The chakras are the seven energy wheels that travel through the subtle body, starting at the head and ending at the base of the spine. When properly rotated, each chakra allows energy to flow through the body. However, if one of these wheels gets stuck, it can affect your well-being. The first chakra, Muladhara or “Root chakra”, functions as the root of the body. If your Root chakra is misaligned, you can feel depressed, anxious, or even constipated.
While the Root chakra is evolutionarily connected to the basic instincts that help survival, modern times have linked this chakra more to the task of helping us thrive. Beyond simple food, water, and shelter, the Root chakra encompasses concepts such as health, wealth, and community. The daily feeling of trust, belonging, and presence is determined by the Root chakra.
The Root chakra is peculiarly crucial to the energy system of the chakras, as the lack of “roots” can compromise the integrity of all other chakras, which has a direct effect on the well-being of the whole body, mind, and spirit. Only when we feel that our most basic needs have been met can we focus on growing.
It is also believed that the Root chakra is associated with the Kundalini, or cosmic energy force, which can be awakened and moved through the other chakras along the spine. In the chakra system, the Root chakra has male energy and is symbolized by a red, four-petal lotus. Elementary, it is connected to the earth, and its mantra is “I have.”
EARTH AS THE NATURAL ELEMENT OF THE ROOT CHAKRA
The first chakra, called Muladhara, is located at the base of the spine, the pelvic floor, and the first three vertebrae. The Root chakra is responsible for your feeling of security on this earthly journey.
The word Muladhara is split into two Sanskrit words: Mula translates to “root” and Adhara translates to “support” or “base.” Its associated color is red and it is responsible for your ability to feel firmly rooted so you can go further in your life.
This energy wheel is associated with your sense of security, family relationships, and the feeling of being at home, says Stephanie Snyder, a yoga teacher based in San Francisco. When the energy flows through the first chakra, you feel firmly rooted in yourself and the world around you.
It is the first of the chakras. Balancing the Root chakra creates a solid foundation for opening the higher chakras. Imagine laying the stone foundation for a house that you will live in for a long time. A solid foundation anchored in the solid ground provides the stability you need to create a happy home for years to come.
The Root chakra consists of all the bases that you want to have in your life. This comprises your basic amenities like food, water, shelter, and security, as well as your more emotional needs like letting go of fear. When these needs are met, you will feel down to earth, and safe, and you will tend to be less worried in everyday life.
Whether or not you feel safe now often has less to do with what is available to you and more to do with how safe you were as a child. Looking at psychologist Erik Erickson’s Stages of Development, the first phase, “trust versus mistrust,” is closely related to the development of your Root chakra. As a child, one would feel safe in the world if your guardians voluntarily gave you what you needed to survive. You would think the world was a place you could trust to meet your basic needs. However, if your caregivers refused or were late in giving you what you needed, or if that offer was inconsistent, blockages in the first chakras can appear.
SIGNS OF A BLOCKED MULADHARA
Physical signs
When your first chakra is out of alignment, pain in your bowels and lower body can occur. This misalignment can manifest itself in the physical body in a number of ways, including:
❖ Weight gain
❖ Weight loss
❖ Constipation
❖ Pelvic pain
❖ Incontinence
❖ Sluggishness
❖ Lower back problems
❖ Left-arm, leg, or foot problems
❖ Inflammation
❖ Cramping
❖ Prostate problems
In addition to these physical manifestations, an unbalanced or blocked Root chakra can cause many undesirable psychological symptoms such as anxiety disorders, panic attacks, depression, and eating disorders.
Mental signs
As you work with the Root chakra, think about your relationship with yourself and the world around you. Where are you afraid? When do you feel calm and stable? When your Root chakra is blocked, you may experience some of the following problems:
❖ Distracted
❖ Running from one task to another
❖ Feeling exhausted or lethargic
❖ Increased feelings of anxiety, stress, or depression.
❖ Feeling trapped
❖ Inability to act on things
ROOT CHAKRA IMBALANCES AND EATING DISORDERS
Eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, as well as binge eating disorders, are the result of the inability to relate to basic needs such as the body’s nutritional needs. When we feel safe, we develop a healthy Root chakra, and our need to eat and stay alive is strong.
Trauma or abuse imprinted on our Root chakra, especially in children when the first chakra is developing, can lead to eating disorders. Eating disorders are a devastating manifestation of a severely blocked first chakra.
