Root Chakra: Healing with the Earth

Are you ready to take a deeper dive into your chakras?

Great.

Let’s start at the beginning: the root chakra.

*To get an overview on the seven chakras, you can visit my earlier post here: Chakra Crash Course

The Root Chakra

The root chakra is located at the base of the spine. I consider this the “seat” of the chakra system. The color of the chakra is red, and governs the base organs and body systems, including the skin, spine and bone structure, feet, lower back, and blood.

As you might have learned in my Chakra Crash Course, every chakra connects with a scent, stone, music note, and color. I’ll give a quick overview on each, but the majority of information I’ll be focusing on will be in relationship to the emotional / belief system / archetypal aspects of each chakra.

FAST FACTS:

• Color: Red
• Essential Oils: Cinnamon, vetiver and grounding scents such as cedarwood and sandalwood
• Music Note: C
• Element: Earth

Lessons from the Root Chakra

Our root chakra helps us to feel fully rooted here on Earth, tribally supported, fully accepting of our human experience. Individuals with a strong, root-base chakra, have a sense of home wherever they go. They recognize that home lives within each human being, no matter geographic location.  A healthy, well-balanced root chakra also means we have the capacity to feel safety and security, supported and supportive of others, while fully accepting of our physical bodies.

What I find most interesting about this chakra is that most spiritualist types have a very robust root energy center, not only does it help to balance the higher, spiritual chakras, it also helps to “ground” their spirituality into their daily, human experiences. I think we all know spiritualist types that “say one thing, do another,” - this is often an indicator of a root chakra out-of-balance.

Patterns of Imbalance

Where we have injuries can often be a very good indicator of a root chakra needing attention:

• Feet or ankle injuries
• Spinal / lower back injuries
• Issues with the skin or blood
• Anxiety
• Flightiness / accidents

Patterns of imbalance happen on a continuum, sometimes we are simply not taking in enough “fuel” or energy to the center, and other times, we are blocking the flow of energy.  If we use the pool analogy from Chakra Crash Course, imagine seven pools of water.  At the base (the first pool) is our root chakra energy center.  If the pool is lacking in water, we may not be pulling in enough energy to support the chakra. Other times, we the pool is full of water, but not circulating energy. This can mean we are holding tightly to old belief systems in this chakra, unwilling to let go, or grow. Both are patterns of imbalance.

In practice, root-base chakra issues carry emotional and archetypal patterns.  Here are a few common ones I find when working to heal the root chakra:

If we have plenty of energy in our chakra, but little movement, you might notice in yourself or others:

• Feeling “stuck,” unable to move forward
• Extreme discomfort and resistance to change
• Heaviness: both in feeling and in physicality
• Overly demanding, authoritarian, or controlling, “my way or the highway”
• Fight-or-flight / reactive-attachment - trauma patterning
• Orphaned adult archetype: extreme need to “go it alone”
• Extreme tribalism - cult-like commitments to religious institutions, jobs, or people

When we do not have enough energy in this center, you might notice in yourself or others:

• Lack of follow-through
• Accident-proned, due to “spacing out” or physical detachment
• Anxiety over safety and security (finances, home, partner)
• Judgement over body
• Spiritually-inclined, without the ability to manifest or match guidance to actions (lack of integrity)
• Inability to nurture or care for oneself (emotionally and/ or physically)

Addictions, anxiety, obsessive-compulsions, and suicidal thoughts can all be connected to the root chakra.

Healing the Root Chakra

When working with the root chakra in session, we are clearing old belief systems and patterns of control to help move out energetic blockages in this area. Through emotional healing, we are shedding light on aspects of our consciousness (systems of thought) we have about ourselves and others. Through awareness, we are able to energetically release that which no longer serves us.

I have found that in nearly all sessions I am touching on the root chakra, even if we are primarily focused on issues in another chakra. The root chakra carries the majority of our generational patterning, so it is often where we focus when healing cycles of trauma and abuse passed down in families.  It’s also a wonderful place to “anchor” our energy. In this way we are able to translate our spiritual insights into actionable guidance in our daily lives.

As most of my clients know, I might recommend exercises following a session, to help continue the process of balancing chakras.  While emotional healing works all on its own, I have found that when we combine active practice with inner work, we make changes easier and with less effort.  Here is an exercise from my toolbox, that can help balance the root chakra:

Boosting the Root Chakra

For those that need to energize this chakra -

Have you ever looked at a tree?  Find the tallest, biggest, most robust tree around you.  If you’re not near a tree - imagine one. Now contemplate how high into the sky the tree reaches. It’s awesome, isn’t it?  

Consider how a tree can stand so tall.  Its root system, right?

Imagine how deep and how wide the root system of this tree is.

That’s the power of your root chakra.  The greater our capacity to anchor ourselves, the higher we can reach to the heavens (Father Sky, God, Source, spiritual insight).

Find a quiet place at home, or even better, go outside. Close your eyes and take a deep, cleansing breath. Picture roots coming out of the base of the spine, anchoring down, down, down into the Earth.

