Root Chakra 101: Understanding and Nurturing Your First Chakra

When it comes to your chakras, the best place to start is at the very beginning. In this case, the very beginning is at the base, also known as your root chakra. Whether you are familiar with the idea of chakras and energy balancing or this is entirely new to you, learning about the way that energy moves in your body is a great way to feel more balanced and in touch with your systems. Present in many traditions across the world, the chakras are the various focal points and energy centers that run along the spinal column. Each represents different states and emotions within the body and mind.

As you may expect, your root chakra is at the very base of the spine. It acts as the foundation for your other chakras. While it is important to know each of the chakras in order to get a full and balanced picture, it is often best to start from the ground up, both when it comes to balancing and learning. Here are a few of the things you need to know about your root chakra.

What Is Your Root Chakra?

Like mentioned above, your root chakra is the first chakra, located at the very base of your spine. Represented by the color red, your root chakra is associated with feelings of safety and security, both in the physical sense and in the emotional sense. Your root chakra is concerned with ensuring that you have food, shelter and all of your other basic needs met. This also includes feelings of safety, security, home and community. Since this chakra is related to survival and security, it lays the foundation for all of the other chakras to build on top of it. Often, trauma and instability can throw this chakra out of balance.

What Does Your Root Chakra Do?

Your root chakra is responsible for helping you feel safe and secure. Essentially, it acts as your emotional center. One of the reasons why it is the best place to start when you begin working on your energetic balance is because it truly lays the foundation for all of your other chakras to align. Many philosophies, both spiritual and agnostic, include the idea that in order to mentally or spiritually ascend and fill other needs, your basic needs must first be provided for. Because of this, your root keeps you centered and grounded, or throws you off balance depending on where you are in life.

When Should You Work On It?

In a word: always. No matter what is going on, it’s always important to check in with and make sure that you have a sturdy foundation. However, there are more specific times that you need to focus on your root chakra in order to grow and progress emotionally. Whenever you are processing trauma, going through a big life change, reevaluating your identity or making peace with people and events from your past, it can be especially important to feel grounded and secure within yourself. These are the times that it is especially important to work on your root.

Root Chakra Exercises

All of this talk about balancing the root chakra has been great, but how do we actually do it? Just like all of the other chakras, the primary way that you should be balancing is through working on your personal connection to it in your own emotional landscape. However, there are so many ways that you can aid in your processing in order to make your root feel more supported. Grounding exercises, meditation, spending time in nature, surrounding yourself with comfortable things, using root chakra crystals, eating dense and nourishing foods, listening to root chakra meditation music and sitting or lying on the ground are all ways that you can exercise and balance your root chakra.

Root Chakra Affirmations

Additionally, there are many affirmations that you can say to yourself, meditate on or even repeat out loud that can help you feel more secure in your chakra. Although it is different for everybody, and people have all different things that they need to focus on when it comes to your root, here are a few of the things you can say to yourself in order to find comfort:

• I am safe and grounded
• I have everything I need
• I am at home in my body
• I am supported by those around me
• I am supported by myself
• I am stable and steady
• I trust myself
• I am supported by the earth

Chakra Talk

Your root chakra is the very base of your spiritual body. In order to build upon it and grow spiritually, you must nurture your chakra and what it represents. There are so many ways to nourish your first chakra, and you can explore them further to find what works for you.