“When the roots are deep, there’s no reason to fear the wind.”
– Chinese Proverb

Weekly Focus: Muladhara Chakra (root)

Muladhara is the first chakra, a space where we feel grounded and rooted, a coming home. Associated with the base of the spine and the tailbone, here is where we find our sense of identity and who we are.

As the first chakra, Muladhara is the foundational chakra. It is from this chakra that all the other chakras emerge and align. Our six sequential chakras grow up and out of their root within Muladhara. If we feel disconnected or misaligned in this space, we build the other chakras on faulty ground.

Rightfully known as the root chakra (mula: “root” or “origin;” adhara: “support,” “base,” or “foundation”), this space is the physical foundation of our spine (the tailbone) and also the energetic foundation for the chakras. You can see this as the spine lifts out of this space, rooted in muladhara, growing like a tree. This is a weighty and heavy part of the body physically (the hips and pelvis), where we can feel anchored and connected, especially when we might be feeling air headed, spacey, or disconnected from our body.

Muladhara invites us to embody who we are. To feel at home in ourself. When we tap into this energy, we can feel an aliveness – invigoration, enthusiasm, vigour and growth! This embodiment comes from Muladhara’s connection to the roots of our pasts, hidden in the unconscious – this could be past lives, generational trauma, past experiences – there are many ways to look at this. These past roots become the foundation of who we are right now, as everything adds up to make you the person you are. As we discover these roots, we awaken our conscious to be more alert and more active.

A balanced Muladhara Chakra encourages us to feel acceptance of who we are past, present and future.

What activities make you feel comfortable or “at-home” in your physical body? Are there times when you feel “out-of-body?”

What makes you feel “at-home” in your emotional and spiritual body? Are there times when you do not feel empowered to be who you are?

Passive Pose of the Week: Virasana (hero’s pose)

Virasana let’s you feel a physical anchoring of the body to the ground, a more tangible connection to Muladhara. As you sit in virasana pose, can you observe how the foundation of any pose begins in the pelvis, the hips, and the tailbone, and sets the stage for what we build on top?

• Come to a kneeling seat with your hips sitting back on your heels.
• Stay here, or, widen your knees and let your seat rest on the floor, between your legs.
• Check-in: is this comfortable for your knees? Your ankles? Your feet?
• If you feel any discomfort, add a prop! Sit on a block or two if your knees need support.
• Roll a blanket and bring it under the ankles of the feet or ankles needs support.

The position we hold in the physical space of Muladhara, the pelvis and the hips, has a rippling effect in the rest of our bodies. We can consider this space the root or foundation of our physical postures. Allow yourself to explore the position of your pelvis in Virasana. Can you find a tilt of the pelvis that allows you to sit comfortably, and to align the spine from an easeful place of lift? Try different positions and tune into the body as you go – how do you want to organize in the pose? Try taking this skill elsewhere, observing your pelvis as the root of any pose, a foundation from which to build the structure. 

Active Pose of the Week: Utkatasana (chair pose)