Root chakra

Origin and meaning

Muladhara derives from mūla ("root") and ādhāra ("support, foundation"): "the foundation root". It is the first chakra in the ascending order from the base of the spine to the crown. In tantric tradition, it is the seat of dormant kundalini, the coiled feminine energy waiting for the awakening that will lead it through the seven chakras up to the crown.

Its symbol is a four-petalled lotus flower (the four cardinal directions) with a yellow inverted square inside (the earth element) and the seed mantra LAM. The petals represent the four basic states of mind associated with this chakra. The associated element is earth, the most dense and stable. The associated body is the physical body.

Healthy and unbalanced functions

Healthy root: deep sense of security and belonging, trust that the universe supports you, healthy connection with material reality, basic vitality, healthy sleep, capacity to manifest your needs, stable family ties, abundant relationship with money and the practical. The body works with vitality; the legs and feet are strong and well rooted.

Imbalanced root: by deficiency = chronic anxiety, fear of the future, difficulty grounding, financial precarity, instability in housing, problems with parental figures, weakness in legs, lower back pain, poor digestion. By excess = obsession with material security, hoarding, rigidity, stagnation, resistance to change, excessive weight as a defense, tendency to live "stuck" in concrete. Trauma early life often affects this chakra.

How to balance it

Practices: walking barefoot in nature (forest, mountain, beach), grounding meditations (visualise red roots growing from your perineum to the centre of the earth), gardening, contact with red and earthy stones (red jasper, hematite, smoky quartz, garnet), red foods (beetroot, red fruits) and root vegetables (sweet potato, carrot, ginger). Pelvic-floor strengthening exercises, conscious squats, conscious deep breathing in the lower belly. Mantra: chant LAM.