Root Chakra Meaning
The root chakra is the first chakra in the body’s chakra system. This chakra has earth energy, and it’s associated with the feeling of grounding and safety.
It can be found at the base of the chakra system, and it lays the foundation for expansion in your life.
The root chakra is sometimes known as Muladhara chakra because of its feminine energy. Muladhara chakra is the first of the seven chakras that can be found at the base of the spine.
It governs the functioning of the lower part of the body, including the lower back, lower spine, kidneys, and bladder.
Psychologically, it rules your survival instincts and your sense of confidence. It helps you choose whether to fight or step back.
The root chakra is associated with the physical body and its connection to the Earth.
Just like a foundation, it gives much importance to the basics of survival, such as food, shelter, safety, and a sense of comfort and belonging.
Root Chakra Color
The typical color used to symbolize the root chakra is a rich vermilion red. It’s the color used on its symbol that fills its petals.
Traditionally, the root chakra is also associated with the color gold or yellow. In the spectrum of the colors of the chakra, red represents strength and vitality, and it’s a color that stimulates a person’s instinctual tendencies.
Red is the widely accepted color associated with the root chakra. According to energy healers, the root chakra may sometimes be associated with the colors grey, black, and brown as well.
The root chakra is the densest of the seven chakras. The main color of the root chakra is red, which also happens to be the densest of all chakra colors.
Red is the slowest within the visible spectrum in terms of wavelengths, but it’s also the most exciting color.
This color pulls the retina forward so that all of your attention and energy is focused outward.
This is why red is used to stop signs and stop lights. This chakra color commands attention. It points out the danger so that one can act immediately.
Red is also the color of the life force. It’s the color of blood, and it’s the first color that you come in contact with the moment you are born.
Red also represents energy and your connection with the Earth.
On a physical level, red is linked to the adrenal glands whose function resonates with the “fight or flight” response. This is the instinctive survival response.
People who are drawn to the colorred enjoy being in their physical bodies and being here on earth. They have the ability to slow down, relax, and be still and quiet.
They have good physical health and healthy body weight. They exhibit good physical energy and vitality.
On the downside to this, they can feel somewhat disconnected from their bodies when there is an imbalance in the red chakra energy.
They are also prone to obesity, inflammation, sluggishness, irritation, depression, cramps, and eating disorders.
On a mental level, red color chakra is masculine, outgoing, and dynamic. But it can also be dominant and forceful.
This color commands attention, and people are drawn to it because it’s ambitious and practical.
Red root chakra color energy gives you concentration and clear thinking. It helps you set goals and prioritize them, and it gives support so that you can overcome your challenges.
When there’s too little red chakra energy in your life, it causes poor focus. It also causes you to become disorganized. It often results in pessimism and narrow thinking.
On an emotional level, red chakra color is the energy of anger. Learning to deal with your anger and transforming it to something good is an important job of the red chakra.
Red energy in your body results in righteous anger, love, or passion. It gives excitement and determination, and it fills you with enthusiasm about life.
But when this red energy becomes too much or too little, it results in rage or frustration. Resentment also builds up, and you also experience depression.
On a spiritual level, red color chakra inspires energy and passion, movement, and change.
Red is an action color. It moves, rouses, and guides you towards change. It’s the color of progress, movement, and revolution. It fills you with daring and courage, but also with love.
Its energy inspires you to strengthen your commitments, as well as to trust in people and what the universe has in store for you.
But there are also challenges when it comes to red color chakra energy. It makes you stubborn and unwilling to change or expand your point of view.
It can also make you feel disconnected to your core or your spirit.
No discussion of red color chakra would be complete without talking about its energy to attract abundance, prosperity, and financial health. It’s the main color for prosperity and manifestation, after all.
If you feel like you need a salary raise, or if you want to be more financially independent, bring more red in your life to increase your prosperity!
Root Chakra Symbol
The root chakra symbol is composed of a lotus flower with four petals. It’s often stylized as a circle with four petals and a downward-pointing triangle.
The downward-pointing triangle symbolizes the spirit connecting with matter and grounding you to the earth, to your earthly existence, and to your body.
It’s seen as the center of your life force. It’s the seat where kundalini stays dormant and coiled until it’s woken up and its energies are distributed to the different parts of the body.
