How Yoga for Root Chakra Saved Me
I would feel like a leaf in the wind, and always able to feel anxious and out of touch with my own existence. Even a mere challenge would be enough to put me into a tailspin and I never felt completely safe and secure, regardless of what I accomplished. My sleep was disjointed, my money was a thorn in my flesh and a low-level fear was my undesired friend.
Only after a yoga teacher had mentioned that I always had poor balance on and off the mat, did the phrase yoga for root chakra firstly come to my ears. She described this center of energy at the foundation, which is found in the bottom part of the spine, as our connection to the world. The blocked and unbalanced is exactly what we feel like I was feeling, fearful, anxious, and ungrounded.
She presented me with a simple and regular routine, and, frankly, things have changed. This is not spiritual fluff because a study released in 2017 by the International Journal of Yoga concluded that the regular yoga practice can significantly lower the level of cortisol (the stress hormone) and relieve the symptoms of anxiety. In my case, this was the factual evidence of what I was experiencing engulfing an actual transition of surviving to really thriving. And you can go through the same practice I did to get on my feet.
So What the Hell is the Root Chakra?
Once we start with the poses it is useful to know what we are dealing with. The root chakra is referred to as Muladhara in Sanskrit meaning root support. Imagine it is the cornerstone of your whole house of energy. When the foundation is weak or broken, the entire structure is shaking.
Your root chakra is concerning your most basic human needs:
Queues: Are you physically and emotionally safe?
Stability: Does your life, routine up to your finances, have solid ground?
Food: Do you eat well, sleep well and stay well?
Belonging: Do you feel a sense of belongingness to your family, your community and the earth?
Your root chakra will be open and balanced and this will make you feel confident, grounded, and prepared to meet the challenges of life. Being blocked can result in feeling anxious, having financial fear, not being in touch with your body, as well as feeling spaced out in general.
Your Essentials Kit: The Yoga of Root Chakra Best Poses.
A practice of yoga with the root chakra is aimed at uniting with the ground physically, strengthening the legs and feet, and establishing a sense of calmness. These are the poses that turned out to be my non-negotiables.
Mountain Pose (Tadasana)
This is the perfect grounding pose. It appears to be not complex, yet it is the point of starting all.
How to perform it: Stand, having your big toes together and heels a little apart. Press your four corners of the feet evenly into the ground. Activate your thigh muscles, lift your tailbone down and relax your shoulders. Take a great breath, and picture your feet with roots deeply rooted in the earth.
Why it is effective: It gives you a sense of what it is like to be in stable standing, and establishes a line of direct connection with the ground.
Warrior I (Virabhadrasana I)
This stance of power creates strength, solidity, and intense confidence.
How to do it: Starting in Mountain Pose, back one foot, maintain a 90-degree angle of your front knee and leave your back leg straight and firm. Turn your hips forward as far as you are allowed. Stretch your arms above your head, and feel it stretching in all your body.
Why it is effective: It supports with feet, uses legs and forms a strong and stable base, both literally and energetically.
Tree Pose (Vrksasana)
The balance poses are a direct challenge–and a reinforcer–of your root chakra.
How to: Mountain Pose. Get yourself to one foot and put the sole of your other foot on your inner calf or inner thigh (not your knee). Bring your hands to your heart or bring them upwards like branches. Find somewhere on the floor to stare at and breathe.
The secret of its success: It needs such concentration and stability on the standing foot. Any wobble is a chance to be in the middle again.
Child’s Pose (Balasana)
It is a forward-bending, restorative pose that offers an in-depth feeling of safety and yielding.
The way to do it: Kneel on the floor, squeeze your big toes, and lean on your heels. Keep your hips apart and hinge forward (with your forehead on the mat). You are able to stretch your arms or to lean your body, which is supported by arms.
Why it works: This forehead to the earth contact is so calming to the nervous system that it directly appeals to the aspect of the root chakra that is concerned with safety.
Squat (Malasana)
A primal posture that opens up the hips and ground you very seriously.
