By Aletheia Luna | Guest Writer
Everyone, at some point in their lives, has struggled with a root chakra deficiency. If you were raised in a dangerous neighbourhood, experienced the divorce of your parents, had parents who struggled to pay the rent, lived in relative poverty, and/or were smacked or abused as a child, you likely have an impaired root chakra.
I’ll explore with you how to undergo root chakra healing in this article.
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What is the Root Chakra?
The root chakra, or Muladhara, is our body’s most primal and fundamental energy center, being located at the base of our spine, or groin area. Being associated with the color red, the root chakra regulates the energy associated with instinct, survival, and safety.
When the root chakra is imbalanced due to trauma, psychological issues such as chronic fear, and psychosomatic suppression and repression, we experience a disruption in the flow of life. Often our blocked energy centres lead to constant personal, existential and relationship issues.
What is Root Chakra Healing?
Root Chakra healing is the practice of opening, clearing, cleansing, supporting and strengthening the root chakra within our bodies. Root Chakra healing involves using certain foods, sounds, smells, affirmations, yoga practices, healing crystals, and other holistic remedies to re-establish harmony within the body-mind organism.
15 Signs of an Unhealthy Root Chakra
The best way to tell whether you need to undergo root chakra healing is to pay attention to your thoughts, feelings, actions and physical sensations within your body.
Here are some signs to look out for:
- You tend to obsess about money, e.g. you worry that you don’t have enough, you have catastrophic thoughts that surround going poor and becoming homeless, you over-work to soothe your anxiety surrounding finances, you become triggered whenever someone in your family spends too much, YOU must be in absolute control of the money in your family, etc.
- You have a general mistrust of others (trust issues)
- You believe that the only person you can rely on is yourself, and you avoid asking favours from others (even when you really need them)
- You’re a workaholic who tends to burn out easily
- You have a dysfunctional relationship with your family
- You feel like there’s “never enough” to go around and you need to fight for what you want
- You’re terrified of a loss of control
- You are hyper vigilant to any perceived signs of threat from others or your surroundings
- You feel dizzy, anxious, spacey, and ungrounded for most of the day
- You find it difficult and scary to be your authentic self around others
- You feel disconnected from other people and nature
- You are a hoarder who likes to “collect” a lot of things making your living space constricted and cluttered
- You binge-eat or stop eating completely when you get depressed or anxious
- You have leg and feet problems, such as swelling, infection, cramps, poor circulation
- You tend to gain weight around the bottom half of your body (e.g. love handles, thick thighs)
How many of these signs can you identify with, in this list?
Do You Have a Deficient or Excessive Root Chakra?
When most people talk about unhealthy root chakras, they’re referring to “blocked” or deficient chakras that restrict energy flow.
But did you know that your chakras can also be excessive — or overactive?
So what is the difference between a deficient and excessive root chakra? Essentially, a deficient root chakra can be defined as passive, whereas an excessive root chakra can be defined as aggressive.
Here’s a breakdown:
Deficient = lifeless, sluggish, passive, blocked, inwards (not enough energy flows in).
Excessive = lively, agitated, reactive, aggressive, outwards (too much energy flows in).
Therefore, if you have a deficient root chakra, you will be more prone to issues such as anxiety, suspicion, and withdrawing. On the other hand, if you have an excessive root chakra you will be prone to hoarding, workaholism, greed, and anger.
Deficiency protects, whereas excessiveness overcompensates. So the question is, which do you have? It’s also possible to fall somewhere in the middle.
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17 Root Chakra Healing Practices
So what does a healthy and balanced root chakra look and feel like?
When you have a clear, strong and harmonious root chakra, you will firstly feel grounded and calm. You will no longer have fears surrounded money or loss of control, but will come to trust the divine intelligence of life. Not only will you trust yourself more, but you will also feel connected to others and nature more deeply. When your root chakra is healthy, you will find it simple to be your authentic self-finding the inner peace that is always here in the present moment easier to connect to. You will give up the need to fight, protect and defend, and will instead come into alignment with ebb and flow of life.
Here are some of the best root chakra healing practices out there that I have personally experimented with:
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Listen to grounding music
I recommend the sound of thunder, Mongolian throat singing or the didgeridoo (an indigenous Australian instrument).
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Chant “LAM” to yourself.
This sound matches the vibration of the root chakra. Try drawing out the letters into sounds, such as “lllllllaaaaaaammmmm.” You might also like to listen to binaural beats (a form of music healing therapy) which helps to activate and clear all the chakras through alternating sound waves. Try these chakra healing songs.
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Regularly go for a walk in nature.
Consciously note the connection of your feet to the earth.
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Do targeted yoga
Stretch your body using the simple yoga poses of child pose, forward bend, mountain pose, squat and warrior.
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Eat grounding foods
Think sweet potatoes, beets, radish and other root vegetables.
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Practice 30-second mindfulness
Make a habit of stopping each day and observing your breath for three counts. This simple practice will help to ground you.
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Carry and meditate with crystals
Use root chakra crystals such as jasper, hematite, smoky quartz, and carnelian. My favourite root chakra crystal is black tourmaline (buy it here).
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Cleanse the root chakra with aromatherapy scents
Use oils such as sandalwood, patchouli, vetiver, cloves, black pepper, and ginger.
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Practice “earthing”
Earthing is the practice of walking on the grass or earth for the purpose of recharging the human energy field.
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Carry a totem or grounding piece of jewellery
Carry an object that is associated with revitalising the root chakra (you can find good totem jewellery here).
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Quietly sit down and visualize
Visualize a red ball of light pulsating in your root chakra region (your groin area). Visualize all of the murky energy dissolving as it meets the ball of red light.
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Make time to sit outside every day and connect with nature
Simply observe what is going on; the birds, the clouds, the wind, the light, and sense your interconnectedness with it.
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Use affirmations or mantras
Use mantras or affirmations to reprogram your unconscious thinking patterns. Affirmation-mantra examples include, “I am grounded,” “I am centred and whole, “I trust in the wisdom of life,” “I have everything I need,” “I am safe and secure,” “I surrender,” “I am strong, stable, and at peace.”
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Drink an herbal tea
Drink a grounding tea that contains root chakra cleansing herbs such as ashwagandha and cloves (I recommend this tea).
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Take a soothing shower
Water is a powerful way to cleanse stagnant and blocked energy. Alternatively, have a purifying bath using mineral salts such as Himalayan pink rock salt.
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Explore the cause of your fears
Fears stem from your inner beliefs, grudges, and unresolved pain. Take time to reflect on the root of your fears in a journal or with a trusted friend, partner or therapist.
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Practice catharsis
Practice catharsis every day to actively dissolve blocked root chakra energy. You might like to explore dynamic meditation, or simply jump, kick, punch, shout or dance your tension away.
Final Advice
What to do now with all this information? As someone who has struggled with a severely imbalanced root chakra before, I found that bringing more mindfulness into my days helped immediately and immensely.
Try slowing yourself down, taking more breaks, and connecting with your breath – these are simple and easy first steps you can take. Afterward, you can implement the other healing practices described above.
Tell me, do you have any other root chakra healing tips? Let’s build a free knowledge base here!
About the Author
Aletheia Luna is an influential spiritual writer whose work has changed the lives of thousands of people worldwide. After escaping the religious sect she was raised in, Luna experienced a profound existential crisis that led to her spiritual awakening. As a psycho-spiritual counsellor, tarot reader, and professional writer, Luna’s mission is to help others become conscious of their entrapment and find joy, empowerment, & liberation in any circumstance.
See more of her work at lonerwolf.com.