WHY SHOULD THE ROOT CHAKRA BE ALIGNED?
Once your first chakra is in alignment, you can explore your ability to keep the energy calm and stable throughout your body. You will feel grounded and comfortably installed in your body and the world around you. The stress of your sense of being and belonging (attachment to things) will dissipate. Once you are certain that your basic needs are met, you can focus on your relationships and personal goals.
HOW DOES THE ROOT CHAKRA GET BLOCKED?
It is literally believed that we’re linked with the spiritual energies of our ancestors through the Root chakra, their trials, and their triumphs. Since these ancient “memories” carry over to our own Root chakras as well as our own experiences, there is a good chance that everyone will be challenged by an imbalance at some point in their life.
The difficult stories of war, famine, natural disasters, etc. Those who came before us are all “registered” in the Root chakra. These experiences are passed on from generation to generation and generate unconscious behavior patterns. The karma of our past and present life lies in the energy of the Root chakra.
These energies can be inactive, but when absorbed under the right conditions, they can take many forms in the body: mental, spiritual, physical, emotional, and/or psychological. We are constantly adding to the “pile of seeds” in the Root chakra, which eventually all manifests into mental, emotional, psychological, physical, or spiritual form.
HOW TO HEAL THE ROOT CHAKRA?
With Root Chakra Healing, we begin to feel confident in our decisions, we can set goals and work towards them, and our love and enthusiasm for life are rekindled.
You can have courage, ingenuity, and the ability to deal with difficult situations and adversities using the healthy flow of energy in the Root chakra. When Muladhara is open and balanced, we feel safe and belong to this world. It is the basis for developing self-esteem and self-consciousness.
There is no way to hide from the effects of an inherited or experienced trauma: these memories are permanently imprinted on the life energy of our Root chakra and must be treated and healed in order to maintain a healthy and balanced flow of energy.
The Reiki Master and founder of the NYC Reiki Center, Brian Brunius, makes us understand that the Root chakra fulfills multiple physical and emotional functions.
“The energy it gives strengthens reproductive functions, the knees, hips, bladder, and ankles,” he says. “Emotionally, the Root chakra is closely related to a feeling of self-confidence, a strong idiomatic identity, a feeling of security in every situation, and the knowledge that each of us is enough as a being. We just do not have to be different or any better than who we already are at the present moment to feel among.”
Brunius also says that whenever he sees accounts with weak or blocked Root chakras, they’re usually people with low self-esteem and lots of emotional ups and downs.
“A lot of people feel really ashamed and embarrassed during this state, although many have no idea why,” he says. Presumed out of touch with life happenings, disgrace permeates and creates a feeling of “inferior to.”
It’s beneficial to work with a Reiki master to open your Root chakra, says Brunius. Simply because they have the proficiency to furnish you with a more focused healing experience. “Stunningly in only a session, one can literally attain what would take one a couple of weeks to achieve,” he says. But it’s also really important not to depend on a professional and learn to maintain your own energy hygiene.
8 WAYS TO OPEN YOUR ROOT CHAKRA
Below are different ways of working on your Root chakra that Brunius shared.
1. Define/Set Your Intention
The most important process is directing and focusing your intention on the Root chakra and asking it to open up and help you. “Surrender and tolerate it to begin healing. However, be brave enough to deal with the emotions and old memories that come up,” Brunius says.
2. Burn Incense And Essential Oils Of Muladhara.
Aromatherapy has powerful healing properties that evoke feelings of security and protection. If you want to unblock the Root chakra, try to burn some earthy essential oils, candles, or incense such as:
❖ Sandalwood
❖ Cypress
❖ Cedar
❖ Rosewood
❖ Patchouli
❖ Cloves
❖ Black pepper
❖ Ginger
3. Repeat Positive Statements About Safety
Repeating affirmations helps establish intentions, break old patterns, and create new ones. To open the Root chakra, repeat the affirmations related to home and security. Here are some examples:
❖ “I am safe“
❖ “I love my body”
❖ “My home is safe and secure“
❖ “I am financially secure”
❖ “The universe will always provide for me“
Repeating these statements will begin to create new patterns of thought, behavior, and action that are compatible with feelings of security and stability.
4. Use Crushed Crystals
“There are crystals that open the Root chakra very effectively,” Brunius explains, “setting aside just a few minutes per day is advisable to conserve the intention to unblock the Root chakra.” Furthermore, he suggests wearing the crystal around your neck or placing the crystal near your perineum and breathing for a few minutes. Using green or black stones like onyx, hematite, black tourmaline, and red stones like red jasper and red agate are great because they are “an expression of the same energy as the Root chakra.”
