The root chakra is the center of our grounding to the physical world. Its color is red and it is associated with survival, instinct, kundalini energy, health, safety, stability, trust, and physical power.
The Sanskrit name of the root chakra is Muladhara and it is the first of the seven traditional chakras.
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Where is the root chakra located?
The root chakra is located at the perineum, which is between the genitals and anus.
What does the root chakra represent?
Our root chakra connects to our sense of grounding and presence in physical world. It relates to our sense of safety, trust, and belonging on a fundamental physical level. It is responsible for our fight or flight response and our sense of self-preservation.
What are symptoms of a blocked or weak root chakra?
Lethargy or Dissociation
An imbalanced root chakra can feel either lethargic, dull, or heavy, or ungrounded, floaty or dissociated. There can be a lack of ability to focus or lack of follow through or commitment. It can also show up as pessimism or cynicism–an inability to trust life itself. There can be a sense of being lost or just not knowing what one is here on the planet to do.
Frustration and Struggle
A blocked root chakra can also lead to an overwhelming sense of frustration about life, because you are not connected into the flow of the Universe. There is a sense of always having to strive to achieve anything, and there can be a sense of resentment at how others “have it easy”.
Depression or Recklessness
Depression and anxiety show up in the root charka and can paralyze forward movement. People can sometimes go the opposite direction and become reckless, taking unnecessary risks and putting themselves in harms way.
Financial Issues and Sense of Poverty
Root chakra balances can also show up as financial debt, financial recklessness, or a sense of poverty no matter how much money one has.
What does a healthy root chakra feel like?
Feeling Grounded and Secure
When your root chakra is balanced and healthy, you can easily relax and be still. You are not run by fear & anxiety, and your overall sense of self is grounded and secure. You feel healthy overall, with enough energy and a sense of vitality.
Having Your Act Together
You are able to take charge when needed to manage a situation, and you are especially good in emergencies or anything to do with survival. You “take care of business” and people describe you as “having your act together”, being practical and clear on what needs to get done and doing it.
Determination and Stamina
A healthy root chakra can help us see things through when times are tough. This is where our determination and stamina live, and our faith in hard work and persistence. It is also the seat of courage and daring.
Financial Stability
A healthy root chakra will also mean you can easily ask for support, and you are financially healthy and able to live within your means and do what you set out to do in life. It doesn’t mean you will be rich, but you won’t take unnecessary financial risks and will prepare for future needs.
Which crystals help heal, clear, and balance the root chakra?
The best crystals to support the root chakra are deep red, brown, and black crystals. Black crystals tend to be the most grounding, brown the most nourishing, and red support physical vitality.
For deep red crystals try ruby, almandine garnet, and deep red carnelians (carnelians range in color from orange to red), as well as bloodstone and red jasper.
Garnet
Almandine Garnet is a purplish-red stone. It helps with grounding in the physical body, which is helpful for people who feel anxious or tend to daydream. It helps you live your simple truth and get things done in the real world.
Ruby
Ruby is a vibrant red variety of corundum and considered a precious gem. Ruby is a stone of passion, vitality, courage, adventure, and enthusiasm for life.
Bloodstone
Bloodstone is a deep green variety of chalcedony (microcrystalline quartz) that is often interspersed with red splotches. It is grounding and purifying, giving the wearer a sense of solidity and strength in facing challenges.Black crystals include black tourmaline, black onyx, hematite, shungite, and black obsidian.
Black Tourmaline
Black Tourmaline is one of the top stones for crystal healing because it is such a strong protector. It transmutes negative energy so that energy is freed up to support your highest good.
Hematite
Hematite is a gray-black shiny metallic mineral made of iron oxide. It is well-known as an effective grounding stone that can help you come back to Earth and take concrete action to bring your vision into reality.
Onyx
Onyx boosts willpower, discipline, and focus. It is an earth stone that supports you when the going gets tough and you need endurance to get through.
Obsidian
Obsidian is a volcanic glass, so it is not technically a crystal, but it has properties like crystals do. Each type of obsidian has different properties which are linked below.Brown crystals include apache tears, petrified wood, smoky quartz, and various agates and jaspers.
Apache Tears
Apache Tears are small nuggets of obsidian. They combine the protective properties of obsidian with properties of healing grief and cleansing the emotional body of trauma.
Petrified Wood
Petrified wood carries a vast sense of time and the wisdom that comes along with it. As an everyday stone, it's great to pick up when you need to be more grounded and steady. For more in-depth work, petrified wood can be used to heal family patterns rooted in the past.
Smoky Quartz
Smoky quartz is one of the best grounding stones. It can help you settle into your body and feel calm and steady, while supporting you to take practical action in support of your dreams.Besides crystals, how can I support the root chakra?
You can support your root chakra is to heal any trauma you may have experienced. Trauma lodges in the nervous system and can stay there until you work through it. There are many trauma healing modalities, but some are the best are Somatic Experiencing and EMDR. Trauma may have been created by events in your past that you have no memory of, or that seemed minor at the time. It is really about your internal experience and whether you became overwhelmed and afraid–that is what creates trauma.
Ancestor work and intergenerational work like Ancestral Lineage Healing and Family Constellation Therapy can also help heal the root chakra.
Meditation and stillness can support the root chakra by sending a signal to your nervous system that all is well.
Physical exercise, wearing red or decorating with red, and being in nature and with animals can also support the root chakra.
Root Chakra Affirmations
- My basic needs are met and I am safe.
- I am created from the same materials as the stars and the sea and the rocks and the trees, and I belong here.
- I stand for what I believe is right.
- I am sufficient.
- I am grounded in my body.
- I trust Divine timing.
- I allow myself to be part of the unfolding story of the Universe.
- I am strong and capable.
Hi! I'm Emma. I found crystals at a time when I needed protection & nurturing and I created this site to help others learn about them.
I'm honored to be with you on your spiritual journey and I encourage you to develop your own relationshihp with your crystals & trust your intuition. The magic is inside you. :-)
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