The Root Chakra (Muladhara)

The weather in the last two weeks in South East Queensland and New South Wales has been extreme and posed a lot of hardship in the community. People’s homes were lost and some lives were lost.

I was not affected by the flood badly, but I could certainly feel the intensity in the air. I could feel the fear and chaos. I was very unsettled, watching heavy rain hitting the surroundings. During this difficult time, I found it very hard to be grounded. My root chakra was shaken. The essence of the root chakra is safety, stability, and groundedness. The root chakra is situated at the base of the spine. As the root chakra relates to the adrenal glands, when your survival needs are challenged or when you are stressed, your body will instantly go into the ‘fight or flight’ mode.

The root chakra serves as an energy filtration system, bringing up supportive energy from the earth and releasing stagnant and toxic energy that you don’t need back into the earth. It is the foundation of energy channels.

When you move through life with a balanced root chakra, you are calm and confident. You feel safe and protected. You are connected to your body and enjoy the physical world. You trust that what’s meant for you will come at the right time.

When the root chakra is overactive, it is a sign indicating that you might be too obsessed with the physical world. You might also feel angry and greedy and you might be scared of not having enough of what you need. Overeating can also be a sign of an overactive root chakra.

It is common that people might experience an underactive root chakra, especially for those who spend very little time in nature. Some indicators of an underactive root chakra also include anxiety, disconnection from the body, hard time going to sleep due to a racing mind and inability to focus.

Looking back at the times during the flood, I definitely had an underactive root chakra. I was disconnected to my body. Watching all the pouring rain I started to think that how horrible it was outside. The quality of sleep was not good either. I still had a lot of thoughts when I lay in bed. I was feeling uncomfortable, day and night. So what did I do for relief? I practiced yoga for three days in a row. My body felt lighter one day after another and I could feel that my anxiety and fear were slowly fading away. Most importantly, I had a deep sense of connection to my body which allowed me to say that I was feeling grounded again.

There might be a misconception that the higher chakra the better it is as the highest chakra connects to higher consciousness. It is not wrong that the crown chakra is related to the Divine, but the fact is all chakra is equally important in the system. Spiritual growth requires a strong foundation. This is why the root charka is so critical in the process of growth. If a tree does not have strong roots, how does it grow into one that can stand for a hundred years? While people look for enlightenment, do not forget to look after your root chakra, which is the foundation of spiritual transformation.

Energy is always flowing instead of being static; therefore, the state of imbalance is not permanent just as the state of balance will not last forever if it is not supported actively.

Tips For Balancing The Root Chakra

Common tips of balancing the root chakra include connecting to nature (go for a walk), connecting to your body (movement activities ), chanting ‘LAM’ and visualizing red colour at the base of your spine and eating root vegetables. It is important to consume as less processed food as possible if you want to feel grounded.

If you are interested in using crystal, picture jasper, black tourmaline and smoky quartz can be helpful.

Herbs which has an earthy scent will also help to support the root chakra, for example, clove, cypress, patchouli and cedarwood. These are great for oil diffusers.

Now, I am interested to know, what are your go-to practices for balancing the root chakra?