5. Use Earth Essential Oils
“Predominantly, I endorse cedar, sandalwood, eucalyptus, or ginger,” says Brunius. “You can take a drop or two and put it on your palms, rub your hands together, and gently massage your feet or tailbone.” These oils are great for the Root chakra as they grow outside or underground and therefore have vibrational energies similar to those of the Root chakra. They all work very well unless you’re pregnant….see why here!
6. Practice Yoga Poses That Stabilize The Root Chakra
Yoga helps connect the spiritual and physical of the body through poses called asanas. The connection with the breath during the asanas helps to release tension and open the Root chakra. These poses include:
❖ Mountain Pose | Tadasana – Mountain pose is a simple standing pose with the feet together and the body tall and strong, standing vertically upright.
❖ Chair Pose/Squat Pose | Utkata Konasana – Chair pose/Squats are easy, you bend your knees and drop your hips toward the floor. Go as deep as you can with your heels flat on the floor. If your heels come up, you went too far for now. Adjust your feet when you are in a comfortable position.
❖ Garland Pose | Malasana – For Garland pose, start in mountain pose, with your feet a little wider than hip-width apart, and squat. Open your thighs, then lean your torso forward and press your elbows against your knees. Put your palms together and stay in garland pose for 30 seconds to 1 minute. It’s a great mindfulness practice.
❖ Thunderbolt Pose | Vajrasana – Thunderbolt pose is a relaxed seated position. For this pose, you kneel and then sit back on your legs with your rear on your feet to take the weight off your knees.
7. Spend Time In Nature
“One of the ideal methods to keep your Root chakra aligned and healthy is to pass the time in nature,” explains, Brunius. Whether you are walking on the beach or sunbathing in a park, feeling the breeze on your skin can help tone your Root chakra, especially if skin contact can be made. “These connections to the earth and to nature often help the Root chakra to tighten, strengthen, and release the energy that is trapped in it,” he says.
8. Make The Past Safe
If you feel safe now, it often has less to do with your current resources and more to do with how confident you were as a child. Think of the Stages of Development of the psychologist Erik Erickson I mentioned earlier. The first stage (trust versus distrust) is closely related to the development of the Root chakra. Balancing the Root chakra can mean slow recovery from past events related to home, family, safety, and security. It is believed that positive karma, along with trauma, can be inherited and passed on from generation to generation, but you can break the “generational curse” when you open your chakras.
THE ROOT CHAKRA AT A GLANCE:
★ Sanskrit Name: Also referred to as Muladhara – Mula means “root” and Adhara means “support” in Sanskrit
★ Position: The Root chakra, which is located at the base of the spine – helps in feeling “grounded”, for a sense of security and protection. The Root chakra is the “starting point” for our seven energy centers and must first be healed before any of the higher chakras can be unlocked.
★ Subtle Body: Etheric body
★ Affirmation: “I am,” “I have,” and “I will”
★ Color: Red, black, and pink
★ Element: Earth
★ Connection to: Physical self
★ Gland: Adrenal
★ Sense: Smell
★ Crystals: Onyx, Hematite, Red Jasper, Red Agate, Red Tigers Eye.
★ Essential Oils: Cedarwood, Frankincense, Black Pepper, Patchouli, Spikenard, Vetiver, and Sandalwood… (unless you’re pregnant)
★ Yoga Poses: Chair pose/Squats, Garland pose, Thunderbolt pose, and Mountain pose
★ Signs of Balance: You’re present, feeling of safety, rooted in your own energy: in touch with yourself and nature
★ Signs of Imbalance: Restlessness, insecurities, anger, aggression, greed, impatience, and materialism. When the root chakra is blocked, we lose our passion for life.
★ Personality Traits: Strong-willed, impulsive
★ Qualities: Survival, safety, stability, vitality, courage, confidence, strength, willpower. Muladhara is the most instinctive chakra, and survival instincts start here (fight or flight response).
★ Key Themes: Grounding, family, safety, and security, both physically and metaphorically
★ Mantra/Sound: “LAM” (pronounced like, “LARM”)
WHAT’S NEXT?
Now that you understand your Root Chakra a little better, the next chakra to explore is your Sacral Chakra!
