Wednesday, July 14th, 2010
Chakra One, the Root Chakra, is represented by a deep red color.
It’s energy focuses on the element Earth, on our roots, grounding or groundedness, survival, body, food, matter, and beginning. And so we are beginning.
The Root Chakra helps us deal with stress, manages our survival mechanisms, maintains our sense of basic trust, and assists our struggle for survival. This chakra is rooted in our material existence, the physical day-to-day that helps or hinders our basic function and survival.
If the Root Chakra is blocked or underdeveloped, it means that everything above it isn’t built on a firm foundation. We might have issues with trust, be easily unbalanced or pushed off-kilter by life events. It may be hard for us to overcome challenges and turn obstacles into opportunities.
The Root Chakra affects our nervous system from the ground (or root) up. It also relates to the solid parts of our bodies– our bones, and large intestine (which passes solid waste). Since we aren’t focusing on the secondary chakras, the Root Chakra is our opportunity to heal or rebalance our legs, feet, and knees, as well.
The Root Chakra is the most dense, having to do with solid matter, so it is also the slowest to change. There is a lot packed into its function, or lack of function, in our lives. “If we do not balance this chakra before we progress to others, our growth will be without roots, ungrounded, and will lack the stability necessary for true growth.” (Wheels of Life- Anodea Judith, Ph.D)
According to K. Govinda (A Handbook of Chakra Healing), blockages in the Root Chakra can cause a number of ailments, including:
- Digestive disorders
- Hemorrhoids
- Constipation
- Lower back pain
- Sciatica
- Skeletal problems
- Osteoporosis
- Pain in the legs and feet
- Varicose veins
- Anemia and other blood disorders
- Stress-induced ailments
- Allergic reactions
- Anxiety
- Lack of Trust
- Depression
- Fear-based codependency, which creates a sense of security when with the grounded person
The most important aspect of healing or rebalancing the energy of the Root Chakra is grounding. Learning to ground and center our awareness within our own bodies, and the physical here and now of our life experiences.
Survival, our Bodies, and our relationship to Foods, particularly meat and proteins, are also important to our work with this chakra. We’ll talk about those as the month progresses.
Taking walks, noticing the colors of the earth under our feet, taking a beginner’s yoga class, stamping your feet, jumping up and down, or receiving professional massage are all great ways to reconnect with your body, and with its connection to the Earth.
When I first started working with my under-developed Root Chakra, I found a cheap red cotton bath matt, and used it as a cushion during my attempts at meditation. I put a few drops of EO on the edge of the matt. It was my way of focusing my attention and my energies on reconnecting my Root Chakra with the earth, and utilizing my Root Chakra as the basis of my new healing process– the foundation that holds up my body. “Resting on the ground, we cannot fall, which provides a sense of inner security. It is at the first chakra plane that ideas become reality.” (A. Judith)
Other tools for working with the chakras include Essential Oils, Herbal Teas, Stones, Bach Flower Remedies, and healing rituals. If your Root Chakra is well-developed and flowing strongly, a little positive attention and maintenance doesn’t hurt. Who knows, you may even uncover new understandings of who you are, and how you got here.
Here’s a final checkup (from K. Govinda) of when you need to work on your Root Chakra:
- If you feel you’ve lost trust in life
- If you don’t feel at home in your own body
- If you are easily overwhelmed by life
- If you feel chronically tired and lacking in energy
- If you don’t exercise enough
- If your digestion isn’t working properly (this covers any/all parts of the process from top to bottom)
- If you have a tendency toward back pain
Here are some resources for Root Chakra healing– we’ll talk about each one in more detail as the month progresses. Essential oils such as cloves, rosemary, cypress, and cedar. Putting a few drops of one of these that appeals to you on a hankerchief, and smelling it from time to time during the day is a great start.
Consider purchasing a little piece of ruby, hematite, or garnet stone, and holding it or keeping it with you over the course of our month. Different stones have different electromagnetic vibrations, which interact with our own bodily energetic vibrations in different ways. And a more “down-to-earth” explanation of this healing method is that the specific stone you select is connected to your Root Chakra healing process in your mind. So every time you touch or notice that stone, you’ll remember the work you are doing to clear your Root Chakra.
Most important of all, make your own decisions about what will be best for you and your health.
Be Well.
Tags: Root Chakra, Seven Chakras in Seven Months | Posted in Research/Info | 2 Comments »
