In this practice we are going to explore the root chakra,
Also known as the muladhara chakra,
In Sanskrit.
This is an energy center located at the base of your spine.
You will also be playing with movement and sensation of the legs and circulatory system as they relate to the root chakra energy.
This can be a helpful practice to rebalance your energy centers,
Reduce anxiety,
And connect to the lower half of your body.
So begin in a standing position,
If possible,
With enough space around you to be able to move a little bit.
Have your feet bare or with socks as long as you don't feel slippery.
And if standing is not an available option,
You can sit on a stable chair where your feet are able to press flat on the ground.
As you find your feet on the floor,
Take your feet a little bit wider than your hips so that you have a nice wide base from your feet to your legs to your pelvis.
Let your gaze start to soften or bring your eyes down to a close.
We'll begin with a meditation,
And I will offer a description and some context around the root chakra's identity.
I'm borrowing the following words from Anodeya Judas' book,
Eastern Body and Western Mind.
The element associated with the root chakra is earth.
Root in Sanskrit is mudhara.
It's located at the base of the spine.
Its purpose is foundation.
The root chakra is associated with roots,
Grounding,
Nourishment,
Trust,
Health,
Home,
Family,
Prosperity,
And appropriate boundaries.
Some affirmations of the root chakra.
It is safe for me to be here.
The earth supports me and meets my needs.
I love my body and trust its wisdom.
I am immersed in abundance.
I am here and I am real.
So take a moment to breathe in all of that information.
Allow it to circulate in your body in some way.
Imagine your breath start to travel down to your root chakra,
Awakening any new sensation,
Space,
Or awareness.
Simply notice what you notice without any judgment or interpretation.
Come into sensation and feeling.
Invite in the color red.
Start to imagine red saturating through your body.
Imagine red filling behind your eyes.
Imagine red circulating through your body.
Imagine red pooling at the base of your spine.
Feel into your root chakra as if it were a base of a fountain.
Feel all of this red start to rise from the root.
Let the red separate into many,
Many rivers.
Red traveling through and down your legs all the way down to your feet.
Red rising rivers up through your torso,
To your heart,
Behind your lungs,
Through your shoulders,
Your arms,
Your fingertips.
As you embody this image of red rivers,
Follow any impulse to move.
Allow a response to emerge.
You feel,
Follow,
And explore your own sensorial responses.
What kind of movement is present with you now?
What is the feeling?
What is the quality?
What is the shape?
What is the direction?
Invite yourself to feel into some density.
Play with different qualities of weight offered by the following images.
Wet clay.
Fertile soil.
Thick honey.
Feel into new emerging qualities of sensation and movement.
Notice if there are any changes of movement impulse.
Notice any moving images passing through.
Continue to explore and allow the movement to be authentic to what's needed in this moment.
Any and all expression of yourself is welcome.
Allow your breath to come into relationship with all that's happening for you now.
Notice what happens when you become aware of your breath.
Maybe there's a deepening or a yawn.
New sensations start to awaken through awareness of breath.
Bring your attention now to the lower part of your body.
Your upper half can stay moving in whatever flow it's in.
Anchor some kind of attention into your root chakra and let your awareness extend down your legs.
Feel into the thickness and density of your thighs.
If it's helpful,
You can bring your hands to your legs.
Give yourself a little squeeze or a shake,
A massage.
Bear a little bit of weight with your hands on your legs.
Feel into where your leg meets your hips and find some fluidity in the hip joint.
Allow your root chakra to grow its roots through your hips and legs.
Remember that roots are channels for water.
So there is aliveness and wetness in roots,
A fluidity of movement.
Imagine these roots as its own circulatory system with the root chakra as the heart.
And sense the soles of your feet open like sponges,
Receiving nourishment from the ground.
Feel the rise up through your legs,
Coming into your root chakra.
From the root,
Allow all of that energy to move back down through thick legs and down again through the soles of your feet,
Releasing into the ground.
Allow the movement that is awakening for you now.
Take some time to continue and explore all of these elements that have come and gone through your body.
Roots,
Red,
Density,
Weight,
Circulation.
Continue to explore this for as long as you need,
Letting yourself come to a rest whenever you feel called.
