we seek more than just shelter.  Instead, we want a home that offers our own creative style and all the "creature comforts".  We desire the pleasure of a hot bubble bath verses rinsing off in a cold river.  We experience sexual and sensual pleasures for their own sake instead of just for reproductive functions.  The parts of our personalities that are impulsive, excitable, sensual and creative are held within the sacral chakra.

The most common form of imbalance in the sacral or second chakra can be seen as over indulgence.  It is the faulty belief that more is better, be it more material possessions, more sex, more excitement, more money, etc.  Balance in the second chakra is the realization that pleasure is not something we have to chase or buy.  It exists in the simplest of things as much as the most costly or difficult to attain.  A good example of sacral chakra thinking comes from Mark Twain, who once said, "A man is just about as happy as he makes up his mind to be."