As you probably know, the 7 chakras are a series of energy centers located in different parts of the body. However, if you’re like most people, you probably don’t know how to work productively with your root chakra. For example, how do you know exactly where they are, and what they influence? Meanwhile, how can you tell when something is wrong with one of them? And what do you to fix that problem? Understanding the location and role of each chakra is an exciting, empowering step in boosting your well-being. However, you might feel clueless about where to start.

The smartest first step you can take is to learn all about the root chakra, the foundational chakra. We’ll explain how to activate your chakras as well as how to know when your chakras are misaligned. Similarly, learn how to unblock the root chakra, and how to perform the best chakra healing exercises.

What Is A Chakra? Root Chakra Meaning And Location

As noted above, the seven chakras are core energy centers. You’ll find them all throughout your body, from the crown of your head to the bottom of your back.

The Root Chakra is foundational. When all is well with this chakra, you’ll feel secure, calm and anchored in reality. You’ll be bold enough to tackle new challenges, and you’ll feel confident doing so. This makes a properly aligned Root Chakra vital whenever you’re trying something new or pursuing a major life goal.

Root Chakra Information Summary

• Physical Location: The bottom of your spine (where your tailbone is located).
• Color: Red.
• Element: Earth.
• Associated Animal: Elephant.
• Emotional Issues and Behaviors of Blocked Root Chakra: If your Chakra is blocked you may feel threatened, panicked or anxious. This anxiety can easily infiltrate your thoughts, making everything suddenly feel uncertain. You may also find that you can’t concentrate and that you’re constantly preoccupied with worries about your well-being. In some people, this can manifest as hypochondria or general paranoia. Physical issues potentially caused by a blocked Root Chakra include a sore lower back, low energy levels, and cold extremities.

Balancing Chakras: What Is The Root Chakra Responsible For?

Experts on working with chakras teach that all of these energy points are connected to different aspects of your physical and emotional life. When they are open, your body and mind will be optimized for success.

In contrast, blocked or misaligned chakras are linked to unhappiness and stagnation. Learning how to identify and work with your chakras allows you to quickly notice blockages and solve them. By starting with the root Chakra, you lay the foundations for later work with the other six chakras.

Sometimes called Muladhara, the root chakra is related to all your basic needs. The word “Muladhara” is sometimes translated as “root support” or “base”. The Root Chakra sits at the base of your spine, and it is highly responsive to everything connected to your security. For example, it influences, and is influenced by, the following:

• How grounded you feel
• Your basic physical drives (e.g. food, shelter, and rest)
• The sense of safety you feel
• Your survival
• How confident you feel to change and grow

All of this means that when the root chakra is in alignment, you’ll be at peace. Feeling stable, relaxed, and comfortable with your life. A well-balanced root chakra also gives you the sense of safety required to explore and to try new things.

On the other hand, the root chakra can quickly become blocked or misaligned if anything in your life doesn’t feel secure. If you’re worried about a basic need (such as housing or money), this directly impacts on your root chakra. This is the case even if the threat is imaginary (e.g. due to anxiety) rather than imminently likely.

Blocked Root Chakra Symptoms

A root chakra imbalance can throw your whole system out of order, leaving you feeling ungrounded and uncomfortable.

Some of the most common root chakra problems and symptoms include the following:

• An increase in your anxiety levels
• Feeling threatened or unsafe
• Panic attacks or panic attack symptoms (like hyperventilation or a racing heart)
• Negativity towards yourself and others
• Concentration difficulties
• An unhealthy relationship with food (e.g. starving, binging or purging)
• Low self-confidence
• Doubts about things you used to take for granted
• Trouble making decisions
• Excessive reliance on external feedback
• Hypochondria

Physical symptoms of a blocked or misaligned root chakra include the following:

• Back pain
• Lethargy
• Digestive discomfort
• Pain in the legs
• Cold hands and feet

In some cases, you won’t know quite why your root chakra has become misaligned. However, remember that anything that shakes your sense of security can block the root chakra. Common examples include losing a job, coping with the end of a relationship, encountering financial difficulties, conflict with close family members, witnessing sometimes frightening, and received a troubling health diagnosis.

As you learn to work with the root chakra, you’ll spot these triggers and know which exercises to do in order to pre-empt major misalignments.