Root Chakra Location
The root chakra is at the base of the spine, and complements the pelvic plexus, the first three vertebrae, and the perineum.
This chakra is commonly represented as a cone of energy that starts at the base of the spine and goes down and then slightly bends up.
Traits and Characteristics of the Root Chakra
The root chakra is associated with safety and security. It resonates with survival and how important it is to have a person’s basic needs met.
It speaks about your physicality, as well as your physical identity and physical aspects of yourself.
The root chakra provides grounding and support, and it helps build the foundation for living your life.
It supports your growth and your feelings of safety when exploring all aspects of life.
The root chakra is where you ground yourself to the earth and anchor your energy into the manifest world.
When the root chakra becomes blocked, you often feel sluggish and stuck. You also experience constant stress because you believe that you should rely on external circumstances.
When there’s a problem with the root chakra, you experience persistent financial problems and find yourself working a less than ideal job.
You also feel like you have been abandoned, and you constantly feel like you have to survive life by just getting by or by going without it. You also don’t like your body and feel like you’re not good enough.
However, when the root chakra is free and open, you are strongly connected to your friends and family. As a result, you feel loved, cherished, and wanted.
You feel content with your body and confident about your financial status. You feel like you belong, and that you will always have enough when you need or want it.
What Causes a Root Chakra Imbalance?
There are many causes to a root chakra imbalance. This includes trauma at birth, physical neglect, abandonment, or poor physical bonding with your mother.
It can also be caused by feeding difficulties or malnourishment. Sometimes it’s caused by a major surgery or a major illness, or by a violent relationship and physical abuse.
Other times, it’s brought about by inherited trauma or enema abuse.
Overactive Root Chakra
Symptoms of an overactive root chakra can negatively affect your physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
When the root chakra is healthy and balanced, you feel at ease, and you are in control and grounded.
When the chakra is imbalanced, you can become easily annoyed with people and impatient with situations. You lash out quickly, and you become materialistic.
If the root chakra is too open, you develop excessive attachments that cause rigidity in your body and your behavior.
You can become obsessed with your material possessions or your health that you are unable to change or let them go. It results in being stuck doing the same routines, doing the same job, and following the same patterns.
Some physical symptoms of an overactive chakra include anemia, fatigue, constipation, and bladder problems.
Some of the most common non-physical symptoms include a short temper, anger, belligerence, impatience, and greediness.
At an emotional level, the imbalances or deficiencies in the root chakra are associated with negativity. They also relate to greed, avarice, illusion, and eating disorders.
There’s a lot of insecure feelings, and a lot of energy is spent on living on survival mode.
If you’re someone who has an imbalance in the root chakra, it will be hard for you to feel safe in the world because everything and everyone feel like a probable risk.
The desire for security prevails, and this translates to concerns regarding your job situation, your health, your home, or your physical safety. A closed root chakra can turn into behaviors that are governed by fear.
When the root chakra is overactive, your fear can turn into paranoia or greed.
These are extreme manifestations of root chakra imbalance. Issues with food control, food intake, and diet are all related to it.
There can also be issues with a dependent personality, weak ego structure, or identity crisis. An overactive chakra also makes you more accident prone, worried, confused, suspicious, fearful, and uneasy.
You are on survival mode all the time, and you find your phobias crippling you. You experience cold feet during the big moments of your life, and you feel like a coward most of the time.
There’s a tendency to become masochistic, insecure, disinterested, withdrawn, and uncommitted. Other times you are absentminded, undisciplined, anxious, and restless.
You can become masochistic and demonstrate very little confidence. You cannot help but feel hopeless at the situation or have second thoughts when something is finally going right.
You have poor or weak boundaries, and you often find yourself in financial difficulty. You have very little interest in sex, and you suffer from chronic disorganization.
When there is an imbalance in the root chakra, you feel disconnected from your body, and you find it hard to focus and discipline yourself.
You feel like you cannot achieve your goals and settle down with something or someone. You also cannot help but feel like you don’t belong.
If your root chakra is overactive, chakra healing can help with the issues and restore the balance.
Depending on the severity of the imbalance, simple changes in your diet, lifestyle, or emotional and mental responses can bring back the balance in the root chakra, especially when what you’re dealing with is an overactive chakra.
