Get your Chakra On: Building a Foundation

"To lose connection with the body is to become spiritually homeless. Without an anchor we float aimlessly, battered by the winds and waves of life." - Anodea Judith

First Chakra is the Muladhara (Root Chakra)

Color is Bright Red

You already know what the muladhara chakra is. When you come to sit at the front of your mat in a comfortable seated pose, with your legs crossed and tailbone rooting down into the earth, you are engaging a powerful energetic field in your body. This simple and easy seat anchors us into the floor and allows the rest of the body to rise and stack on top of it. In this pose, we find presence, stability, grounding: we find a balanced foundation. From this place, "our attention is concentrated in the here and now, bringing a dynamic intensity to the way we present ourselves. Our experience is direct, sensate, immediate. We are confident yet contained, connected with our own source of support," (Anodea Judith).

According to Anodea Judith's incredibly beneficial book, Eastern Body,Western Mind, "a chakra is a center of organization that receives, assimilates, and expresses life force energy." We unconsciously connect to this energy while sitting, walking, and/or lying down. Our body is able to move and grow from this deep seated place of inner strength. Accessing this chakra begins with the physical body: noticing how we breathe, how we feel connected, how we feel safe, how we feel taken care of. When we play with this chakra we begin to notice that we are self contained centers for healing. When we begin to acknowledge this source of inner strength we can grow, expand and change with ease and excitement rather than fear and uncertainty.

This is a concept that has been very resonant in my life at the moment. I was talking to a dear friend yesterday about fear and it's creation within each and every one of us. She was very astute to note that fear is self-made. It's an abstract concept that is built within our own heads. This is kind of amazing if you think about it. If we create our fears than we have the power to eradicate them from our lives. We are bound to encounter moments of uncertainty and change, I know that my life is full of these feelings at the moment, if we reached into the unknown with a sense of curiosity, we might begin to manifest not only positive change, but we might also be able to take on our fears. This is not an easy task, but it is worthwhile to consider and try on.  Anodea Judith notes that, "fear exists as an ally of self preservation, teaching us of our own importance and the need to take care of ourselves." Fear is our body telling us that we need to examine our roots. We were know where we are, we can figure out how to expand and flourish from this supported place.

Take a moment to find a quiet seat and then repeat these phrases to yourself.

 Don't worry, you will feel them when you are ready. 

You are here.

You are safe. 

You are supported. 

You are abundant. 

You are rooted. 

You are home.