Have you ever thought about the basic needs of a born baby?
As their basic needs, all they care about necessities which required for their survival, i.e. food and shelter and, eventually it develops a sense of security in them.
I am safe and I belong here This phrase shows the first sense of attachment with the materialistic world, we feel after conception.
It all originated from the lower base of the spine i.e. place of Root Chakra.
In this beginner’s in-depth article, you will learn the very core concept of the root chakra and its role in a balanced life. This guide will also help you find if you have imbalanced root energy. Also, with the help of simple practices described at the end of this article, you can get your root energy on track and blossom your life.
THE ROOT CHAKRA
Located at the base of your spine, the root chakra or muladhara is the first of your seven chakras. The Sanskrit name translates to “root support” or “base”. As the root of your being, this chakra establishes your foundation as well as your sense of security and stability.
The energy of your first chakra extends from the base of the spine downward like a root through the legs and feet. This forms your deepest connections between your physical body, environment, and Mother Earth. The root chakra embodies your relationship with the physical world. This includes your body, aspects of self, sense of security and survival, and your connection to the environment.
The root chakra is related to your basic needs – your survival center. This chakra manifests your primal and ancestral instincts, like your flight-or-fight response. As the foundation of the chakra system, the root chakra function is to respond to any issues concerning your survival such as eating, sleeping, exercising, housing, financial security, sense of safety, and stability.
Providing the foundation you need to build upon, your first chakra is where you ground yourself and anchor your energy. When balanced, the root chakra allows you to harness courage, and resourcefulness, and to expand upon our ancestral instincts while keeping you grounded.
When you consider psychologist Erik Erickson’s stages of development, the first stage—trust versus mistrust—is closely related to Root chakra development. As an infant, if your caregivers consistently provided you what you needed to survive (food, water, love, affection, and emotional calm), then you felt secure in the world. You felt that the world was a place that could be trusted to provide your basic needs. However, if your environment was chaotic and/or caregivers emotionally unavailable to you and/or if your caregivers withheld, delayed, or were inconsistent in giving you what you needed, then you will lack trust and security, and may find yourself with Root chakra imbalance or blockages. Whether or not you feel secure now is significantly impacted by how safe you felt as a small child.
Key Characteristics of the Root Chakra
Grounding — Anchors our energy into the world and forms our connections with Mother Earth.
Security and Stability — Responsible for your sense of security and stability in your world.
Firm Foundation — As the first chakra, it is responsible for the foundation you need to build upon during personal growth. You cannot grow unless you feel safe and secure.
Physicality — Highly responsive to your physical health.
Gate of Higher Energy — Root chakra locates at the place where kundalini energy lies in the dormant state. In Spiritual language, awakened Kundalini or open root chakra is considered the gate for higher energy.
Survival — Initiates your fight-or-flight mode and will to live.
Instincts — Embodies your primal and ancestral instincts.
ROOT CHAKRA LOCATION
The location of the Root chakra, as its name suggests, is known for foundational support our physical structure needs for better stability and balance i.e. the lowest base of the spine (first 3 vertebrae near the coccyx).
Anatomical Formation of Root Chakra
The spinal cord forms the base of the Backbone. It is an integral part of the central nervous system and consists of the vertebrae.
The root chakra is located near the lowermost vertebrae marking the region of the perineum. This region is situated between the joints of the hip bone (pubic symphysis) and coccyx which is also known as the vestigial tailbone.
It is the triangular-shaped bone and forms the bottom of the spine. Along with hip bone, it gets arranged into a diamond-shaped area and forms the perineum.
In females – This area consists of the anus and vagina. it lies posterior to the genital organ i.e. cervix.
In males – It occupies the area above the perineum or lies inside it.
RED COLOUR SIGNIFICANCE
The root chakra, due to its closest vicinity to the earth element, is a reflection of the earth’s inner surface and core. Thus, the color of the energy radiate out of this wheel is Red.
Red which is also the most dense color of all chakra colors. Red is the slowest of all the wavelengths within the visible spectrum, yet, it is the most stimulating color. It pulls the retina forward so all of our energy and attention is focused outward.
That is why we use red color for the stop lights and stop signs. The root chakra color commands attention. It signals danger to us. We act immediately. Red is the color of the life force. It is the color of blood and the first color we come into contact when we are born. Red means energy and our connection with the Earth and carries the promise of survival.
The red color also denotes how much we are connected to the earth.
Being connected to earth means how well we know thyself. The more you know thyself, more especially you would come to know how less your basic needs are and this is what the work of a balanced root chakra is.
ROOT CHAKRA SYMBOL SIGNIFIES
Understanding its symbol can help you with balancing your root energy in the body. So, Let's breakdown its symbol into the following key components to understand it.