On the exhalation, release any negativity, fear, anxiety or confusion.  Feel burden slip from your shoulders and move down the roots, into the Earth.

Let. It. Go.

On the inhalation, take up Mother Earth’s loving compassion, up through the root system and into the base of the spine. Feel a sense of complete acceptance, unity, and compassion.  Up. Up. Up through the spine until the sensation fills your body.

Relax.

Continue breathing, visualizing, and feeling until you arrive at a sense of inner knowing belonging, unity, support, growth, gratitude.

I have found this practice to work well for those who experience a lot of anxiety and stress. Use this as long or as quickly as you need until you capture the emotion. I have also found it to work well particularly before bed, for those that repeatedly cycle thoughts at night.

*This exercise can still work for those carrying stagnation (lack of movement) in this chakra. If this is the case, I suggest focusing on releasing fear through the root system, and pulling up support and acceptance. Remember, a deep root structure allows a tree to go through change. It bends with the wind. Looses its leaves in the winter and regrows them in the spring. We can be anchored and open to change. In fact, they support one-another.

Seasonal Wellness: Summer

With the bustle and activity of spring rejuvenation behind us, we move into a new season and new energy - the season of summer.

To recap: I am writing posts on seasonal wellness, starting with the season of spring. If you are new to this series, here’s a quick snapshot: “Seasonal wellness simply means that you live in rhythm with the cycles of nature. We can tap into and use this energy to live in balance with the natural cycles of wellness that nature provides. All we need to do is look to nature for guidance.”  Seasonal Wellness: Spring

Make Hay When the Sun Shines

I look at summer as the season of “YES!” There is nothing more disappointing than seeing the last days of summer trail to an end and thinking “I wish I would have…”. In Minnesota, that wish might not be fulfilled until 9-months later after deep frost and defrost.

As an independent business owner I can relate to the immediacy of finishing a project or sending that one last email. However, have you ever felt like you work hard to keep the grass trim, but you can’t remember the last time you ate a picnic, played catch, or simply laid in the middle of it? Just as we prioritize health, finances, and chores - summer teaches us that joy, fulfillment, laughter, and warmth are also priorities in our life.  And if we are lacking in these vital, energy-giving aspects of our life, then we can cultivate them.

The Season for Joy

The best way to bring more vitality into our minds, body, and spirit is to be in a state of joy.  Our masculine aspect teaches us to produce joy in our lives and our feminine aspect teaches us to allow joy into our lives.  We can attract joy into our lives using both aspects, through some of the following ideas:

Say “YES!”

It’s easy to get caught up in chores or what we need to do. What if we said, “yes” instead?  Set aside the chores and obligations for a night and meet your friend, go to the BBQ, or catch the tail end of the sunset.

Plan to not Plan

Set aside unscheduled time for yourself or your family. Block off a chunk of time where you set the intention to play.  Maybe this means taking time to paint outside, or perhaps it’s a Saturday morning where you can wake up and ask the kids, “what sounds fun today?”

Get Dirty

Plant something, go for a run in the rain, swim in a lake, go for a day hike, run through a sprinkler, or spend the weekend at the cabin. Grounding in mother nature is one of the quickest ways to feel a sense of connection, rootedness, and vitality.

Spread Joy

Bring joy to others. Whatever we feel we are lacking is often because we have blocked the flow of giving and receiving.  If you are lacking in joy, ask yourself: How have I brought joy to others recently?  Joy is like the breath, in and out, giving and receiving.  If we are more open to giving joy, we also make space to receive more joy.  Here are a few ways to give joy:

• Invite a friend over
• Cook a special dinner for a loved one or your family - better yet- a picnic!
• Plan an adventure (a weekend trip, a day hike, or a creative project)
• A romantic evening with a loved one
• Send a gift or care package to someone you have been thinking of
• Volunteer or staff a community event

Live in Joy

Joy is all around us.  Sometimes we lack the eyes to see it. Here are a few ideas to experience or receive more joy in our own lives:

• Bring awareness to the last time you experienced joy - feel it in your body and re-live the moment until you begin to smile. Acknowledge and cultivate gratitude for the experience.
• Play music that lights you up
• Think back to being a child.  What brought you joy? Take time to do one of the activities or creative endeavors you did as a child.
• Wear the color yellow or eat yellow foods (add lemon to your tea or water)
• Get out in the sun for some Vitamin D
• Read a book or watch a movie that encourages joy and laughter

The more we live in a state of joy, the more likely we are to attract the people, places, and moments that will bring more joy to us.

In the cycle of seasons, summer is where the fruits of our labor begin to unfold and take shape.  Summer asks us to strike balance between the productive and receptive aspects of ourselves.  Gardens require water, care, and weeding to grow. And we also are given the opportunity to enjoy the journey of growth - the first ripe tomato on the vine, a golden sunset, or petals unfolding from a summer bloom. Summer has magic and rapture in it. Often the most memorable moments are ones we did not create, but the ones we were open to receiving.

