The root chakra is where it all begins. Referred to as the ‘Muladhara’ in Sanskrit, your root chakra is responsible for your overall security and stability in life. The root chakra takes into account your basic survival needs and if they are being met.
Examples of basic needs are having access to food and water, a stable shelter, and feeling safe in your environment. Without your basic needs met, you will naturally feel fearful, unsure of how to make ends meet, experience a state of chaos, and feel ungrounded. Balancing your root chakra creates a solid foundation that you can then build on.
When balancing your chakras, you should always start at the foundation. Without this fundamental foundation, it’s challenging to improve the rest of your chakras.
Quick Facts about the Root Chakra
Central Aspect: Security and Stability
Location: Base of your spine
Color: Red
Primary Function: Increased vitality, stamina, grounding, stability, and earthy.
Element: Earth
Affirmation: I am
Balanced Energy: Increased sense of belonging, well-being, and self-worth, centered, goal orientated, clarity, and in control.
Overactive Energy: Lead to aggressive behavior, overbearing, self-centered, bullier, and sexually inhibited.
Unbalanced Energy: Lack of confidence, depression, low energy, anxiety, worry, panic, resentment, and poor focus.
Physical Symptoms: Low energy, chronic lower back pain, issues with leg, knee, or feet.
Emotional Symptoms: Depression, panic attacks, anxiety, and being emotionally disconnected.
>> To get a complete overview of chakras, we recommend clicking here to read our guide to chakras, how to unblock them to unleash your power.
How to Balance Your Root Chakra
There are many ways to activate your root chakra, which is good news because anyone can do it, regardless of your interests and abilities. Most importantly, you can do it for free and in the comfort of your own home. There are no methods that will change your circumstances or activate your chakras overnight. It takes dedication and commitment, but it isn’t as complicated as you may think. However, the amount of time it takes to open your root chakra varies from person to person. For some, it can be weeks, and for others, months or years. Keeping your chakras balanced is just like an exercise regime; there isn’t an end goal. Instead, it should be continuously practiced throughout your life.
Below are six easy ways to activate your root chakra. We recommend using 1-2 methods to see results. The practices outlined here will help you get intuned with your root chakra, create a mind-to-body connection, and equip you with new knowledge and strength to face the issues that may be causing blockages to your root chakra. Be open to the insights that will come to you as you go on this very important journey.
Crystals to Heal Your Root Chakra
SMOKEY QUARTZ: Transforms negative energy into positive energy, amplifies positive energy, creates grounding energies, promotes detoxifying, allows for connection to all chakras to balance energies.
GARNET: Amplifies energies, promotes grounding and protection.
ONYX: Gives grounding energy, absorbs excessive sexual desire, improves harmony in intimate relationships, allows for improved self-control, calms worry and tension, and soothes nightmares.
OBSIDIAN: Cleanses aura, releases anger and resentment, and enhances protection against negative energy.
HEMATITE: Absorbs negativity, balances energies, relieves stress and anxiety, promotes grounding energies, and enhances detoxifying.
BLACK TOURMALINE: Provides psychic protection, protects against negativity, gives off grounding energy, promotes stress release, and cleanses negative emotions.
How to Use Crystals to Activate Your Root Chakra: Place the crystal on or near the root chakra, in a pocket, as jewelry, or in your receiving (nondominant) hand during meditation and/or while speaking affirmations. (Total Time: 5 minutes)
Yoga Poses to Activate Your Root Chakra
LOW LOUNGE (Anjanesyasana): This pose opens up your root chakra. The low lunge opens up your lower back and releases tension from surrounding muscles and joints.
HAPPY BABY POSE (Ananda Balasana): This pose is easy and practiced anywhere, from your yoga mat to the bed. It has therapeutic benefits and allows for full-body relaxation while helping to open your root chakra.
BOUND-ANGLE POSE (Baddha Konasana): This stretch involves a fold of the hips, which helps open up your root chakra. The pose connects to security and your sense of safety. It also allows you to embrace your sexuality.
