02.10.08
Chakra Basics: Your Root
Our chakras are the energy centers our consciousness, or energy system, is composed of. The ancient Hindu traditions, who have been studying the consciousness for thousands of years, use the language of the chakras. The word chakra is Sanskrit, meaning vortex, or wheel, and refers to the seven major energy centers. There are over 200 chakras yet we focus primarily upon seven some more advanced seekers focus on ten. These energy centers are: the Crown (7th), located at the top of the head; the Brow Chakra, or Third Eye (6th); the Throat Chakra (5th) at the base of the throat; the Heart Chakra (4th); the Solar Plexus (3rd), located just below the ribcage; the Sacral (2nd), located at the center of the abdomen; and the Root (1st) located at the perineum, just between the anus and sex organs. Also, there are attributes and colors associated with each of our energy centers. As there are volumes written on each chakra, I’ll begin with basic attributes and associations with each one. In this first article, we’ll focus on the Root Chakra.
For a tree to be thriving, it must have a strong Root system. So do we need to be aware of how to strengthen our ‘roots.’ As this chakra’s attributes are shared, allow yourself to get a sense of what it may mean for you. The color associated with the Root chakra, or Root Energy Center, is Red. It is located at the base of your central channel, the energetic vertical line of chakras running through the center of your body (just imagine all your chakras lined up vertically through the center of your body).
Your Root deals with how you relate to survival, how you feel about being on the earth, the ability to allow yourself to be nourished in the sense of allowing your Inner Being to be satisfied and trusting yourself. Imbalance in your Root chakra is most often experienced as various degrees of insecurity or to an extreme, feeling your survival is threatened.
Scarcity versus Abundance, Lack versus Knowing – When your Root chakra is in balance, you are in complete knowing and trust that the earth supports you and you take your place upon the earth firmly and with confidence; you show up on time, create the financial abundance to surpass your needs; you do what you say you want to do. You possess the ability to step from survival to thriving.
Here is a simple exercise to become aware of and strengthen your Root. Close your eyes, stop multi-tasking in your mind, clear your thoughts, feel as though you have a transparent red sphere where your Root chakra is housed, at the base of your central channel, and feel the sensations that are brought to your attention now that you have a sense of the Root chakra’s basic elements. Do you feel steady and strong in life, or are you wavering, acquiescing to other’s perceptions and dreams of what and how you should be rather than standing firm in and for your own dreams? Notice what you feel, allow whatever sensations and feelings to come into your conscious mind. Cease any analysis, just allow yourself to observe what you see in your mind’s eye and feel in your body. Begin to imagine your Root as being strong and steady and any observations to the contrary are simply aspects that you allow to transform, in perfect timing.. Say to yourself ‘As I go through my day, I allow insights to come from within and know the clarity from the insights I receive will be known in their right timing. I walk forward in the strength of the root of who I am and look forward to my experiences as they unfold for me.”
Of course this is quite basic for some, but at times, when going back to the beginning we gain deeper awareness. For those to whom this is new, be easy about what you notice. The more you activate the strength of your Root energy center, the more your experiences will match that strength. So be amazed, be very amazed!