5 of the Most Common Blocked Root Chakra Symptoms
When your root chakra is blocked, you don’t feel at home, stable, or like you belong.
A blocked root chakra not only disrupts the energy flow throughout the body, but it also instigates feelings of restlessness. Like you are constantly looking for something that you cannot begin to identify.
People with a blocked root chakra find it hard to settle down with anything, including where they want to live or work, or whom they want to spend the rest of their lives with.
There’s also a lack of focus and a lot of co-dependency. You also feel alone and abandoned.
Root Chakra Healing in 11 Steps
1. Anchor yourself to your environment.
The root chakra is all about feeling safe and stable. Creating a harmonious relationship with your world is the key to promoting safety and stability.
How you feel in your environment, from your home, to your town, to your country, matters in supporting the root chakra balance.
2. Connect intimately with the earth.
If you want to heal your root chakra imbalance, you must connect to the earth. Go outside and walk barefoot on the grass, or dig your hands into the earth and plant seeds. Using Sodalite can also help you connect with the earth.
These are just some examples of how you can personally connect with the earth element. It will support the unblocking of your root chakra so that you can enjoy a more grounded and continuous energy flow.
If you don’t have a garden, walk to the nearest park and pay close attention to every step you take. Feel the contact that your feet make on the ground.
Make it an everyday habit. Also, add plants to your immediate surroundings because they will bring the earth closer to you.
You can also visualize a grounding cord made of red light uniting your root chakra with the center of the earth.
3. Indulge in a lot of physical activity.
The root chakra rules the quality of your physical presence and the feeling of being alive in your body. Any kind of activity, no matter how big or small, supports the healing of the root chakra.
Any movement that involves your legs and feet will be very helpful. When you experience your vital force, you also connect with the strength of the root chakra and enjoy powerful grounding action.
4. Overcome feelings of insecurity by knowing the meaning of self-reliance.
Reinforce your belief that you’re alright in this world, and that you can get what you need from it when you need it.
When you are self-reliant, confident, and perceptive about your resourcefulness, you can easily heal your blocked root chakra.
5. Discover your true needs and desires.
If you want to heal your root chakra, you need to know what you truly need and aspire to be in your life.
This will guide your decisions and course of action when it comes to the people you want to work with, the place you want to live in, and the people you want to be with.
When you don’t have this kind of awareness, you have more chances to miss the opportunities that can change your life and be swayed by other people’s opinions.
To know what you truly want in life, you must achieve mental clarity through introspection. Take time to have some personal reflection, and listen to friendly advice.
Pay attention to the limiting beliefs that you have about yourself and be confident in the possibilities towards a better life.
6. Go from a mindset of scarcity to a mindset of personal abundance.
Healing your root chakra means restoring your confidence in your ability to provide for yourself and meet your basic needs.
An important step in healing your root chakra is to shift the notion of material abundance to the inner and non-material kind of abundance.
Instead of concerning yourself with how much wealth you have in your bank account, consider the other kinds of riches that you have, such as your family, your friends, and your ability to enjoy the simple pleasures!
If you’re having trouble with this, try some meditation, and focus on the root chakra symbol as you sink into it.
Whenever your mind presents new thoughts and fears, accept their information with gratitude, and move on – sustain that focus on the symbol of the root chakra.
You’ll find that, as your mind essentially runs out of worries and anxieties to present you with, your root chakra may well fill you with a warm, almost tingly sensation of optimism and confidence.
That confidence has a humility all its own though, coming from an attitude of feeling there is enough for all, rather than not enough.
By and by, you will come to understand that life is not about fighting to earn what table scraps you can, but about identifying the opportunities most likely to connect you to the abundance you and your loved ones deserve.
Trust in your root chakra to guide you to these moments, and you can’t go far wrong.
7. What you think and feel is what you will manifest.
When you want to heal the root chakra, it’s important to know that the external world often reflects what is happening inside you.
Your idea of what it means to be abundant and prosperous in the physical world is influenced by your idea of resourcefulness and inner balance.
Your state of being translates into your ability to manifest it into your material world.
The root chakra rules our connection to this reality, and it reminds us that no matter how spiritually minded we become, we still have to use those gifts to make our way in a physical world.