WIDE-LEGGED FORWARD BEND (Prasarita Padottanasana I): This pose involves pairing the stability and power of a standing posture with the calming properties of a forward fold. It promotes the opening of the hips and lengthening of your spine. In addition, it allows the body to release all tension.
Yoga Chakra Activation: Get into the following poses and hold for three to five breaths, or as long as it feels comfortable. Come out of the pose on an inhale. (Total Time: 5 minutes)
Essential Oils to Open Your Root Chakra
MYRRH: Myrrh oil opens you up to all manner of possibilities. A key oil for the root chakra, it has a calming effect and gives a feeling of safety. Myrrh promotes spiritual awareness and bridges you to your true self. It allows you to feel safe and at peace with your surroundings.
VETIVER: This is a less known spiritual oil. It allows you to bridge the gap between matter and spirit. It promotes a more open aura while promoting sedation. In addition, vetiver calms chakras activated by aggravating events like trauma.
SANDALWOOD: A great calming oil, Sandalwood is excellent during meditation. It provides you with the calming energy that you need to sit still and concentrate on the self. Belonging to the root chakra, it focuses on harmony and peaceful thoughts.
PATCHOULI: With healing powers against separation and isolation, patchouli does wonders for the soul. It offers comforting energy and stability. It stimulates your mind and allows you to think more positive thoughts.
CEDARWOOD: Cedarwood is the perfect blend of subtleness yet powerful. It is an extract of the cedar tree and possesses excellent grounding energy. Since it’s connected to the earth’s energies, Cedarwood supports our need for survival. In addition, it allows the nervous system to relax by easing tension and calming strong emotions.
SPIKENARD: Spikenard oil can penetrate the brain through the blood. It has grounding energies that promote peaceful sleep. For this reason, it is excellent for meditation and relaxation while stimulating your root chakra.
How to Use Essential Oils to Activate Your Root Chakra: Apply the oil (diluted with a carrier oil) and apply it to your hands, rub them together, and deeply inhale or apply to the soles of the feet to stimulate your root chakra. (Total Time: 5 minutes)
Affirmations to Open Your Root Chakra
How to Use Affirmations to Activate Your Root Chakra: Affirmations can be said any time, anywhere. Speak affirmations during meditation. Before, during, or after Yoga. Times when you feel uncertain. Even in times you are feeling good. In conjunction, you may hold crystals when saying your affirmations. Adding affirmations put us into an even higher vibration. (Total Time: 5 minutes)
“I feel safe and secure.”
“I am connected to my body.”
“I trust myself.”
“I am grounded, safe, and secure. My needs are always met, and I live a life of abundance.”
“I am deeply rooted.”
“I make healthy choices.”
“I am grounded and stable.”
Meditation to Balance Your Root Chakra
Sit on the ground comfortably with your legs crossed or lie flat. Sit with your hands beside you. If you have crystals, hold them in your receiving hand (dominant hand). Close your eyes, focus on your breath.
Take deep belly breaths, in and out, as you visualize the area of your root chakra with a mind-to-body connection. You may also repeat affirmations as you breathe in and out.
You can perform it daily or weekly; aim for around 20 minutes each time. If you are a beginner, start with 5 minutes and build it up.
There are no rules. If your mind wanders, bring your focus back to your breath.
Nutritional Food to Heal Your Root Chakra
How to Heal your Chakras with Food: Think red! Any food that correlates with the color frequency of the root chakra is a good idea. Try incorporating some of the following: Red Apples, Beets, Tomatoes, Pomegranates, Strawberries, Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Turnips, Garlic, Ginger, Parsnips, Paprika.
Conclusion
The Root Chakra is responsible for your basic needs, security, stability, and ability to walk through this life with confidence that you have a sturdy grounding. These conditions can change from time to time in our lives. Or we may have grown up with less than ideal situation that has affected our base Chakra for some time now. It’s possible that we are holding on to the same fears we may have had in childhood or for some time in our teenage years or adulthood.
Spending 5 minutes a day on 1-2 of the recommended practices can allow you to overcome mental and physical barriers that are causing a blockage.
Still not sure if your solar plexus chakra is blocked? Sign up for the Chakra Healing Workshop.
