How Your Root Chakra Can Help Create More Stability and Strength in Life

Our lives are hectic. 

And to a certain degree, it’s pretty normal to feel a little out of balance while you’re juggling everything from work and running errands to being a mom, a partner, a friend, a daughter… 

But feeling unstable and ungrounded can make it hard to focus on what truly matters to you. 

That’s why it’s so important to recognize when your root chakra energy is depleted or blocked and know what to do to bring its energy back into alignment. 

So you can get out of survival mode.

And rooted back into your life.

Root Chakra: It's Meaning and Significance

Color – Red

Element – Earth

The root chakra — also called the Muladhara — is positioned at the bottom base of the spine. Its characteristics are survival, stability, ambition, and self-sufficiency. The word Muladhara is the combination of the two Sanskrit words Mula  — which translates to “root” — and Adhara — which translates to “base” or “support”.

The root chakra creates the entire foundation of your energetic system. It’s the base upon which all the other chakras are built.  When this chakra is out of balance, it can throw all the others out of alignment. 

The root chakra is your survival center. The instinctual and primal energy of survival is the fight or flight response, and this energy comes from our Root chakra. If our basic needs are not met, our Root Chakra can become imbalanced and dysfunctional and cause a disconnection from the things on earth that we value.

Blocked vs Unblocked Root Chakra

When the Muladhara chakra is out of balance, you may feel fearful, anxious, insecure, unstable, and ungrounded, with a lack of ambition and/or purpose. 

The root chakra is the link between our inner energetic system and our outer physical world. It provides us motivation to perform the basic acts of eating, sleeping, and the will to procreate. 

It can also influence feelings of your:

• Focus and presence
• Stability and security
• Survival instinct
• Dependability
• Responsibility
• Sense of belonging
• Sense of groundedness 
• Connection to self and other people

In psychologist Erik Erickson’s stages of development, the first stage is trust vs mistrust. This stage is closely related to the development of the root chakra.

As a baby, if your caregivers were consistent in providing you with what you needed to survive — food, water, love, shelter, love, and affection — then you had a good foundation on which you built your sense of security in the world. 

With this foundation, you grew up trusting that the world around you will provide you with all of your basic needs. You might grow up feeling grounded and safe. You may experience less anxiety and generally tend to worry less.

On the other hand, if you grew up in an environment which was overly chaotic and your caregivers weren’t emotionally available or were inconsistent in giving you what you needed, then you might lack a feeling of trust and security. This upbringing could cause you to experience root chakra imbalance or blockages. 

The powerful grounding energy of the root chakra gives us a feeling of stability and connection to the Earth. When it’s balanced — it creates a space for us to ‘take root’ and allows the flow of its energy to keep us moving forward. It helps keep us aware and rooted in our inner self. 

When this energy is stagnant, imbalanced, or blocked, our vibrancy and appreciation for life are also compromised. This can happen when something threatens our sense of belonging in the world or if we experience something traumatic. This can leave us with feelings of distrust and insecurity.

Some symptoms of root chakra imbalances are:

• Inability to take action and/or lack of motivation
• Feelings of disconnection and isolation
• Anxiety or panic
• Health issues concerning the colon, bowel, bladder, and lower back
• Poor focus
• Poor self-esteem
• Difficulty sleeping and fatigue
• Feeling unsafe, unstable, anxious, and fearful
• Feeling ungrounded or even dissociated
• Living in fight or flight “survival mode”
• Doubting the Earth’s ability to support and nourish you

A balanced root chakra can provide emotional strength and encourage you to let go of feelings of fear and anxiety. 

It increases your sense of belonging and self-worth as you feel secure in your actions and the choices you make. With this balanced root chakra, you’ll feel more stable, strong, independent, and balanced and experience more energy and confidence.

How to Balance and Heal the Root Chakra

There are a variety of ways to help unblock and balance your Root Chakra.

A meditation that focuses on grounding into the earth is a great way to help you find balance and strength while focusing on your root chakra energy. 

