The Root

So much of life is out of our control. It makes me feel as if I am powerless. Over the decisions that others make, over what other people choose. Sometimes I even feel like I am powerless over myself and what happens to me. Most times, I am powerless, but there are ways I can feel powerful. Even when decisions are being made for me, most of the time, I can still stand up and say no, that isn’t what I want. Maybe sometimes those people trying to make my decisions have good intentions, but maybe sometimes they don’t. And even if they do, who is to say that their decision is right for me?

To feel powerless. I know the feeling. To feel like you don’t have any control. Sometimes we don’t, and when I look at those moments, I see there are actions I won’t do again. I learned, I grew, I grounded. As I gain my power back I remember. I remember who I am. I remember my values. I am reminded that life doesn’t have to look the same for all of us. Life doesn’t have to look like hating your job, hating what’s around you. Hating your life. Isn’t that funny? That it almost seems like we are encouraged to hate what we do. I love what I do. I will love it even more on this new journey.

Welcome to the root chakra, where we root into the physical world and earth around us.

The root chakra offers a physical sense that I can come back to. It is my physical body. I know where to turn to, and how to find movement to reconnect with my foundation. When life feels a bit messy, I can go back to the start. Back to my basic needs to check in on them. Maybe I ventured on someone else’s path. When I come back to the root chakra, I start back at my own beginning. I come back to my root over and over again. That’s the point, to not get so lost to where I can’t find my roots. My tree has started growing. Its not a full tree but its not as fragile either. It’s still important for me to go back. To feel connected again. Especially whenever I feel I am being dug up. When my goals aren’t on track.

Yoga isn’t that serious. At least not to me. Its just a guide. Just a map. There are many different ways to get to the end. One size doesn’t fit all. If we get lost, we can just go back to the start. Make sure that our basic needs are met. When I am getting overwhelmed or stressed, I go back to the start and ask if I have food, shelter, stability. I focus in on my physical affirmations. Am I safe?

At times when my root chakra is imbalanced, I feel unstable, I feel like I do not have a right to be here without realizing that I am right where I need to be to make a different choice. The mornings and days when I feel like I do not want to exist, I go back to the start. I go back to those core needs. I have the right to have what I need to survive.

The emotions we keep held in the body. Deep in our ligaments, tendons, and muscles. Like I said in one of my songs “The body remembers what the mind cannot” I shut my mind off, come back to my roots, feel my physical body, and clear my mind. This helps me unite my mind and body, solidifying my foundation, and healing my home.

I lean on my family and my friends when I feel my foundation shaking. I look to the ones I trust and more importantly, I look to the trust in myself. It’s funny how a song can bring me back. Back to myself, back to a memory. A memory that I trust? A memory that reminds me of a time when I trusted myself. Listen to that song. Listen to that album. Nourish the child inside of you, the infant. The infant is the one that needs the most support. An infant cannot take care of itself. It must lean on others. When we are infants, we don’t choose the roots we are given, the people around us. We don’t get to choose who we lean on. As an adult we do get to. We get to pick out the very people to trust. The people that will bring health, prosperity, and nourishment to our souls. The root chakra is the stage of infancy.

Ground in nature. Our physical survival comes from the earth. Going back to the root means going back to the start and what better way than to go back to the physical that ties us all together. All basic needs come from this earth. Food, water, air. When we push against the earth, we feel the ground beneath us, we feel rooted and still. When we feel the body, we feel what it means to be alive. The body isn’t something to be afraid of, and instead something to celebrate. Move the body in ways that help you feel the earth beneath you. Feel the ground as you walk. Feel each step you take, and the earth beneath the soul of the foot. I don’t even have to do yoga in order to practice my awareness to the earth and my ground. Before I speak, I feel the earth beneath me. I remind myself I am not alone even when I am the only one standing. With the earth supporting me, I feel like I can do anything. I can stand anywhere with solid ground underneath me. I move slowly, taking the time to feel every movement. Every point of contact.

The thing about the root chakra is in this phase we still haven’t learned who to trust. We haven’t made the decision on who can nourish us. We trust all of those around us because that’s all we know. We are looking to just get our physical needs met when we are in this state. We don’t know how to filter out what is unwanted. That is why it is so important to revisit this chakra as often as possible. To continue to grow the most important trust there is, the trust in the self. After physical abuse, abandonment, neglect, illness, poverty, it can be difficult to build that trust again. Physical abuse can also be self-inflicted through eating disorders, intentional self-inflicting pain, and neglect of your own needs and feelings. If anything feels missing, come back to this. When you feel like one of your spokes on your wheel aren’t in line, come back to the root. Find the sense of belonging, remember your right to be here. It’s important to practice and to rebuild the trust in the self. Meet the basic needs of the root chakra so you can set proper boundaries. Come back to the root so you can determine when enough is enough or when you need more. And don’t ignore yourself. Remember we are building trust here. Trust in the self. Don’t neglect your needs for someone else’s needs. If there is something going on where you don’t feel like you can cover your basic needs, there are services that are available to help you. Utilize those, balance the chakra, get your needs met so you can continue growing and helping those around you.  

Develop this chakra. Without this chakra, setting boundaries is not possible. The start of independence is not possible. If you know you cannot give yourself food, water, shelter, stability, you give someone else that power. Whether that be a job, a spouse, a parent. It’s one thing to have help, its another to depend. Depending is not wrong, but when you depend on the wrong person, that’s where things get messy.

I have the right to be here, the right to take up space, and to attend to my needs.

You have the right to here, the right to take up space, and the right to attend to your needs.

Taking care of those needs doesn’t look the same for everyone. Find what works for you. Grounding is a slow process. Methodical and intentional. Bring awareness to the souls of your feet the next time you take a step, if you are doing a yoga flow, pay attention to the points of contact with the earth. Ground when you need to, when you don’t feel like you have control.

 Thanks for reading!

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