Welcome back to the Chakra Series! Today we will be talking about the root chakra. This is actually my favorite chakra to teach about because it is the one that I typically work out of on a daily basis. It’s likely that this will also be the longest article in the series because there are so many functions that the root chakra controls.
Let’s get started!
The root chakra, also known as Muladhara, is the first chakra. It’s located at the base of your spine, basically right on your tailbone. Remember in our previous article when we talked about what a chakra actually is? As I mentioned in that article, when we are talking about the physical locations of the chakras, they are pretty much all located along the spine. We will speak about other locations as being in the front of the body (think above or below the belly button) but that is so it’s easier to visualize the locations. Just something to keep in mind!
The root chakra is associated with the earth, ground and all things nature. It regulates our instinct, survival instincts and feelings of safety. These “instincts” include our basic needs like food, water, shelter, etc.
Every chakra has a specific mantra. The sound that each mantra makes matches up with its corresponding chakra and helps to tune it. Mantras are typically performed while meditating but we use them in reiki sessions as well. It’s a powerful tool to use to self-tune a chakra! The root chakra’s mantra is “LAM”. Try saying it out loud to yourself, you should feel a vibration in your tailbone! Cool right?
Muladhara regulates functions in the physical body like adrenal glands, colon, kidneys, skeletal system, muscles and arterial blood flow through the left chamber of the heart. When out of balance you could have issues with these systems. A big indication of an out of balance, or blocked, root chakra is pain in your lower back.
Other signs of a blocked muladhara are emotional symptoms such as restlessness or a lack of energy. This lack of energy could manifest as anxiety, worry, panic depression, resentment/rage and frustration over even the simplest of tasks. In extreme cases a blockage could manifest as having little or no interest in survival/self preservation or stability. People with an imbalance in their root chakra tend to feel a chaos in and around themselves but they can’t figure out (or muster the energy) to fix it.
Mentally, a blocked chakra can cause poor focus, disorganization, pessimism, negative thoughts and narrow mindedness. Interestingly, it can also cause money problems or an inability to effectively manage money. For example, you might make enough money to cover all your bills for the month but by the end of the month you are behind on your bills and have no idea where all that money went.
If any of these scenarios have you shaking your head, then it’s time to do some work on your root chakra!
When in alignment, we have a strong sense of balance. We are confident in our choices and behaviors. We feel connected to our friends, family and Mother Earth herself. We appreciate the beauty of nature and maybe even long to be outside. We are generally happy and are able to roll with the punches, so to speak. A balanced Muladhara promotes improved concentration, mental clarity and ability to prioritize.
I like to think of the root chakra as a person’s powerhouse for manifesting. This chakra is all about calmness and gratitude, balance and groundedness. These traits are key for manifesting which is based upon the energies you put out into the universe. If you have negative and anxious energies, your manifestation attempts are going to come off as negative and anxious therefore drawing those experiences to you. But a deeply grounded person is going to project positive energies out and the universe will in return reward them with positivity.
Something that I find super interesting about the root chakra is that it holds all of the energies and memories of our ancestors. This includes the good, the bad and the downright ugly! These memories are passed down from generation to generation. Anytime one of your ancestors went through war, a natural disaster or anything that threatened their survival, it was recorded in their root chakra. Do you find yourself having feelings of always waiting for the other shoe to drop, even if you rationally know that it won’t? This could very well be due to something that one of your ancestors went through that you are holding on to.
Not only does the root chakra hold onto those memories from our ancestors, it holds our own too. Let’s think about that for a moment. How crazy is it that in this small space at the base of your tailbone, you hold the energies and memories of ALL the ancestors of your family. This means that anything those people have ever felt, thought or experienced down to the smallest of details is carried around by you. Every. Single. Day.
That’s a lot of weight for one person to hold and honestly, it’s no wonder that the root chakra is typically the chakra I see most of my clients having a blockage in. In almost every session that I do, the root chakra is out of balance. That’s why most reiki practitioners start a session at the Muladhara. Because if the roots are not grounded then everything will fall! Do you start building a house from the second floor? No, duh!
Luckily there is a way to fix and balance these issues. How, you ask? By grounding! Grounding can be done in many ways which I’m going to list below but I think (shameless plug!) that reiki is the best way to help relieve a person from the negative memories being held from their ancestors. If you’ve read any of our other articles you’ll have heard me talk about this before but we like to think of reiki sessions like an onion. Each time you get a session, you are removing one of those layers of yucky, darkness and negativity, effectively bringing you to a higher vibrational level and improving your energies. Sure, you can tune your chakras with yoga and essential oils, which for the record I think you totally should but that should be done in conjunction with regular or even semi-regular reiki sessions.
I think it’s very important to note here that these memories and energies you are holding onto are the things that make you who you are. That battle that one of your ancestors got into is what gave you your fire and the boundless love that your great grandmother gave to your grandmother when she was young is one of the reasons that YOU are such a loving and compassionate person. These are just a few examples of course but the goal here is not to remove those good memories or take away who you are; the goal is to let go of the negativity that might be holding you back. The negativity that is making you afraid to apply for that promotion or to start a family of your own. By getting a reiki session, you are helping yourself to face these fears and remove them from your path.
So how else can you balance your root chakra?
Meditation: Imagine that there is a small, red orb of energy at the base of your spine and with every inhale and exhale, the orb gets larger. Focus all of your attention to this spot and imagine the negative energy spilling from your orb as it gets larger. Do this as long as you like! I like to test myself when I do meditations like this to see how large I can get my orb. First I get it to encompass me and then the whole room and sometimes I can even get it as big as my house! If you have trouble keeping your mind from wandering try repeating some of the affirmations below.
Nutrition: Add more red fruits to your diet!
Grounding Techniques: Stand with both feet planted firmly on the ground and imagine that there are tree roots extending from them into the ground. Now picture that the roots are growing from the ground, all the way up your legs and waist. These roots are anchoring you to the earth, grounding you! Other grounding techniques include taking a walk in nature or standing barefoot in the grass, standing outside and feeling the sun shine on your face for a few minutes, gardening or even hugging a tree!
Essential Oils: Sandalwood, patchouli, vetiver, clove, black pepper, ginger, cedarwood, or the oil of all oils- frankincense. Diffuse one or all of them or place them directly onto your root chakra.
Crystals: Garnet, red jasper, black tourmaline, and bloodstone.
Yoga: Child’s pose, forward bend, squat, mountain pose, corpse pose, warrior. I also love the power pose which I don’t think is actually a yoga pose but it totally helps. Bonus tip- the power pose is also good for the solar plexus chakra!
Affirmations:
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- My first chakra is clear
- I feel safe
- I belong here
- I have a right to be here
- I am strong and balanced and secure
- I can handle my everyday responsibilities
- I am open to possibilities
- I belong
- I have what I need
- I am connected to my body
- I am fearless
- I trust myself
- I love myself
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What is your favorite way to balance your root chakra? Or if you are new to balancing, which technique are you going to try first?
Tune in next week for our next post all about the sacral chakra.
