#chakrabasics

I think the best place to start is back to basics.

I’m going to work on my Root Chakra, formally known as the Muladhara.

Please note that the following is not all-inclusive.

BASIC INFORMATION

Colour: Red.

Location: Base of the Spine, pelvis and the feet.

Mantra: LAM.

Element: Earth.

Demon: Fear.

Fear is often from unmet basic needs, feeling threatened, or being hurt. 

It is there to help us stay alive and to protect us from harm, but on most occasions, the threat is only perceived, not real. This prevents us from feeling secure, calm and effects our ability to focus.

My fears include: water (hydrophobia) when it is cold, dark and deep. I am also constantly worrying about dangerous situations, although I realise they’re illogical. e.g. worried I’ll bump into my abusive ex-boyfriend and things become violent/aggressive.

Right: The right to be here and the right to have.

We all have a place on this Earth, none is more deserving than the other. We all deserve to have our basic needs met: water, air, warmth, food, shelter, safety and security.

We should claim our body and the space it takes up. (Struggling with my weight over the years has made this an issue for me, I often find myself physcially tightening and curling inwards when in public or near others.)

Identity: Physical.

Our physical identity related to our body, its needs and what it feels. 

Understanding that we need to exist physically and should listen and meet our physical needs.

Key Themes: self-preservation, survival, basic physical needs, grounding, the physical body and being present.

Crystals: most red and black crystals including black tourmaline, onyx, jet, bloodstone, hematite, tigers eye (good for the first 3 chakras), obsidian, garnet, smokey quartz.

Essential Oils: black pepper, sandalwood, cedar, ginger, cloves.

Development stage: conception - 1 year.

All chakras can be balanced, deficient (lack of/blocked energy), excessive (overflowing with energy) or a mixture of both. This can be for a variety of reasons, but each state has its own “symptoms.”

Balanced: 

Manifestation

Good health

Vitality/good energy levels

Relaxed and feel safe/secure

Present in current time and space

Focused

Healthy Boundaries and self-discipline. 

Deficient:

Fearful/Anxious

Undisciplined and lack of boundaries

Restlessness

Feeling spaced out/ungrounded

Feeling disconnected from the body

Underweight

Poor focus and disorganised.

Excessive:

Heavy

Sluggish/Lethargic/lack of energy

Monotonous

Being overweight/obese

Hoarding/Greed over financial/material things

Materialism

Fear change

Boundaries that are too rigid.

My Current State:

At the moment I am struggling with lethargy and lack of energy. This is something I have struggled with over my whole life. I am overweight and have poor self-discipline. I struggle to say no to food and buying things. I also have difficulty doing things I need to do, such as exercise. I have this subconscious “need” to have everything now as if it’s going to be gone soon. I’m trying to teach myself that I don’t need to order everything I fancy on the menu in one sitting, as it’ll be here another day (that’s just one example.

This all suggests that my Root Chakra is excessive, but sometimes it drops into deficiency. I’ll suddenly have all this energy I don’t know what to do with and what to do everything all at once... Then I go straight back into the previous state. 

And as always, I recommend buying Anodea Judith’s book: Western Body, Eastern Mind. This book helped me change my life.