Muladhara
“GOVERNING THE FOUNDATIONS IN ALL MY CHAKRAS, THIS CENTER KEEPS BRINGING ME BACK TO MY BEGINNINGS: FAMILY, MONEY AND RAW POTENTIAL. ISSUES SPROUT HERE, FOR ME TO LET GO OF FEAR AND SIT WITH GREATER PATIENCE, AS CIRCUMSTANCES IN MY LIFE GRADUALLY TAKE ROOT.” SYL CARSON www.gobodhiyoga.com
In 1976 Alex Haley wrote a novel called “ROOTS, The Saga of an American Family”. The book tells a story of an 18th Century African slave named Kunta Kinte who was kidnapped from the Gambia in 1767 and transported to the Province of Maryland to be sold as a slave. In 1977 ABC television aired a series of 8 episodes based on the book. I was fourteen years old at the time, and sat with my family glued to the TV, never missing an episode. The young Kunta Kinte was a Muslim by birth, a Mandinka warrior, newly initiated through his rites of passage. Now in a new country, he is a slave. Given a new name by his owner and a new religion. Kunta is haunted by his past, and the conflict is so strong between accepting his new life as a Christian slave named Toby, and his freedom as an African warrior named Kunta Kinte.
I’m not exactly sure what kept me and so many fellow viewers attached to the television for eight nights in a row. The final episode drew an audience of almost 100 million people. It was the most watched program in US TV watching history. Why? I believe at the Heart of the story lies a battle for individual autonomy, and the possibility of recovering it against all odds. Kunta is able to retain his autonomy, through passing on his rich Mandinka culture through stories, which continued for generations.
There was an awakening that happened with the story “ROOTS”. Collectively we wanted to know more about our own roots. Who were “our” people, and where did they come from? These people are a link to our past that can provide us with a clearer direction for our future.
So how does sharing family stories shape your identity? And how do these stories give us our roots, or foundation? And how in the heck do they relate to the Chakra System?
My story began September 19, 1963 when I entered this world through my mother’s root chakra. This sacred powerful place in the base of the spine, and incorporating the pelvic floor, is known as our Root Chakra, or “Muladhara”, root support. This little root (ME) began to develop in my Mother’s womb and continued until I could sit.
Like all other infants my focus was internal and I had little awareness of the world around me. I was all about survival and physical comfort. I depended on my parents for safety and love, and family bonds began to be created. These bonds were critical for trust to develop, and the foundation of my Root Chakra to be formed. This root chakra would enable self-preservation throughout my life, and form a physical identity. Although I was not held up to the heavens and given a name like Kunta Kinte, I was given a name and a blessing in a rite ceremony by my Father, and I would be known as Holly Rae for as long as I live.
It is here, at the root, where we all began our journey to recognize our true selves. Just like the word “root” implies, this chakra keeps us grounded and roots us to familial beliefs and values. It also roots us to our culture, and our heritage by way of sharing personal experiences and stories. This sharing is so important in shaping our own personal story and understanding who we are. It directly impacts how we see ourselves, our ability to succeed, and even our level of resilience, but only in that we are able to make sense of these stories. Dr Daniel Siegel, a well-known pediatric psychiatrist, stated and this is critical, “Having difficult experiences early in life is less important than whether we’ve found a way to make sense of how those experiences have affected us. Making sense is a source of strength and resilience.”
Each shared experience could be considered a root that helps us know who we are and gives us a sense of belonging. This root foundation is the support for the entire Chakra System. Eastern philosophy teaches that we have an energy system as well as a physical system. This energy system is called the Chakra System. The western model of this system consists of seven main energy centers. Within each chakra is an energy system that contains vital programs. The root chakra is the survival program that tells us when we are hungry, cold or hot, and when to sleep. It also tells us what we need to feel safe and secure, and what constitutes a threat to our survival. This chakra is the foundation. It’s balance and function determine what can be built upon it, and what stresses it can withstand.
Damage to this chakra will be reflected in the chakras above it. We may experience difficulties and challenges throughout our lives when these energy systems or chakras are impacted by physical, emotional and cognitive blocks. Blocks in the root chakra will be reflected with issues of survival, health, money, housing, and job problems. We may struggle to feel safe and secure even if there is not a real threat. 
Fear arises when a threat is perceived real or unreal. These threats to our foundation could be conscious or unconscious, based on our programming. The path to healing begins with an awareness of flaws in these programs, and a willingness to deprogram or rewrite them. Some of our programming came by way of our upbringing, but much of our programming came to us as part of a larger system, a cultural system of which we may have had little or no control over. This deprogramming is NO easy task, but I believe a journey towards wholeness begins with awareness and willingness. As we uncover the illusions that keep us blocked or stuck, we can begin to make sense of it all. Like I stated earlier, it is only through making sense of how our experiences have affected us that we can heal and discover who we really are, our divine nature.