Downward-pointing triangle – It points towards the earth and shows the union of the soul present in us, with the matter (earth). It also reminds us to be grounded and home of Kundalini energy.
Square inscribed in a circle – As root chakra connects us with earth and earth supports us. Square shown in its symbol is the representation of a firm foundation of support.
Lotus flower 4 petals – Physically, 4 lotus petals indicate merging of 4 nerves (Nadis) at this point. These 4 Nadis in the symbol represented with 4 Sanskrit syllables वं vaṃ, शं śaṃ, षं ṣaṃ, and सं saṃ.
Text लं on the center – This is the seed mantra of the root chakra. Its sound has the power to stimulate the earth element present in the body.
In some traditional symbols 2 of root chakra, an elephant is also shown within the square.
An elephant is a representation of mother earth bearing the weight and hence symbolises the inner strength associated with this chakra.
ENERGY FREQUENCY AND BIJA MANTRA
Each chakra spins at a specific rate and radiates energy vibration at a certain frequency. The higher chakra corresponds to higher energy frequency.
Being at the lowest place of the spine, root chakra vibrates at the lowest frequency of 396Hz. If your Root Chakra is vibrating at the same frequency then it is considered in a balanced state.
The Bīja Mantra (Seed Mantra) of the Mūlādhāra Chakra is LĀM, the sound of spiritual awakening. It releases tensions and removes blockages in this Chakra and activates its energy. And so the process of awakening the dormant powers within us and raising them into consciousness begins. Beautiful and healing experiences together with happy moments emerge from the past giving us strength and inspiration to continue on our path. But together with the pleasant experiences, we can also go through painful feelings in the Root Chakra. Buried hurts, unprocessed emotional traumas, and disappointments that were deeply etched into our consciousness come to the surface so they can finally be healed and resolved.
Disappointment is not necessarily something negative. It means a transition, a step in our development, a teaching. Every learning step in our life is accompanied by the correction of a false idea, by “disillusionment”. The Root Chakra is often full to the brim with painful disillusionments. But, when we work our way through these misfortunes with wisdom they are transformed into valuable experiences and opportunities for development.
For as long as we live we will be confronted with problems. The ignorant take them merely as a nuisance and misfortune, but the wise regard them as valuable and beneficial experiences. When we learn from them and begin to work on ourselves we progress in our spiritual development. If we do not do this we remain stuck in the suffering and continue to replay the painful lessons.
BALANCED ROOT CHAKRA
When root energy spins at a balanced rate, it radiates energy in all aspects of a person’s life. You are more involved in physical and emotional activities hence imparting positive vibrations just like a winner in all walks of life.
5 signs you have a balanced root chakra.
Full of vitality and passion – In a balanced state, you are more passionate about whatever you do. You would experience vitality & feeling of the responsibility for your work, family, and friends.
Satisfaction with survival needs – When root energy found in the balanced state, you tend to be more satisfied while striving to meet the needs of surviving.
Connected with core values – Balanced root energy is all about governing the force of being grounded. Hence, the person with balanced root chakra would be connected with the core values of life tree.
Equanimity of logic and emotion – When you have balanced root chakra helps you to keep your mind equally drawn to the logic and emotion in something you are more active.
Fearless personality – A person having Root Chakra aligned feels to be fearless and prepared for physical, financial, moral, and psychological tasks.
IMBALANCED ROOT CHAKRA
The chakra system distributes the flow of prana or energy throughout your subtle body. Stress, illness, emotional upset, and conflict can all cause blockages or imbalance in your chakra system. All of the seven chakras are interconnected; when one chakra experiences a blockage or imbalance, it affects all the others. This disruption of energy can cause your mind, body, and spirit to suffer.
When your root chakra is imbalanced, it cracks the foundation of the whole chakra system. If you are just starting your chakra journey, it is important to balance your root chakra first. Imbalance in this chakra can cause you to find yourself coping with threats to your survival. These threats can be moving, changing jobs, reoccurring health problems, weight problems, sense of fear, or insecurity.
Underactive root chakra — When a chakra is underactive, it means that the chakra is experiencing a blockage or is not distributing the flow of energy. When your root chakra is underactive, it can affect your overall health.
Signs of an underactive root chakra:
Feel Disconnected
Disorganised
Lack of Focus
Feelings of Fear, Anxiousness, or Restlessness
Lack of Stamina
Trouble Obtaining Financial Security
Overactive root chakra — When a chakra is overactive, it means that the chakra is distributing too much energy. It is working in overdrive and bringing imbalance to the chakra. When your root chakra is overactive, it affects your overall health.
Signs of an overactive root chakra:
Anger and Annoyance Towards People and Events in Your Life.