Meditating while focusing on the root chakra is a very strong way of solidifying that connection further, but also unlocking much of its own guidance and advice towards you.
If you want to be resourceful but are drawing a blank, connecting to this chakra can help you to find ideas.
This chakra will also give you the confidence to go after those opportunities that present themselves suddenly, and often putting us on the back foot when doing so.
So for instance, if you are the kind to not pursue a new job opportunity unless you have an up to date portfolio to back it up, the root chakra can help you to act in the moment, but to keep a level head while you go about it.
Understanding that actions mean spiritual growth, and that no spiritual growth means no integration of root chakra energy, is a big lesson that is wise to keep in mind here.
8. Make use of aromatherapy.
Aromatherapy is a very useful tool for balancing your root chakra. Consider using earthy and flower-scented essential oils to balance and ground you.
These include rosemary, myrrh, sandalwood, patchouli, and ylang-ylang.
There are plenty of other options out there too, but those are among the best recommended.
You can always do further research into aromatherapy for your 1st chakra yourself though, and you might be surprised at how open the opportunities are.
That’s because the root chakra itself is that which connects us to the physical reality the most, and if you have scents filling your nostrils, it’s impossible to avoid being present in the moment.
How many times have you encountered a smell so bad you’ve struggled to concentrate?
Safe to say you probably acted in the moment through instinct to avoid it! But likewise, a simple smell can give us such a sense of place, and even stir up memories from childhood.
Your grandmother’s cooking, that trip to the coast, a scruffy fur of a beloved, long lost pet – all things that a faint whiff can inspire within you.
The root chakra connects very well with your sense of smell because of how it tethers you to the physical world – the exact energy it needs to work its best.
9. Eat root chakra healing foods.
Each chakra has its own vibrational frequencies, colors, and functions, and there are also specific foods that can help boost their specific chakra function.
If you want to concentrate on the root chakra, add more red-colored foods to your diet. This includes beets, rainbow chard, meat, beans, eggs, tofu, soy, and parsnips.
The red chakra meaning is that of being connected to our bodies, and also to the Earth overall.
So it’s no surprise to learn that the root chakra benefits the most from your incorporating so much hearty, rustic fare!
If you get the chance, embrace the opportunity to go to a farmer’s market, or another kind of community gathering where lots of smells and interesting new foods are surrounding you – street food festivals and world food festivals are also fantastic for this.
Connect to your root chakra – a simple affirmation, “I am connected to my root chakra and understand its needs”, can be held in mind to help here – and see if it guides you towards certain kinds of food or drink.
If those turn out not to be red per se, don’t worry! What matters is that your chakra is helping you to identify what it wants to be at its best.
Better still, you might just discover a delicious new recipe or kind of food you had never thought to try before!
10. Dance.
Play your favorite song and just move your body. Feel the music and just allow your body to get lost in the music.
Dancing is one of the best ways to balance the root chakra. If you want to enhance this exercise, turn up the music and sing along because singing also cleanses the throat chakra!
There are lots of types of root chakra crystal you can dot about your home, or in your favorite place to dance, to really feel that lively energy.
With these stones in place, or worn on your person – even tucked into a pocket – you might be surprised at just how healing dance can be!
Remember, while we view dancing today as just a bit of fun, or at best a way to meet a new partner while out and about, moving our bodies to rhythm this way has ancient and spiritual roots that go as far back as the dawn of civilization.
For as long as there has been a beat, there have been those willing to dance to it – and if you think about it, the reason why it’s good for your root chakra makes sense.
A beat is one physical object tapping against another in a rhythm. The connection of two physical objects is as affirming of physical reality as it gets – they bounce off one another, actualizing their physicality.
At a primal level, maybe dancing is just a recognition of that – and one the root chakra is happy to groove to!
11. Take a shower.
Taking a shower is an excellent root chakra cleanser. You embrace and appreciate your physicality by being fully present as you take a bath.
You can also decorate your bathroom with various root chakra stones – which we will go into shortly – that can help the flow of energy and will be drawn by the movement of your body, and of the water.
If you prefer an indulgent bath to a shower, so much the better. You can place a few of these crystals and some candles around the outside, and allow yourself to take as long enjoying the sensation of the water and its warmth as you wish.
