Root Chakra - Muladhara

I love looking at our being through the lens of the chakras. A rainbow map of the body consisting of seven centers, or energetic hubs, located from the very bottom of our spine to the very top of our head.

Let's start right at the root, the first chakra, conveniently called the root chakra or Muladhara. This is the seat and foundation of all the other chakras. True balance starts here. It is our connection to all that is physical within us, our humanness, our very primal needs and functions.

Its right is to be here, to survive and thrive.

Its element is earth.

Its color is red.

We need to feel safe, secure, and that all our basic needs are met in order to put our energy and attention towards other things, like creativity ( 2nd chakra), self-confidence (3rd chakra), loving relationships ( 4th chakra), self-expression ( 5th chakra), intuition ( 6th chakra) and finally spiritual connection ( 7th chakra).

It is also the first chakra to develop and can be strongly influenced by what happens to us as children and infants. The love, care, attention, feeling of safety, trust, worthiness, and belonging we experience as children will determine our foundations for the rest of our life. If we experience any trauma, neglect, abuse, or are not regulated sufficiently by our caregivers, we will have to continuously put in the work to keep our first chakras in balance.

Likewise, even as adults, when our world suddenly becomes uncertain and we start to question our security, we will have to make sure we work on our first chakras and bring back balance. Fear, insecurity, anxiety, feeling of not belonging, disconnection to our bodies, ourselves and ultimately everything else, can start to happen when we are deficient in our root chakra. From our deficiencies, we can also become very excessive - going to the other extreme to try and regulate ourselves again. Any organism will seek to find balance and self-regulate. For example, if there is a feeling of lack, we become greedy or begin to hoard, if we feel we are undernourished in love, we may overeat, if we are very anxious which is a very excitable fast energy so the body tries to slow us down and we become depressed, tired and heavy. Ultimately, to feel our best and thrive, we want to find balance.

Here are just a few examples of what it might look like to be deficient, balanced, or excessive.

The good news is, there are many ways to reconnect with our first chakra and work on re-establishing balance.

• Firstly, we must connect with our bodies! Being able to feel, listen to and hold a loving relationship with our bodies will help us to better care for and tend to our needs. Try a body scan meditation to bring awareness to each part of the body one by one, and just spend time listening, feeling, and connecting. This is not only bringing a deeper sense of embodiment but will often help to settle and relax the nervous system.

• MOVE. Any form of exercise will strengthen the root chakra. Particularly anything that will build strength and tone in the muscles. Just be mindful to not become too bodily-focused. Movement addiction is another form of addiction, whether it is addicted to running or bodybuilding. It's important for even our love of movement to be in balance.

• Connect to the mother earth. The element of the root chakra is earth, and nothing brings more grounding than being in nature. Take yourself for a mindfulness walk. Fully engage with all of your senses. Walk barefoot if you can to feel the energy and nourishment of the earth's center draw up into your body. Let nature bring you out of your head and into the present moment.

• Rooting meditation. In your comfortable seat, imagine yourself like a tree, growing roots from your seat, legs, and feet deep down into the earth. Feel the stability, grounding, and support of the earth below you and attune with that. Trust in the support and feel your body, mind, and heart beginning to soften and relax.

• Therapy and learning about your early roots. We all have a past, and while the past does not define us, it truly can inform us of who we are today, why we may have certain fears, anxieties, and patterns. When we have full awareness to our foundations, we can then take the necessary steps to help us to heal and put down new roots in healthier soil. We can't change what has happened, we can only change how we can be going forward.

• Nourishment. This is the seat of our digestion and fueling our bodies, mind, heart, and spirit. Nourish yourself well with healthy and healing foods, nourish yourself well with what you consume in terms of media and input, nourish yourself well with rest, good sleep, and lots of relaxation, and nourish yourself well with good, healthy relationships.

Affirmations

• I am safe and secure

• I am grounded

• I am courageous and strong

• I am nourished

• I am supported

• I am deeply connected to all things: earth, source, myself, and others

• I am enough

• I am home

• I belong here