How to do it: Stand with your feet a little further than hip-width with toes facing out. Squat down on the floor, with heels as low as you can. Bend your palms in your heart and squeeze your knees with your elbows.
How it works: It forms a broad, stable base and engages much of your body to the earth which activates the bottom of your spine.
Bridge Pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana).
A mild backbend that is invigorating the spine and opening the hips.
The way to do it: lie on your back with your hips bent in a 90 degree position and your feet flat on the floor. Use your feet and push yourself upwards towards the ceiling. Put your hands together behind you, and roll the shoulders.
Why it is effective: It helps to make the back and legs stronger and provides a soft, supportive lift on the basis of a sturdy platform (your feet and shoulders).
Weaving It All Together: A 20-Minute Yoga Sequence to Calm the Root Chakra.
You don’t need hours. Consistency is key. Do this sequence in the mornings or evenings.
Centering (2 minutes): Sit up in a comfortable posture and lie down. Put one hand on the heart and the other on the lower belly. Take a great breath, purpose stability and peace.
Warm-Up (3 minutes): Get on hands and knees and do Cat-Cow, moving your breath with the swing of your spine.
Standing Poses (10 minutes):
Rest in hold mountain pose 5 deep breaths.
Breath 5 times into Warrior I on your right hand side.
Repeat on your right leg, go Back to Mountain and Tree Pose 5-8 breaths.
Repeat the warrior I and Tree pose on the left side.
Floor Poses (5 minutes):
Get to the floor and Bridge Pose 5-8 breaths.
Lunge and transfer to deep Squat position and do 5 breaths.
Complete with 1-2 minutes in Childs Pose.
Beyond the Mat: Living your Root Chakra in every day life.
Root chakra yoga is yoga practice that does not stop as you roll up your mat. The stability which you have created there must be a part of your life. Here’s what helped me:
Walk Barefoot: Walk over grass, sand, or earth whenever possible. It is a direct physical contact with grounding energy of the planet and is referred to as earthing.
Eat Ground Vegetables: Feed your body on ground-grown food, such as carrots, potatoes, beets, and onions. They are thick, earthy and are rich in nutrients.
Establish Routine: The root chakra is dependent on predictability. Attempt to rise, take meals, sleep at approximately the same time every day.
Clean Your Space: Cleaning up your physical surroundings, in particular, the place where you enter your house, can help to immediately give you the feeling of order and security.
Your Yoga on Root Chakra, FAQs, Answered.
Q1: What will I do to know my root chakra is blocked?
You may experience on-going anxiety, repetitive financial anxieties, lack of connection to your body or the physical world, experience loneliness, or experience problems with your legs, feet, or back.
Q2: What should be the frequency of doing root chakra through yoga?
It is important to be consistent rather than to be long. Profound changes can be brought about by a 15-20 minute practice followed 3-4 times a week. It can be assisted even by 5 minutes of practice of Mountain Pose and deep breathing per day.
Q3: Is this practice possible among beginners?
Absolutely! The poses mentioned are some of the foundations. It is better to listen to your body, and placing any props in case of need is good, but never strain yourself to pain.
Q4: What are the other practices that balance the root chakra?
Besides yoga, there can be meditation based on the base of the spine, red crystals such as red jasper or hematite, aromatherapy with such aromas as cedarwood, sandalwood, or patchouli can be highly beneficial.
Q5: What is the time before I notice any difference?
This is different in all individuals, though many individuals including me report of experiencing a slight change even after only a single session-a sensation of heavier and more present. The change that lasts develops with the practice that will take weeks and months.
It is Time to Start Grounding.
My path to root chakra yoga was not on doing perfect poses but on remembering that I am also strong and that it is my right to be here safe and supported. It provided me with the means to get back to myself in a chaotic life. It is a professional returning. It is a going back to the solid and constant base that has always been in you. Open up and place your feet in the ground and take that first and strong step to unmistakable stability. You deserve to be grounded, secure and alive.