Root Chakra Healing: How To Open And Unblock Your Root Chakra

Opening each chakra has a different benefit for your bodily and emotional well-being. Ideally, you’ll develop techniques for all of the chakras at some point, but it’s wise to start with the foundational one. Learning how to open the root chakra, in particular, is fairly straightforward, but it can have profound impacts on how you feel. You can improve your self-confidence, feel more ready to face your feels, experience a deeper sense of relaxation, and feel more engaged in fun or playful interactions. The basic sense of stability that you cultivate will permeate all aspects of your life.

We’ll look at four particularly useful techniques for unblocking the root chakra, offering concrete advice for integrating each exercise into your daily life.

1. Use Root Chakra Stones And Jewelry For Healing

Influencing chakras often involves using unique stones, sometimes in the form of jewelry. By simply wearing or holding these stones, you may be able to realign or begin to unblock a troubled chakra. However, each chakra is associated with different stone. The following four are the traditional root chakra stones.

• Red Jasper. The root chakra’s associated color is red, so it’s no surprise that many of the root chakra stones are red as we. This one is linked to balancing, so it’s an ideal stone to have if you are battling erratic mood swings.
• Red Carnelian. A pale red stone with orange hues, red carnelian is associated with strength, cleansing, and bravery. It is a good choice if you particularly struggle with fearfulness and can’t bring yourself to leave your comfort zone.
• Obsidian. A black gemstone, obsidian is said to protect you from harm. You may draw some comfort from wearing it as you work to move to a place of greater security in your life.
• Bloodstone. The stone itself is green. The name refers to its red spots. This semi-precious stone is linked to pushing away negative energy and increasing confidence. A perfect stone for combatting significant root chakra blocks.

2. Root Chakra Meditation And Yoga Techniques

When it comes to overall healing, root chakra meditations can also help you. Chakra meditation techniques are very much like regular meditation techniques, but with a focus on one specific area of the body. Try this simple but effective root chakra meditation:

1. Sit with your shoulders back and your spine straight. Try to relax all your muscles as you close your eyes and breathe deeply. Inhale through the nose, pulling the breath as far down into your body as you can, and exhale through the mouth.
2. Turn your attention to the location of the root chakra, right below your tailbone. Notice any tightness in the area.
3. Since the root chakra’s element is red, try picturing a red glow at the base of your spine. This glow will slowly expand, making the whole area warm and relaxed. Rest in this sensation for 3-5 minutes.
4. When you’re ready, slowly open your eyes. Sit for a few minutes before continuing with your day.

Some yoga poses are also linked to your root chakra’s functionality. For example, root chakra yoga poses include Balasana, which involves lying face down, resting on your knees and calves, then extending your arms out in front of you as your head drops down between them.

3. Chakra Foods List And Diet Suggestions

Other chakra exercises involve making small changes to your diet. Experts on rebalancing and opening the chakras are increasingly interested in the impact food can have on your alignment and vibration. Firstly, you’ll typically find that a healthy diet helps to keep your chakras open. This means reducing levels of salt, sugar and saturated fats, and increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables.

However, there are also specific foods that are linked to the root chakra. Anything organic is an excellent option because the root chakra is opened by anything connected to our tribal roots. In addition:

• Protein-rich foods help to ground you and give you physical strength, which then helps to boost emotional strength. Good examples include beans, tofu, green peas, spinach, and almonds.
• Red foods automatically influence your root chakra because of its association with the color red. These foods usually give you lots of vitamin C, as a bonus. Think of strawberries, cherries, tomatoes and red bell peppers.
• Root vegetables like beets, garlic, and potatoes are all grounding too, partly because they grow in the soil. This link to the earth foundations means they can also help to rebalance a misaligned chakra.

4. Root Chakra Affirmations To Use

Finally, targeted affirmations are incredibly useful for root chakra healing. As with all affirmations, you can repeat these positive statements multiple times a day, or anytime you get a sense your chakra might be blocked. In particular, you might want to try saying one or more of these root chakra affirmations right before or after you meditate, or when you get ready for the day ahead:

• “Wherever I am, I am safe and secure.”
• “I am stable, grounded and relaxed in this moment.”
• “All of my safety needs will always be met.”
• “I have a healthy body, a healthy mind, and an abundant life.”
• “I am anchored to the earth and supported by the universe.”
• “The universe will always support me and show me where to go next.”
• “I deserve and receive support whenever I need it.”
• “The universe will always provide for me.”
• “I feel my root chakra opening, and I feel myself stabilizing.”
• “I am secure and happy in my home.”

You can also combine affirmations with yoga poses, or try holding one of your root chakra stones while saying an affirmation. Some people also like to write their affirmations down, placing them in a prominent place as they continue daily chakra work.