First, what is a chakra?  Chakras are energy centers which serve to assimilate psychological, physical, and spiritual energies – basically chakras are your energetic being. The chakras are often pictured as lotus blossoms or spinning wheels (in Sanskrit, chakra means “wheel”), and each chakra corresponds to a location in the physical body.

There are seven chakras, the first of which is known as the root chakra.  The Sanskrit word for this chakra is Muladhara: Mula meaning “root” and Adhara meaning “support” or “base.”  Located at the base of the spine, the root chakra is the foundation upon which we build our life.  This chakra is about activating grounding energy and anchoring so that we have a stable place from which to branch outwards and explore all aspects of life. This most instinctive of chakras is the survival center from where your primal, animal nature operates.  A person with an imbalanced first chakra can suffer from a lot of anxiety and fear and get stuck in fear-based behaviors and habits.  A strong desire for security dominates persons with an imbalanced root chakra. Balancing the root chakra creates the foundation for opening or balancing the chakras above.

The symbol of the root chakra is often depicted as a circle with four petals with a downward-pointing triangle. The downward-pointing triangle is a symbol of spirit connecting with matter, grounding on the earth and our earthly existence in our bodies. It’s seen as the center of our vital life force and is the seat where kundalini stays coiled, dormant, until is wakes up to distribute its energy through all the other chakras.  Further symbolized by the color red, the root chakra when in balance is associated with characteristics we typically assign to the color red: strength, vitality and stimulating to our instinctual tendencies. 

There are many avenues to bring this first chakra into balance including yoga, meditation, aromatherapy and mantras.  Participating in activities like walking barefoot on the earth can be grounding and deeply healing for anxious energy.  Spending time identifying your fears and acknowledging your safety and security in the face of your fears, physically standing tall, while dropping your attention to the root of your spine are all recommended for this chakra.  It is also important to acknowledge your connectedness to every part of life as it helps quell that place of fear which makes us all feel alone and isolated in our experiences on this plane of existence.  

Below are some affirmations to help bring the Root Chakra into balance.  These can be repeated as needed:

 I am grounded, stable and standing on my own two feet.

I feel safe and secure.

I have what I need.