Location – Base of the spine
Colour – Deep red and other dark colours such as black and brown
Element – Earth
Primal energy – Survival
Vibration – Slowest
Glands – Adrenal (top of the kidneys) and endocrine. These are the ovaries in women and the testes in men. The foundations of life.
Related body parts – Legs, feet, knees, intestine, coccyx and the groin area.
Crystals – Smoky Quartz, Black Tourmaline, Garnet, Ruby and Hematite.
(any red, black, brown or dark earth coloured crystals).
When working with the Chakra system, we start at the bottom, number 1.
The 1st chakra is often referred to as the Base Chakra or Root Chakra and the importance of this chakra is often overlooked, especially when we’re looking for more ‘spiritual’ enlightenment or guidance.
It is believed by many that the higher Chakras are the ones that are going to help with spiritual evolution. This is not so true! For us to evolve ‘spiritually’, our foundations need to be rock solid. If you can imagine just for a moment that your house is built on dodgy foundations, ones that are weak and unstable…it’s not rocket science to understand that your house may topple down at any time. It is exactly the same as the bodily chakra system. The root chakra, our 1st primary chakra is the most important of them all. If we have a strong foundation, then all other levels have a stable and secure platform on which to evolve and grow.
The root chakra is located at the base of the spine, on the perineum. It is primal energy. One of survival. Who are we? How do we see ourselves? How comfortable are we with our lives? How much energy we have and how we relate and connect to the natural world.
The colour associated with this chakra is a deep red colour, other colours such as black and brown are also associated with the root chakra. It won’t come as a shock to learn that the root chakra is connected to the earth element and the vibration of this chakra is the slowest of them all.
The glands that work with the root chakra are the adrenal glands (found on top of the kidneys) and the related parts of the body are the legs, feet, knees, intestine, coccyx and the groin area. The root chakra works with the endocrine glands too. These are the ovaries in women and the testes in men. It really is the foundation of life.
The root chakra is all about being grounded in this world and understanding who we really are. When the root chakra is unbalanced, we can often experience things such as anxiety, a lack of energy or vitality, constipation, problems with the bladder, lower back pain, feet and knee problems, sciatica, varicose veins, obesity and other eating disorders. We can also experience life as though everything is against us, and we can become increasingly defensive and unable to take responsibility for our own life.
When I first learnt about the root chakra, the one way I learnt to connect with this energy was to spend more time in nature and to move my physical body more.
There are many ways in which we can work with the root chakra to bring it back to full vibrant life. Ones that I particularly enjoy doing are dancing, drumming and stomping on the ground. I was taught this right at the very beginning, and I can’t express how life-changing it was.
Any connection with the earth or ground is a really good way to work with the root chakra. Just by sitting on the grass, walking barefoot or actually feeling the earth with your fingers is a way of working with this chakra.
Crystals that work well with the root chakra are those of the same associated colour, so any crystals that are red, black or brown would be perfect. My favourites are Smoky Quartz, Black Tourmaline, Garnet, Ruby, Hematite and Blood Stone.
Related
Who are we? How do we see ourselves? How comfortable are we with our lives?
How much energy we have and how we relate and connect to the natural world
Unbalanced
Anxiety & depression, lack of energy or vitality, constipation, problems with the bladder, lower back pain, feet and knee problems, sciatica, varicose veins, obesity and other eating disorders. Feeling like everything is against you. Being defensive and unable to take responsibility.
To balance
Spend more time in nature and move your body. Dancing, drumming and stomping on the ground. Sitting on the grass, walking barefoot, weeding and gardening.