It might sound decadent, even self-indulgent, but it has a spiritual purpose here. The root chakra is that of the body and of our physical existence, after all – and to connect to physical existence, pleasing stimuli that encourage relaxation are often a highly advised way to go about it.
You could well be surprised by how refreshing and revitalizing the water is, be it in the bath or in the shower.
Making time for yourself in this way is very important, especially if you have been feeling low, without purpose and as though you are burnt out.
Those are all symptomatic of a root chakra in need of some TLC – to say nothing of yourself!
Root Chakra Stones
The use of crystals and healing stones for chakra cleansing is quite common. These chakra stones have vibrational frequencies that can restore the balance when there is an excess or deficiency in the chakra.
Although it’s a common practice to pick stones of the same color that corresponds to the chakra, it’s not always necessary.
Even stones of a different color will work, as long as the stone has the same vibrational frequency as its chakra.
Here are the most popular stones and crystals for healing the root chakra (they usually are red):
Red Carnelian is often used to boost courage and strength, and it can also be used to cleanse, unblock, and activate.
Red Jasper is a stone that’s known as the ring bringer. It also has powerful balancing and cleansing energies.
Bloodstone repels negativity and promotes self-esteem. It also has very good cleansing and balancing energies.
Black Tourmaline is used for spiritual grounding, and it can be used to balance and cleanse the root chakra.
Black Obsidian is a stone of protection that can also help restore the alignment and balance in the chakras, especially the root chakra.
You can easily use these chakra stones in a healing formation over your root chakra. Pattern them into a circular shape that mirrors the shape of a wheel of energy.
If the root chakra is blocked or stuck, these root chakra stones will assist in opening up the energies in this area of your body.
Once you feel relaxed, ask for guidance, listen, and trust the information that you will receive. Ask yourself if you have anything from your past that’s holding you back right now.
Once you feel that you have gained some important information from your higher self, remove the stones and take note of the information that you receive on your journal.
Rinse your root chakra stones under running water, or you can choose to sage them with smoke.
Place them inside their cases or whichever space you put them in.
Place your root chakra stones on your body whenever you want to access information in your body that will help you with your personal healing and root chakra healing.
You can employ many techniques that will open you up and balance your chakras. Use the root chakra healing technique that you’re most comfortable with and research on others that may also work for you.
The important thing is that you get to the root of who you are as a person. You are strong and powerful!
Give yourself time and space to be rooted in yourself and rooted to the earth. The earth is one thing that links everyone and everything together.
While you heal yourself and your chakras, also heal the earth that you live in. When you perform your healing, ask yourself if you have everything that you need to live comfortably.
Check how you are doing financially and which aspects of your life you are constantly struggling with.
Are your current living conditions something that you are happy about? Do you have the support that you need from the people in your life?
Do you feel a strong connection to your natural environment?
Set your intentions, especially when you feel a threat looming and you want to protect yourself. Trust in yourself and in your abilities that no matter what happens, you and your loved ones will be okay.
All healing chakra stones possess their own meaning and vibrational frequency. The key is to know how to use these chakra stones and pair the perfect one with the affected chakra.
Chakra stones that have been cleansed and charged are most effective and powerful when they’re close to the affected chakra.
They are usually worn as jewelry or placed directly over the blocked chakra. But there are many ways that you can incorporate these healing chakra stones in your environment and in your lifestyle as well.
Birthstones, Root Chakra & Uses
Garnet is a birthstone that is also connected to the root chakra. It can fill you with energy and courage. It will not only boost your energy level but also support you in overcoming the tough situations in your life.
Red Carnelian also aligns with the root chakra. Its energies will help you succeed in your professional life and achieve your artistic goals.
Bloodstone is another root chakra birthstone that when worn as an amulet will provide you with plenty of metaphysical benefits.
It’s a stone that can get rid of your anger and protect you from lies and deception. It has a powerful charisma that will make you a very influential individual.
It will also increase your mental clarity and vitality. It will connect your root chakra to your heart chakra and stimulate the movement of Kundalini energy.
This stone will also enhance your decision-making skills and promote good fortune and prosperity.
The energies of this crystal will also foster self-confidence, self-sufficiency, and self-worth.
Red Jasper is another root chakra ‘birthstone’ that is a nurturing stone. It can give you support during times of illness and stress.