Greediness
Dependent on Others’ Security
Rigid Boundaries
Difficulty Accepting Change
Materialistic
Impulsiveness
PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS OF THE ROOT CHAKRA
The Root Chakra controls and energises the muscular and skeletal system.
The Root Chakra plays a key role in the strengthening of the whole physical body. The red prana in the Basic chakra helps in the energising of the whole body.
The Root Chakra helps in the production of blood and also affects of the quality of the blood. The Root Chakra also controls and energises the bone marrow.
Part of the transmuted Basic energy helps in the smooth functioning of the brain and the chakras of the head. An over-activated Root Chakra is characterised by hyperactivity, restlessness or insomnia.
The growth rate of the cells and the adrenaline glands are also affected by the Root Chakra. Body heat, the sex organs, the growth rate of children, and overall general vitality also come under the periphery of the Root Chakra.
Characteristics of Various Degrees of Chakra Activation
People with insomnia and hyper active children have over-active Basic chakras.
People with highly activated chakras are robust and healthy.
People with less activated chakras tend to be weak and fragile.
Elderly people have severely depleted chakras. And that’s the reason that aged people tend to shrink in size with age, their spines curve and the healing of wounds and bones slows down.
HOW TO BALANCE THE ROOT CHAKRA
Chakra balancing is the process of restoring the harmonious and balanced flow of prana or energy throughout the body. Your chakras are in constant fluctuation. Practicing chakra balancing and aligning is a regular and sometimes daily activity to explore. But how do you balance your root chakra?
Anchor yourself in your environment — Your root chakra is highly influenced by your feelings of stability and safety. Developing a harmonious relationship with your environment and immediate surroundings helps restore balance to your first chakra.
Connect With the Earth — When balancing your first chakra, it is important to connect directly with Mother Earth. Spend time outside, walk unpaved paths, plant a garden, or keep plants inside your home. These are all ways to form a personal connection with the earth to support a more grounded and sustainable energy flow.
Physical Activity — When the wheel-of-energy or a Chakra is stuck it can be beneficial to release the energy or prana using movement. Yoga postures have been recognized as a fantastic technique to release stuck or stagnant energy out of the body. This encourages the flow of vital and fresh energy back into the body through breath and postures.
Mountain Pose | Tadasana
Warrior One Pose | Virabhadrasana 1
Bridge Pose | Setu Bhandasana
Corpse Pose | Savasana
Meditation — Meditation plays a vital role in balancing and opening your chakras. Chakra meditation techniques are very similar to regular mediation techniques, but with a focus on one specific area of the body. Try this simple but effective root chakra meditation:
Sit with your shoulders back and spine straight. Relax your muscles as you close your eyes and breathe deeply. Inhale through your nose and exhale through the mouth.
Focus your attention on the location of your root chakra, right below the tailbone.
Since the root chakra is tied to the color of red, imagine a red glow at the base of your spine. Slowly expand this red glow, making the whole area warm and relaxed. Rest in this sensation for 3-5 minutes.
When you are ready, slowly open your eyes. You may follow with positive affirmations.
Affirmations — Affirmations are a positive way to heal negative programming that can be embedded in your subtle body. When balancing your root chakra, practice saying these phrases to yourself:
I feel deeply rooted
I am connected to my body
I feel safe and secure
I am grounded, stable, and standing on my own two feet
I trust myself
Aromatherapy — Aromatherapy can be a powerful tool when balancing the root chakra. Essential oils with earthy and grounding aromas can help restore balance to your root chakra. Apply our Root Chakra Blend to the base of spine, legs, and feet when rebalancing your root chakra.
Crystal Healing — The Chakra stones are known as healing crystals that contain specific colors and vibrations. Every Chakra has a specified color, and this same color can be used in Chakra healing. However, even though the majority of stones with a certain color will be used to heal a specific Chakra, there are a few stones that can be utilized to heal multiple Chakras i.e. Clear quartz. When balancing your root chakra, meditate with your chosen crystal stone or even carry the stone with you to let the energetic properties help restore balance to the chakra.
Last but not least, I find this is the fastest and powerful method..
Energy Chakra Healing — Professional energy healers offer services that examine a person’s energy levels in their Chakra system as well as locate the causes of blockages. After a thorough examination they are able to offer suitable healing treatments in regards to Chakra healing.
Taking The First Step To Balance Your Chakras
Although this blog has covered some helpful methods for balancing your Root Chakra and restoring your energy flow, there’s a lot more to learn when it comes to striking the right balance for you and your unique physical, emotional and spiritual body.
We all want to lead more balanced, joyful, and fulfilled lives.
I hope you find this information helpful, or at least enlightening to some degree, and please share with your friends as this knowledge might help them to find their centre and manifest towards a healthy lifestyle and be able to enjoy life to the fullest.
Peace and Love to all 💞
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