Root Chakra - Basic Trust

The root chakra (Muladhara) represents our foundation. It is the first Chakra and it is represented with a 4 leafed Red Lotus with a Square and a Triangle within. It is the first Chakra and supports your entire body. 

It anchors us and gives us the feeling of being grounded and it is usually the first one to suffer a hit should anything go wrong with our body’s systems. When the root chakra is open, we can feel confident in our ability to withstand challenges and stand on our own two feet.  

It represents the part of our consciousness concerned with self-awareness. It is affected by how we feel we are surviving, and how stable we feel about our home, our job and our finances. 

When it's blocked, we feel threatened and unstable. The location is at the base of spine, in tailbone area. 

Associated Themes & Emotions: Survival & Security issues such as financial independence, money, and food. 

Negative Feelings: insecurity and estrangement from other people. 

Positive Feelings: connected-ness and personal security. 

Soul Issues: To acknowledge that my soul inhabits a body that is part of the living universe, the natural world. Through my body, my soul is brought into matter for experience in this physical world. 

Its symbol is earth and is our connection with Mother Earth as it connects us to the physical world. You’ll connect to your base chakra when you hear the musical note C. 

When the base chakra is off balance, you will feel disconnected, sexual disturbances, feeling of stuckness, anxiety, anger, frustration, impotence and the inability to let something go. 

If you place all of you attention on an item that is red, then you will find your physical and emotional balance. 

The base chakra is also in control of several physical parts of your lower body such as your immune system and kidneys, Intestines, Sexual Organs along with your legs and feet and Colon. 

The chakra will affect several areas of your emotional self that include your sense of loyalty, survival instincts and self-esteem. 

Typical conditions: chronic lower back pain; renal and reproductive conditions or rectal disorders such as fluid retention, constipation or diarrhea; stiffness in joints; varicose veins or hernias; bipolar disorder; glandular issues; personality and anxiety disorders, auto-immune problems. 

The developmental Age of this chakra happens between the ages of 0-3 years old 

When you are in the womb our chakra system is as yet not fully developed. Our Crown chakra is already open, as it is the connection to where we came from. (You can see this inthe fontanel on top of a baby's head). The base chakra is also open, since we are now coming into human form. The other centres are like little buds on the stem of a flower. These buds will open as we develop into adulthood, and their healthy growth will depend on how we experience life, and our relationship to it. The soul takes on human form to learn about life on this earth. There are fundamental rules and regulations that apply to every living thing on this planet, and we are no exception. The Law of Gravity is one example, although of course this law does not govern the soul. 

We acquire a particular human body because it is appropriate for the experience required by our soul (Incarnation intention 1- To have a Human, Physical, Emotional Experience). We also decide what conditions we find ourselves in for soul learning. Hence we choose our parents - they do not choose us. Once our soul has engaged with our tiny developing physical form in our mother's womb, we begin to receive information. At this stage, whatever happens to our mother happens to us. It has been proven that a stressed mother produces a stressed baby, and that children born in countries where there is war, whether in the home or on a wider scale, will feel more anxiety about arriving than those being born into a peaceful environment. Our very delicate sensory equipment receives the atmosphere around us. At birth, we are like an open hand, a clean sheet of paper or a soft ball of wax that now begins to register the marks of a life experienced on this dense level of existence. 

The first and most crucial challenge is to survive; otherwise not much else will happen. The Base chakra is concerned with survival, and the endocrine glands to which it is connected are the adrenals. These are involved with our 'flight or fight' response - a survival mechanism that helps us in life-threatening situations. Not that a baby is going to do much fighting or fleeing, but these are two basic human instincts, and it is at this time of our lives that the first seeds of fear get imprinted on our soft ball of wax. If, when we arrive, we do not have a welcoming committee - if, we are not greeted with loving physical contact (fundamental needs) - we will not feel safe, and our soul may not fully connect with our physical being, (as we would like to keep the options open for going Home, please!) There are many people whose Base chakra has not fully developed because it was simply too scary to find themselves in an early unsupportive environment. Those born during times to stress or conflict, (in the home or out of it), will have picked up the vibrations of tension and fear which will undermine their sense of safety at having arrived here. It is often said that being born into life on earth is much more traumatic than dying - which is going Home, after all. 

Without this sense of belonging here, we build feelings of insecurity, which have unfortunate consequences in later life. To relieve this sense of insecurity we grow up attached to external sources of security - home, jobs, material possessions and money. Of course it is all right to like nice things, to live in a pleasant environment and to have money - but not to rely on these things for our sense of security. Always feeling that there will never 'be enough to support me' makes us feel that we have to acquire more before we can feel safe. These feelings have bred a race of achievers and perfectionists who fear failure - perhaps because they grew up in an environment where being 'loved' was attached to doing well. Even before we learn to speak, we learn that smiling or crying will give us nourishment in one form or another. Born into a situation where there was little nurturing means we will be afraid to bring our soul energy down to earth. 

Questions for the Base Chakra 

Pause for a moment and ask yourself these questions. Use your journal to record your thoughts. Write down the first thing that comes into your mind and trust these insights. 

What did it mean to my parents and family when I came into being? 

Why did I choose my parents? And this culture? 

What happened to my mother when I was in her womb? 

How were the first three years of my life? 

Did I feel fearful about my physical well-being and survival? 

Do I want to be here? 

If you feel that your sense of being earthed or rooted could do with some strengthening, spend more time in nature. Gardening and walking are good ways to connect to the earth. Dancing and drumming help the base centre release insecurities. Yes, we live in a material world but we do not have to OWN everything. Being to think 'abundance' instead of 'lack'. We have everything we need at this moment although it might not be exactly what we WANT. What is there on your plate in front of you Iis exactly what you need to digest at this moment. Feeling insecure, whether consciously or unconsciously, affects the functioning of this chakra and may subsequently produce dis-ease in the body at this level. Panic attacks with palpitations, hyperventilation, frequent visits to the loo and muscle spasms are all signs of an overactive adrenal gland. Constipation, piles, colitis, diarrhoea, kidney stones and hypertension are all by-products of fear. Fear of what? That I will not have enough, and therefore I will not survive? That response belongs to the inner child. 

Go outside, take your shoes off (if possible) , stand firm upon the earth with your knees slightly bent and say: 

"I am part of the Living Universe. I acknowledge my connection with all living things. In that knowledge I am safe." 

And say it as if you mean it. 

Crystals that are associated with this Chakra are: 

Red Jasper Fire Agate Obsidian 

The herbs that are associated with this Chakra are: 

Patchouli Sandlewood Myrrh Black Spruce 

If you are ready to go a bit deeper into chakra work then here is the link to grab your meditation. There are obviously 7 to choose from or you can get all seven. the choice is yours.