ROOT CHAKRA.
We start our journey through the chakras at first chakra,
the root chakra. This is the energy
center located in the pelvis, and has to do with how you relate to your
physical body and feelings of being settled and grounded and at home in our
body.
This is the chakra and balance center of feeling safe and
secure without fear.
I found it interesting as I started reviewing chakras for
the fall season as I Knew that I wanted to go through week by week some chakra
focus. I had taken a week off of work
and some day trips and time to relax and restore some energy at the end of the
summer. I expected this week to be such
a relief and renewal, and instead I was completely unsettled, felt ungrounded,
worried, not in a good place of being able to be where I am. I felt guilty when I was away for a night, I
didn’t feel like I had a right to be taking this time away, I was finding
myself focused on the if’s of the future and the worries of my spiraling mental
chatter.
When I began reviewing the root chakra, I realized THIS IS
IT! I am so non rooted feeling right
now, so this particularly spoke to me as something I really am spending time on
this week is settling.
It has always been a challenge for me to first realize years
ago, and continuously remind myself, to not apologize, that I have the right to
take up space, the right to be fully in my body, and I like to say this in my
yoga classes, the right to get big- to expand with breath- that is our body’s full
right! It is hard for me, and I am
clearly in a time of honestly needing to balance myself here.
Some good yoga positions for this root chakra are any that
we feel and notice ourself surrendering to gravity and feeling the solid, safe
earth holding us up.
*seated half lotus or cross leg position is a great place to
start so that we feel our sit bones connecting with the ground, CHILD’s pose as
well could be a great place to come to daily this week.
*mountain position is a great place and position to take
that connection with the ground into the reality of our standing posture, and
allow ourself to be both rooted in our feet, but rising through our whole space
of our body.
*we are doing warrior 2’s and extended angle position this
week as a way to also be firm in the foot foundation WHILE opening up hips and
our whole space—Warrior 2 is a place to get both wide and tall : wide through hips and ribs and shoulders and
tall through our spine (core engages every time we think of getting tall).
*lizard is another nice root chakra position because it is
after some work of opening our hips while we are low to the ground, hands can
also be connected to the earth.
As we have a focus each week on the ascending chakras during
our classes, if you want to spend some time daily breathing into these spaces
in the body with intention, doing some of these poses with an awareness of
grounding this week, it may guide you to a few extra stretches/positions during
the week to go to. As we connect to the
earth in our root chakra, each day this week, spend some time outdoors, even
doing a slow meditative walk, or just simply notice your body being in connection
with nature.
