The energy center at the base of our spine, muladhara, or root chakra, is our connection to Earth and the physical body. Root chakra is the powerhouse that is in charge of our energetic roots.
It is the base of every experience of embodiment.
Imagine a tree growing up in a harsh and windy environment. It may have a beautiful crown and a strong trunk, but without roots going deep and wide, the tree does not stand a chance. It will be uprooted with the first storm.
Now think of all the times you felt like an uprooted tree. Perhaps you were literally uprooted and had to move to another city or country. Or perhaps your marriage ended in a divorce, or you had to change careers. Or maybe it was something as mundane as going on a trip and having to pass through airports and countries. How did it feel in your body, mind, emotions?
Did you feel disconnected? Want to zone out? Did you want to self-soothe with food or alcohol? Was it easy to listen to your body, meditate and be present?
Whatever experience of uprootedness you may have had in your life, is exactly how root chakra blocks feel. You are disconnected from your roots. The bad part is, if the storm comes, and you are still not in touch with your roots, you may get in trouble. Imagine feeling uprooted for generations and lifetimes, never knowing safety or peace.
What are the main symptoms of more permanent blocks to energy flow in your root?
Root chakra block 1
Becoming a “vacuum cleaner” for negative energy
- You cannot rid yourself of energetic “garbage”
This means carrying negativity with you like excess luggage, constantly adding more suitcases.
Over time this manifests as being constantly overwhelmed, bombarded by energies, tired and in pain. Suddenly everything becomes too much, and we can’t handle crowds, big cities, airports… even small birthday parties or events feel like too much.
Root chakra block 2
Somatic issues & disconnect from the physical sensations of the body
- not feeling present in the body
Any traumatic experience throws us out of organic time and into the loop pf “trauma time”. Be it PTSD where the same experience is repeating over and over again, or childhood wounding that makes us recreate the feelings of rejection and not being good enough — trauma keeps us out of the NOW. We can’t deal with reality.
In your opinion, what is the first step for those who want to learn to be in the now? Sophisticated meditations, chanting, or traveling to the Himalayas? Maybe, and these are all wonderful.
But the very first step is usually learning to listen to our bodies. To feel the skin. To feel the earth under your feet. To sense what your body wants to do. How your body responds to a certain food. How your body wants to move in order to stretch or release tension.
If you have no idea how any of these feel or how to listen to the body, this may be an indication of root chakra blocks as well as trauma that needs somatic healing.
Root chakra block 3
Inability to manifest
- This is inability to be self-realized, to give physical form to our desires, to be who we truly are
And I don’t mean manifesting parking spots or new houses. What I mean is it becomes very difficult for our souls to fully manifest in the physical realm, to be present and to bear fruit. This fruit can be family, children, a spiritual practice or a fulfilling career.
Fulfillment just seems out of reach. We can’t seem to create anything on Earth. We cannot bear fruit. Like a tree without roots, we don’t have access to source. Paradoxically, that source for the tree is as much below the ground as above it.
Very often, when we are disconnected from our bodies and physical reality, we tend to spiritualize and rationalize but refuse to be present. I dropped a fork — must be my past life karma and the reptilians cursing me (not that I’m thinking 25 different thoughts at the same time)! We go up into our minds, into our thinking , our imagination, and even genuinely spiritual and high-frequency realms — but we cannot ground any of these realizations into reality.
The tree needs the sun and the air, it needs the rain that falls from the sky. It needs the moon and the darkness of the night.
But it also needs the fertile soil and the waters below the soil. In fact, without the soil, a tree will not grow, no matter how bright the sun is and how often it rains. In much the same way, we don’t stand a chance without connecting to our root chakra.
It may be helpful to summarize most root chakra blocks as grounding issues.
Clearing root chakra blocks actually allows the Spirit to enter the body more fully and start creating effortlessly.
