The root chakra may be the root cause of many of your issues! I thought learning about the root chakra may help you look at your body and mind from a different perspective that can help you on your healing journey.
What is a chakra?
Chakra (cakra in Sanskrit) means “wheel” and refers to energy centers in your body. They are thought to be spinning disks or wheels of energy that should be open, balanced, and aligned, as they correspond to bundles of nerves, major organs, and areas of our energetic body that affect our emotional and physical well-being.
Some theories say there are 114 different chakras, but there are seven main chakras that run along your spine. These are the chakras that most of us are referring to when we talk about them. Each of these seven main chakras has a corresponding number, name, color, specific area of the spine from the sacrum to the crown of the head, and health focus.
Balancing the seven chakras can help bring us into a state of optimal health in both the mind and body. There are different mental and physical health issues related to whether the energy is overactive or underactive in a chakra.
Where is the root chakra located?
The root chakra is located at the base of the spine at the perineum, between the anus and the genitals. It also encompasses the sacrum, more commonly called the tailbone. The Root Chakra location signifies its role as a link between the physical world and our internal energetic system.
What does the root chakra represent?
The energies of the Root Chakra help in recognizing our strong connection to the earth. A balanced root chakra keeps us rooted in our inner self and spreads positivity and happiness in life. It relates to our basic, primal needs of survival, stability, and support, and represents the structure of our body, bones, flesh, and skin. Therefore, proper regulation of the earth element is very important for optimal health.
A balanced root chakra can provide emotional strength in the face of fear and anxiety. This results in feeling grounded, safe, and secure. The Root Chakra is associated primarily with survival.
Temporary Blockage
Sometimes your first chakra will close temporarily in an insecure situation such as when you are traveling. This is why so many people experience constipation when they leave home. Your root chakra closes tightly as if to say it is all sealed up, safe, and nothing is coming out!
Emotional Symptoms of a Blocked Root Chakra
Food, water, shelter, and survival are our primary needs. The main focus of the Root Chakra is to satisfy these basic needs. Overeating, hoarding material items, and greed for money are a few negative expressions of survival. These are the signs of an unbalanced Root Chakra.
When our basic survival needs are not met, our Root Chakra becomes dysfunctional and causes a disconnection from our earthly values. As a result, people with a Root Chakra blockage or imbalance tend to experience a range of negative emotional symptoms, some of which include:
Hoarding of material items
Greed for money or materialism
Lack of ambition and direction
Insecurity
Disconnection and isolation
Anxiety
Depression
Self-pity
Food addiction
Alcohol addiction
Workaholic tendencies
Disassociation
Psychologically, people with a blocked root chakra might be anxious or may feel a desire to completely detach from life. Detaching could mean avoiding friends, missing deadlines, or losing track of possessions. Other issues can include struggling to meet your own basic needs, not getting along with family members, a challenge paying bills, and ignoring self-care including simple hygiene.
Physical Symptoms of a Blocked Root Chakra
When the Root Chakra is blocked and imbalanced, it can cause mental stress which is visible through one’s physicality. Conditions related to a blocked root chakra include:
Arthritis
Osteoporosis
Diabetic nerve pain in the feet
Bone pain
Lower back problems
SI joint issues
Constipation
Difficulty having an orgasm
People who get sick all the time
Low energy
Weight issues including eating disorders, obesity, and excessive weight loss
Insomnia
Childhood trauma or abuse is a common cause of why the first chakra becomes blocked. Being neglected or lacking a strong bond with your parental figure can also contribute. If you didn't feel safe as a child, it is difficult to feel safe as an adult without some help. Even if you were not abused as a child, you can have root chakra issues from any time in life when you have struggled with financial, housing, health, or family problems.
Overactive Root Chakra
It is more common to have a blockage than an overload but both issues carry different problems. An overactive first chakra can be caused by too much routine, too little flexibility, rigid boundaries, and a life void of spontaneity. This could have started in childhood from a rigid upbringing or from having so few rules growing up that you overreacted and created rigid rules and boundaries for yourself. You are afraid to be lax because it doesn't feel safe.
Emotional Symptoms of an Overactive Root
An overactive root chakra often leads to hoarding. You may overeat and become overweight from hoarding food, or you may hoard possessions and money. You may tend to have rigid rules and boundaries, rarely allowing yourself to be vulnerable or act spontaneously. This extreme control makes you feel safe but it prevents you from experiencing genuine relationships which leads to loneliness and discontent.
A lack of spiritual beliefs is also common. You tend to be so concrete in your thinking that you have a hard time connecting with any energy source larger than your own, including a Higher Power.
Physical Symptoms of an Overactive Root
The most common physical symptom of an overactive root is obesity. Eating strengthens the root chakra but you can go overboard and eat too much in an effort to feel more substantial, which can result in feeling more secure. For these people, losing weight isn't just a health issue but it feels like a threat to their own safety. If you are overweight, you may think you want to lose weight because of societal or health pressures, but deep underneath the surface being overweight helps you feel safe.
On the other end of the spectrum, you may be hyper-focused on your body. You tend to approach exercise and physical pursuits in an extremely regimented fashion and won't go a day without exercising. You may have highly developed muscles and appear physically healthy but you are out of balance in many other aspects of your life.
Other physical issues include:
Stiff ankles
Problems in the knees and hip joints
Excessive fatigue
A heavy, plodding gait
Foot pain including plantar fasciitis
So as you can see, the root chakra truly can be the root cause of a variety of different issues. The root chakra is the first to form from the time you were in the womb to when you are seven years old. If this energy isn't flowing properly then it creates a shaky foundation for your other six chakras that form along the spine.
How do I balance my root chakra?
I love working with the chakras because there are such a wide variety of tools to help bring them into balance that I feel everyone can find their own method. Spiritual life coaching and yoga therapy are very helpful in this regard but there is also a lot of healing work you can do on your own! There are specific yoga poses, music set to a certain frequency, color therapy, dietary changes, essential oils, guided visualizations, journaling prompts, and more.
One of the most important things to help the root chakra is being in nature. A healthy root chakra feels grounded in the earth, your roots are deeply connected and they help you feel safe and secure. Spending time in nature, doing grounding exercises, walking barefoot outside, lying in the grass, digging your toes into the sand, or gardening can all help bring energy into your root chakra.
Yoga postures that can be helpful include mountain pose, tree pose, and corpse pose. Any movement practice will help balance the energy in the root but you need to be aware if you are overactive or underactive so that you can choose the best activities that will bring you into balance.
Eating root vegetables like potatoes, carrots, and beets can be helpful to support your root chakra. The root chakra is associated with the color red, so you can also focus on eating red foods like strawberries, cherries, and watermelon.
Helpful Affirmations:
My feet are firmly rooted in the earth.
I feel at home in my body.
I am safe, strong, and alive.
My body is well cared for and appreciated.
If any of those affirmations feel uncomfortable or untrue for you, it is a sign that you do have an imbalance in the root chakra and that can help you see where there may be work to do.
I could write for another hour to give you all the ways to heal the root chakra but hopefully, this will get you started! If you use Spotify, you can search for root chakra music. YouTube will give you a plethora of resources, as will Pinterest.
I always feel like working with a coach will help you get quicker results but as long as you are motivated to put in the deep inner work, you can find your own path to healing these issues. It all begins with having self-awareness first. If you need more guidance, please feel free to reach out!