5 PRACTICES TO HEAL YOUR ROOT {MULADHARA} CHAKRA.
Our chakra's are a path to the self. We have seven main energy centres through the body, the chakra's, when there are blocks in our energy centres it causes disruption in our system, dis 'ease' in our physical, emotional + energetic bodies.
Our breath is a guide to let us know where we might be blocked, it tends to get stuck in the area of the body that needs some work when we are taking mindful, intentional breaths as opposed to the shallow breath we are accustomed to taking in our day to day lives. Take a few deep, expansive inhales + exhales...taking the breath all the way down past the diaphragm + notice if you met any resistance, any blocks? I can often tell where I am stuck or needing some extra work/love as a natural tendency for me is to put my hand on the energy centre that is blocked + start rubbing it {sacral, lower abdomen, belly, womb space} comforting it. I will place my hand at the centre of my heart space, my anahata chakra or clasp on to my throat when I am not speaking my truth. All of these are indications of where some healing might need to take place. Where I am not allowing life to flow through me.
Through working with my clients as well as my own personal journey a lot of women + men who have endured physical and/or sexual trauma are completely disconnected from their lower 3 chakras. They have shifted into the upper 4, the mind, the imagination, as it feels 'safer' as opposed to being fully in + connected to the body. To the earth. It is also very natural for a lot of us to be completely blocked in all chakras as society as a whole is disconnected from our body, our energy system, our earth. {You can do a chakra clearing meditation to see where the breath feels stagnant + blocked in your body.}
The root chakra, muladhara, is our first energy centre. It is located at the base of the pelvic floor. It is our foundation, our temple, our body. Our earth. It's color is red + it is our right to be here + to have. It creates our foundation, our trust, health, family, grounding, prosperity.
Any blocks in the root chakra can lead to fear, anxiety, restlessness, can't settle, poor focus, lack of boundaries. Full disconnection from the body. For the first 30 years of my life I have felt fully disconnected from my body, always up in the mind, in the imagination, dreaming of a life separate from my own. Never fully landing into reality, into the present moment. We can't fully allow life to flow through us if we aren't aware + present in our body. If we are not fully connected to the earth, grounded + landed right here, right now.
What is your connection to your body? Your foundation? The earth?
Here are five practices to connect you deeper to your root chakra - your temple:
Self Massage - fully connecting with your own body, through touch. Use your favourite essential oil + a carrier oil {almond or coconut}, mix a couple of drops of the essential oil with the carrier oil + start at your feet. Massage every part of your body {that you can reach} all the way up, really connecting to the sensations that you feel as you massage each part. Focus a lot of intention + love to each part of your body, especially the ones that you often neglect or have negative thoughts about. We all have our least desired part of our body - send it extra love. If you are a woman spend extra time on the breasts. The breasts are linked to our womb space, our sacral chakra + where we give love from, the yang.
Earthing - get your feet grounded into the earth. Stand with bare feet in dirt, grass, or even setting the intention if the ground is covered in snow + you can't get your bare feet to earth. Really root down into the soles of the feet, feel the heaviness + connection to the ground beneath you. Dig your hands in dirt, hug a tree, get in nature. Do a walking meditation. Fully connect to the earth, it is the element for our root chakra. It is our home. We connect to our physical body through our physical home - earth.
Yoga Nidra - Also known as brain yoga or yogic sleep, yoga nidra is a practice where the body goes to sleep while the mind stays very present and aware. In yoga nidra we access different brain states where limiting beliefs can be re-wired. At specific points through the nidra you will be asked to mentally repeat a sankalpa, sankalpa's {affirmations} to heal the root chakra are: I am safe + I trust, I am here + I am real, I am immersed in abundance, I am supported + my needs are met. For a guided yoga nidra practice click here.
Essential Oils - My favourite is to put cedar wood on the soles of my feet, bringing the earth inside when I can't bare the cold outside. Aromatherapy is a powerful way to heal all of the chakras, the oils that heal the root are: frankincense {another favourite}, vetiver, patchouli, rosewood, clary sage + sandalwood. Mix the oils with a carrier oil + rub them on your lower abdomen, visualizing a red healing light at the base of the tailbone, the pelvic floor with the intention of healing. Diffuse them in your space to connect deeper to the root, to the earth.
Boundaries - Boundaries are stating what is okay for you + what is not. What parameters you will allow in your life, what behaviour is acceptable + what's not + being very clear about it. Crystal clear communication. Most of us have never gotten clear on our boundaries, what we will tolerate + what we won't. We allow people to treat us poorly + take it as a reflection of ourselves when really the person is operating at their level of awareness. When we are clear on our boundaries, we don't lose ourselves in other peoples actions. We have respect for ourselves.
Want to dive deeper into the chakras? Into your blocks, your wounds, where it is that you need to release + allow life to flow? Apply to work with me.
'To lose our connection with the body is to become spiritually homeless. Without an anchor we float aimlessly, battered by the winds and waves of life.'
from the book "Eastern body, Western mind."