As we continue to progress and grow throughout our lives, our physical bodies provide us with experience. Part of this experience is understanding that within us is a divine spiritual power. In yoga philosophy this divine spiritual power resides at the base of the spine, our root chakra. This spiritual power is light and love. This power can be dormant or active. As we embark on our individual journeys, we may experience awakenings of our divine energy or spiritual energy. This energy begins to move upward towards higher consciousness. This rising of consciousness brings awareness, and helps us see our unconscious patterns, so we can make sense of them and heal. When this happens, we begin to understand this mortal existence, and our purpose here.
Once I heard Mel Robbins, a well-known motivational speaker, explain the difference between passion and purpose, which I found very interesting as they relate to the first and second chakras. She said, passion is what you do for yourself, but purpose is what you do for others. With that in mind, I can see that my roots are not just about me. They are about me and my people, regardless of the unique dynamics or dysfunction. It’s about relationships and overcoming fear. Just as Kunta Kinte was able to draw on his past and his relationships to maintain his identity, he was also able to confront his fears by holding onto his roots.
Learning to Work Through Fear
In order to fully ground into a solid foundation capable of supporting our lives activities, the demon of fear must be overcome. Fear must be understood. Where did it come from, and how did it serve you? Once fear is understood, it still must be released from the body.
Do you want to run and hide, or does fear make you angry, paralyzed or confused? Allowing the body to express these emotions, helps complete the response to the original trauma. In this completion the cycle of fear can be broken, and a healthier pattern created. Reclaiming our roots is key. Plants cannot survive without roots and neither can our psyche. Our roots represent where we came from, heaven, earth, womb, ancestors, family and our own personal history. We cannot deny our past and still maintain our roots. For better or worse they are our roots and have sustained us to where we are at this point. Sort out your past, transplant your psyche in more fertile soil now. You can do this by being conscious of your environment, your boundaries and the ground you choose to create around yourself. And remember….
Not all trauma comeS from our birth story
Accidents, surgeries, illness, abuse, poverty, and inherited trauma, just about anything that threatens our safety and survival can cause dysfunction at the root chakra.
Healing
Address the root cause of the conflict
Discover your Roots and learn how your ancestor overcame their challenges
Exercise, dance and move…hike in nature
Meditation (specifically those that connect you with your body and the earth.)
Walk barefoot in the grass, or in the sand or dirt
Practice letting go… both materially and emotionally
Practice gratitude
Recognize abundance in your life and the world around you
Give and receive healthy touch
Create a safe space in your environment
Get a pedicure, even better if you paint you toes red!!
Wear red, eat red
Chant “LAM” even like llllllaaaaaammmmm
Sing Do Re ME scale
Use healing stones to ground you and help with energy
Depending on the amount of grounding you need,
different stones have different healing properties.
ASSESS YOUR PRIORITIES
Remember
when the root is compromised, don’t keep adding stuff to the top, it is not sustainable. Assess your priorities, and simplify your life. Draw energy from your life’s experiences, and your ancestors life experiences as well. Allow the Earth to nourish you through nature and nourishing food. A healthy root chakra can process and digest life’s experiences, enabling us to grow. Traumas and conflicts can be overcome. Always remember there is a Divine Source where infinite grace is found, enabling us to heal. And a final note do yoga, be yoga, be your true best self.
NAMASTE, Holly
A calmness settles over them. They actually began to engage in a conversation. “Why are you so loud and indulgent?” “Why are you so stiff and controlled?” Meanwhile the cookies lay on the plate between them. Eventually they discovered that one way of being was not superior over the other, but rather somewhere in the middle would be nice. Considering the middle, they look down and see the plate of cookies. To both their delight they could enjoy the cookies from the other’s perspective. Cookie savored each nibble as he slowly ate one cookie. This was an experience he had never had before. Zen Master gobbled as many cookies as fast and ferocious as he possibly could. Here it was safe to explore, because there was an understanding. They parted their ways, and while Cookie was walking, he remembered that part of himself that very rarely showed up. Alistair Cookie, who was sophisticated and cultured. He smiled, it felt good. Meanwhile Zen Master, was bouncing all around from the sugar high that he was unaccustomed too. He thought to himself, my legs and feet feel amazing. I haven’t moved this much since I can remember. He smiled, it felt good. Later that day they both reflected on the plate of cookies that was sitting between the two of them. It was a delicious reminder that somewhere in the middle there was freedom and choice. They smiled, it felt good.
We spend so much of our lives fragmented from our true selves. It takes courage to confront our fears and extremes, but it is the only way to truly become integrated. You can learn to integrate constrictive and expansive polarities by starting with a desire to change, and understanding your capacity. Recognizing the tension that is created between these two poles is essential. Anxiety can be a good guide, it reveals to us our extremism, and is a window into our core fears.