Wishing you a season of joy and vitality.

Art of Intuition

I once packed everything I owned into a trunk and moved from Minneapolis to Seattle, leaving my boyfriend of 8 years, “because I just felt called.” Through a chain of events from that decision, my sister-in-law would publish a book, my boyfriend (now husband) would see explosive career gains, and I would take the first step in my path towards becoming an emotional healing facilitator.

I once talked to my Mom at 10pm following a meeting one night.  My Grandpa’s health was failing and my Dad would be going to Iowa the next morning to see him. This was not the first time my Dad made a rush visit like this. This time I knew I needed to go with him. After a bit of coaxing, my Dad agreed.  We were halfway to Iowa the next morning when we got the call that he had passed away.

This year I woke up at 7am and without getting out of bed I sent a text my brother, who lives states away: “Is my nephew here, yet?” He replied: “We’re at the hospital right now, I will text you as soon as I can.” My brother's son, my nephew, was born later that afternoon.

These are just a few examples, big and small, of the power of intuition in my own life. Sometimes these moments come as split-second insights while I’m making a decision. Or, in the case of my move to Seattle, a nearly 2-year dripping faucet of information slowly inching me forward. In every case, the decisions and actions I have made using my internal guidance have positioned me to have incredible experiences I might have otherwise missed. Even the difficult times, such as the loss of my Grandpa, were made better by knowing my Dad wasn’t alone when the call came.

Our intuition is our greatest ally, always moving us in the direction of a greater good.

THAT’S NICE.  BUT WHAT IS INTUITION?

I hear you on this.  I find that amongst many circles this word is thrown around like a magic key, that everybody has, but nobody knows what it opens. I’m certainly no expert on this matter, but having been through my own frustration in trying to acquire information about building intuition, I hope this will shed a little light on what intuition is and how to build more of it.

I look at intuition as internal guidance. That’s it. It’s not just for women, men have intuition too, though they might refer to it as “a gut instinct.”  Either way, it’s all the same and it’s all intuition.

MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE

In my experience, many people are highly intuitive without knowing it. Your body, heart, and emotions are constantly feeding you information, only we might not have cultivated the awareness to recognize when we are receiving information.

Here are some basics into how most of us gather information:

Through the body:

• Goosebumps
• Physiological reactions (feeling sick to your stomach, or butterflies in the stomach)
• Feeling hot and cold suddenly in areas of the body, without the temp changing around you
• Hair standing on the back of the neck
• Tingling / “blissed out” sensations

Are you the type of person who can walk into a room and just know if the energy is good or not?  Think about the last home you went into - were you  consciously or subconsciously picking up the feeling of the space in your body?

Through hearing:

• A small, still voice
• Sounds, tones, or ringing in the ear(s)
• Sensitive to music, aware of how songs make you feel
• Talk to yourself aloud
• Keenly aware of what others are really saying

Have you ever heard clear advice in your own heart and mind, as though a voice of experience was speaking right to you?  Think of the last time you felt trouble or danger, did you hear those words, an alarm, or a voice go off in your head?

Through sight:

• An ability to see the path or various scenarios play out in your mind's eye
• Daydreaming
• Visualization
• Flashes of pictures or words
• Patterns of light, color, shapes, and forms eyes open or eyes closed

Are you the type of person that can see the next step, desired outcome or finished product in your mind’s eye? Think of the last time you have to make a difficult decision, did you weigh the choice by playing the options out through visualization?

Through a sense of inner knowing:

• Dreams
• Sudden flashes of awareness - the sensation of clicking on a lightbulb in your head
• Out-of-body or inexplicable experiences
• A strong, full-spirit pull towards a certain course of action
• Ability to interpret the signs and symbols around you

Have you ever done something or known something to be true, despite the circumstances of the situation? Think of the last time you took a risk with a positive outcome, from the outside-looking-in, were the odds in your favor?

For most people, you are going to be strong in one or two areas, and may get information in-combination, meaning, you might SEE a positive outcome in your mind’s eye while you HEAR your Mom’s voice say, “Go for it!”

JUMP FIRST, THEN SOAR

The trickiest aspect of intuition I have found is that we want to know what intuition is first and then learn how to use it. The truth is, intuition is just the practice of knowing. As in, the more we acknowledge and accept our intuition, the more we come to know of its nature. (How’s that for chicken and the egg?)

If you have ever had the desire to be more intuitive, my most sage advice is to be more intuitive. Hold the idea that you are a radio tower, constantly receiving information in the form of signals, at all times. As individuals, we interpret these signals in our own way. Some are more adept at hearing the messages, others feel their frequency, while some see and interpret the patterns. Learn how you receive you own signals and begin to use that information as guidance in your own life.

The more we begin to trust the information we are getting and use it in our decision-making and actions, the more information you will receive and the greater the gift will become.  This is the art of intuition.