Root Chakra Ruminations

stock photo by Matteo Grando

Your root chakra, or Muladhara in Sanskrit, connects you to the earth. It is the location of your feeling of safety and security, of your basic needs, of your family connections, and of your feeling at home in your body and in present time and space. I always start chakra work with muladhara because it is the foundation: you can’t build a house on a weak foundation, so we must make sure that the root chakra is clear and strong before addressing the other chakras.

The root chakra is at the base of the spine, slightly below the perineum. It resonates with the color red and is symbolized by a four-petaled lotus with an upside-down triangle at its center. When meditating with a focus on this chakra, you can chant the syllable “LAM” (pronounced like “lahm”), and you can hold your hands in a grounding mudra to activate the chakra: put the backs of your hands on your thighs when seated and make a circle with the thumb and index finger of each hand, leaving your other fingers extended. You may also want to work with a mantra, such as, “I am safe, secure, and supported. All is well.” or “I am safe, healthy, and well in every way.” At the end of each of my Reiki sessions, I tell my clients, “You are grounded and protected, rooted and secure”—you can use this as a mantra as well.

Because a strong and healthy root chakra reassures you that you are safe and secure, doing grounding work can help as well. This can be done through meditation or by using crystals, among other methods. You can work with red, brown, or black stones—red jasper and black tourmaline are two that I use in my Reiki practice to help ground my clients. I am also very fond of jet and shungite. These black stones are not only grounding; they’re also very protective. I like these stones particularly in doing grounding work because they reinforce the connection to earth through the root, and they also create a sense of safety and security if it is compromised for any reason. If you’re not into crystals, you can also hold a potato or put one in your pocket—though I’ve never tried it myself, an herbalist friend of mine swears by it, as it helps you connect to the earth through a vegetable that grew within it.

Grounding is important because it helps to strengthen the root as the foundation for all of your other chakras, but it also helps to firm up the solid ground under your feet so that you can grow. Think about your own root chakra as though it were the roots of the tree that is you. Imagine a red cord or actual roots dropping down from your body and into the earth. This tether connects you to the earth at all times: let this connection reassure you, pull you back down into present time and space when you are stuck in your head and trapped in a cyclical story of anxiety about the past or the future. As you sit in meditation, feel that root and send it love to cultivate and strengthen the feeling of connection. Once it is well established, you will feel its firm support allowing you to open up, grow, and expand while still feeling safe.

stock photo by Danielle Barnes

I encourage you to think about the following questions in writing or in meditation. Let your answers guide you to the areas of life that are holding you back, standing in your way, or simply not serving you:

What in my life is making me feel fearful, anxious, or not at-ease? Which of these things can I control and change for the better? Which do I have no control over? How might things look or feel different if I make a change that shifts or eliminates something I have control over? How might things look or feel different if I release attachment to things I cannot control?

What in my head is making me feel fearful, anxious, or not-at-ease? What is real and what is my own invention from a place of fear and anxiety? What is in the past and can be left behind? What is in the future and can be released in order to remain present with what currently is? How might things look or feel different if I release stories about the past or the future? Or if I release a hold on the past that no longer serves me?

For the next week, take some time to check in with your root chakra. Send it love and use that connection to send love to the earth that supports you. Think about the questions above and your responses—even if you don’t make any changes. Notice what you discover. Think about how shifts might change the way you feel—you don’t need to decide to change anything until and unless you’re ready, but giving yourself permission to think about what that would look and feel like is an important first step to helping your root fully anchor you in present time and space, to connect you to the earth, and to reassure you that you are safe and secure in your body and in this life.

Much love to you as you do this work during the next week!

Come back next week to get in touch with your second chakra, the beautiful orange sacral chakra.

(Originally posted January 3, 2020)