What Happens When Your Muladhara Is Off?
It’s not a bone in your body. It’s not a hormone. So don’t reach for your pills to fix the discomfort. Muladhara is the first chakra that resides at the base of your spine. Muladhara is one of the seven energy centers in your spine that are located beginning at the base. The other six travel up the spine to the final one resting just above your head like a halo. In ancient metaphysical tradition and beliefs, these energy centers are the vital connections to your body, your world, and experiences in it.
Caroline Myss, medical intuitive and author of Anatomy of the Spirit (1996) wrote, “Every thought and experience you’ve ever had in your life gets filtered through these chakra databases. Each event is recorded into your cells…”, in effect, your biography becomes your biology.
That’s why in life we need to dive beneath our skin to the space in our body where the energy or lack of energy (depending on how balanced you are) resides. Diving into the chakras and understanding how they relate and create balance or imbalance in my life is a rich lesson in self-discovery. Right now there is an imbalance for me in my muladhara (root chakra) centered around the desire to create the life I want to live with the career I want to follow. This over-active root chakra manifests symptoms in both the mental and physical body.
Over the years, I’ve suffered greatly from digestive issues but have gradually come to a place where I have found harmony and balance. Through focus on the present moment and alignment with healing energy and grounding of my root chakra and my yoga practice, I’ve begun to heal. I believe many people experience similar issues, a lack of rooted balance to the muladhara chakra. This imbalance presents many issues in people’s lives. Irritable Bowel Syndrome, anger, depression, and a poor immune system all can be symptoms for an over-active root chakra. Conversely, an under-active root chakra can leave you feeling disconnected from the world and your body. You might lack stamina and fatigue easily.
For me, it presents as a lack of trust. The inability at times to trust, have faith, and accept that “all is truly well”. Staying connected to the positive energy path, guiding my breath and clearing any negative/unwanted energy around my first chakra, paves the way for healing and trust to spread in and around me.
I found this affirmation very helpful to support bringing my root chakra into balance. “I am safe, loved and supported in every way in the world around me. I am a part of Gaia (mother-earth). I am at peace with my surroundings, with the people, and circumstances that occur. All is well in my world and working toward a better life for me and those around me.”
I also am balancing through supportive plant-based foods that aim to create balance in the root chakra by consuming: beets, red apples, carrots, strawberries, and ginger. My meditational chants include the word “Lam” which is the sound associated with the root chakra. This chakra vibrates in harmony to the “C” tone in music.
Ultimately, though, I have found the fastest way to actively balance my muladhara is to get one with nature. The element associated with the root chakra is Earth. Now, I understand why being in nature always brings a soothing presence into my life. It literally helps me get rooted to the present moment. A hike up Torrey Pines is therapy for me. It’s connecting me to the place I am a part of–Gaia–it is my home, my journey, my roots to a happier fulfilled life.