For added benefit, incorporating crystals into your meditation may enhance its healing effects. 

Some crystals related to the root chakra include black or green stones and crystals like onyx, hematite, black tourmaline, or red stones like garnet, red jasper, ruby, and red agate are all wonderful options for grounding into root chakra energy, and the element of Earth.

Root Chakra Meditation

Begin by getting comfortable and focusing on your breath. 

Repeat the sound associated with the root chakra “lam” several times until you feel grounded and safe in your space. 

Now bring your awareness to your root chakra. Imagine a soft red colored light nourishing the base of your spine. See it grow larger with every deep and cleansing breath you take.

Visualize this light nurturing long and healthy roots — which grow from the base of your spine — the home of the root chakra. Imagine them finding their way deep into the earth, growing stronger as they nourish themselves within the soil. 

Breathe deeply in and out. With your breath, feel yourself being firmly held and supported by these roots. Feel their strength cradle and ground you into the earth.

Every time you breathe out, imagine yourself releasing what no longer serves you. Send it down the roots so this energy may be absorbed and transformed by the Earth.

When you feel grounded, start to bring your awareness back to your current surroundings and slowly bring yourself back to the present moment. 

Meditation is a great way to help you feel connected to a higher spiritual plane, but it’s also a great way to help ground you back to the earth. It’s not always easy to trust that the world can give you what you need to survive, especially when you’re feeling ungrounded or unsafe.  

Because a strong connection to your higher self and this practice of trusting in a higher power — whatever that means to you — can help give you what you need to feel safe in this world.

Root Chakra Affirmations

Repeating positive affirmations is also a great way to help set an intention to rid yourself of old habits that are no longer serving you and create new and healthy ones.

Brunius, a Reiki Master at the NYC Reiki Center believes that an important aspect of caring for the self and your root chakra is telling yourself every good thing you can think of about yourself. This can help counteract the negative voices in your head and encourage you to see yourself in a new and loving way and give yourself permission to love and cherish yourself for exactly who you are.

For added benefit, incorporate essential oils into this affirmation practice. Grounding essential oils for the root chakra include cedarwood, frankincense, vetiver, patchouli, and sandalwood. 

Take a drop or two, rub them between your hands lightly massage your feet or your tailbone as you inhale, and repeat:

• I am grounded
• I am provided a safe space by the earth 
• I am trusting the universe to support me
• I feel secure and safe
• I feel at home in my earthly body
• The Earth provides me with nourishment and support
• My needs are fulfilled

Take a few deep and cleansing breaths after your practice and set an intention to live by your chosen affirmation as you go about your day.

Spend Time in Nature and Connect to the Earth

Since the element of the root chakra is Earth, it’s important to intentionally take time to connect to it. Take a walk, do some outdoor yoga or mindful movement. Lay on the grass or sit in a park, and feel the warm sun on your face, and the gentle, cool breeze on your skin. Making contact with the earth can help cleanse the root chakra and helps release stagnant energy.

Cristi Christensen, The author of “Chakra Rituals: Awakening the Wild Woman Within'' believes that the root chakra is the root from which true empowerment, health, and overall well-being grow. 

While it’s true that all chakras are connected and part of one system, the sacral chakra has a special connection to the root chakra. “Where the root governs the physical body, the sacral chakra governs our feeling body,” says Christensen.

I always try to live my life from a grounded, stable and rooted space. My morning routine consists of getting up 30 minutes before my family so that I have conscious and consistent time to ground into the energy of my root chakra. I spend this time in meditation, journaling, reading, and walking on the Earth.

To prepare me for the day ahead.

So I can show up for the people I love, and be able to focus on what truly matters to me. 

I SO want this for you. 

As a transformational lifestyle coach, my passion is to help ground and support you on your journey to get from where you are now, to where you want to be. 
If you’re interested in learning more about energy healing, or simply connecting with me, book a complimentary clarity call with me here.