It can give you the strength to deal with problems and find sensible and practical solutions.
Jet is also a root chakra stone that acts as a protection stone. It can protect you from psychic attacks and ward off negative energies.
Hematite is a powerful root chakra stone that can strengthen your body and improve your ability to handle the stresses of life.
Because Hematite resonates with the root chakra, it will promote your survival instincts. It will also inspire inner peace and prevent negative energies from entering your environment.
Black Tourmaline can be greatly beneficial to the root chakra as well. It’s a grounding, balancing, and cleansing stone.
The root chakra is not just about emotional balance and stability. It’s also about survival.
If you have a tendency to feel overly scared, it’s a sign that there’s something wrong with your root chakra.
Root chakra birthstones will help cool your feelings of irritability and impatience. Try using any of these stones when you’re experiencing a serious case of burnout.
Even half an hour with these stones can greatly reduce your stress or exhaustion.
You can also place root chakra birthstones on your office table whenever you need fast relief for your stress.
Take a quick break and disconnect from the work stresses. Breathe deeply and clear your mind. Just focus on the soothing energies that these stones radiate and you will feel the difference in minutes.
If you’re at home, you can lay on your back and place the stones on your root chakra. Relax your body and let the stones do the work.
Whenever you feel confused or uncertain about something, let the energy of the stones clear their way towards your higher self.
Allow their energies to help you correct the imbalances in your root chakra, as well as the other chakras in your body.
My Final Thoughts on the Root Chakra
When it comes to the root chakra, you should strive to feel safe, to be afraid less, and to remain grounded and centered.
A healthy, balanced, and open root chakra is a very wonderful gift because it keeps you physically strong and fit. You feel connected, grounded, and stable as well.
You are motivated and inspired, and you can honestly say that you have peace of mind.
When something unexpected happens, you don’t crumble and fall apart. Your faith is strong, and you trust that everything will work out alright in the end.
When the root chakra is balanced, your feel nurtured, cherished, and valued. You are stable right where you are, and you are connected with the world on a deeper and more intense level.
If you are experiencing tough times right now and find it hard to grow in trust, security, and stability, stop and look around you.
What you’re searching for is probably just staring you right in the face, and you just don’t know where to look. You are most likely looking at the branches when it’s the roots that you need to be looking at.
All you need to do is concentrate your energies on the present and direct them to your root chakra. Try doing things that will help you open your root chakra and experience a big change in you.
The root chakra is the first of the chakras that matter. Maintaining the balance of the root chakra builds a solid foundation for opening the other chakras.
It’s just like laying the foundation of a house in which you plan to live for a long time. You need a solid foundation to be embedded deeply and firmly in the soil that will give the physical stability and security that your house needs.
When the base is strong, you don’t need to worry about the structure collapsing during the harshest conditions. You can create a home that you can fill with love and happiness for many years to come.
The root chakra is made up of whatever grounds you to stability, security, and permanence.
This includes your basic needs, such as water, food, shelter, and safety, as well as your emotional needs, like letting go of your fears.
The root chakra is thought of as a provider of energy to the other chakras. If it’s blocked or unbalanced, the rest of your chakras are probably blocked and unbalanced as well.
A balanced root chakra is essential to having an open and healthy chakra system.
Begin to feel self-assured, secure, and physically alive as you tap into your own sustainable energy through a balanced root chakra.
When the root chakra is aligned, you will find peace. You will feel comfortable, stable, and relaxed with your life.
A well-balanced root chakra will also give you a sense of safety that’s needed to explore and try out new things.
Be warned because the root chakra can quickly become misaligned or blocked when something in your life does not feel secure.
If something has got you worried, like money or bills, this has a direct impact on your root chakra. Even if the problem is imaginary, it can still disrupt the flow of energy to this chakra!
Diana Houston
Diana Houston is a respected crystal expert and the author of 'A Beginner's Guide to Healing Crystals: Getting Started With Crystal Healing – A Complete Guide.' Her passion for crystals and their healing properties made her a leading authority on the subject.
Diana's expertise and passion for crystals have inspired countless readers and practitioners, and her book has received rave reviews on Amazon. With her clear and insightful guidance, Diana is a trusted guide for anyone seeking to unlock the transformative power of crystals.
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