Anxiety Overtake

Are you spacey? Anxious? Paranoid? Unstable? Maybe unusually attracted to the color Red lately? Then your Root Chakra AKA Muladhara is probably completely out of whack!

In this time where new age things are making a more vibrant appearance, you've probably heard of Chakras, meditating, Yoga, and more and might even think they really are "New," but they are a lot older than most know. The concept of Chakras come from India originally between 1500 & 500 BC. It shows up in Hinduism and Buddhism also, which is where most people think the concept comes from.

Traditionally, there are 7 Chakras: (from lowest to highest) Root/Muladhara, Sacral/Swadhisthana, Solar Plexus/Manipura, Heart/Anahata, Throat/Vishuddha, Third Eye/Ajna, & Crown/Sahasrara. There are some that say there are more than seven, but this is the practice layout I go with because it's the most common and original. In this article however, I'll only be talking about the Root Chakra.

Located at the base of the spine, the Root chakra is responsible for your sense of stability, and safety. Making sure your Root chakra is balanced opens up all the other chakras to be balanced as well and creates a solid foundation for them. Imagine the Root chakra as the foundation to your house. In order for your home to be happy and stable, you need a good foundation. Which means that balancing this chakra is pretty important. So how can you knock it back into balance?

There are many different ways, some of which include sound frequency, food, colors, crystals, etc. Now, don't shy away from crystals or sound frequency. We are all made up of energy, as is everything on Earth, so is it really that big of a stretch to think that things made up of different energies can influence another's energy? I don't think so.

First off, you need to figure out if your Root Chakra is in fact off balance. Symptoms include: anxiety disorders, fears, nightmares, problems with the colon, bladder, lower back, leg or feet issues, overweight, underweight, weak immune system, addictions, or cravings. Men can experience prostate problems. Eating disorders can also be a symptom.

How can we fix this? First off, meditation. It really doesn't take a master to know or figure out how to meditate. There are many different ways to do it and it's really all about how the individual chooses to go about it. Just sitting in a comfortable, calm place (yes, closets count for you parents out there) and playing a bit of relaxing music on your phone with headphones for 15 minutes is considered meditating. Or you can really go all out and set up a special place in your home with a comfy pillow to sit on, music ready at the push of a button, incense, candles, etc. Whatever floats your boat, really.

There are also stretches/poses you can do if you prefer to move your body. Some of these positions include:

• Knee to chest pose
• Head to knee pose
• Lotus flexion
• Squatting pose
• Child pose
• Easy pose
• Mountain pose

There are many options to be found online as far as Yoga exercises specifically designed to help the Root Chakra.

If you like Affirmations, here is a great one for healing your Root chakra:

"I am safe. The Earth supports me, nourishes me, nurtures me. I stand tall on my Ancestors shoulders. I have strength & courage to create a fantastic life, and a better world. All is well."

Crystals:

The best ones that interact with balancing the Root chakra are Garnet, Mahogany Obsidian, Red Tigers Eye, Hematite, Tourmaline, Red Carnelian & Red Jasper.

Remember, this Chakra specifically responds to the color Red. Even just wearing the color or being around it in itself can help tremendously.

Essential Oils:

Let's face it, nature made her very own medicines and they are still more effective today than most prescription medications. But they also work for less obvious aches and pains. The best oils for the Root chakra are: Ylang-Ylang, Myrrh, Patchouli, Vetiver, Rosewood, Thyme, Frankincense, & Ginger.

As for sound therapy or sound frequency, the sound LAM is the Root Chakras mantra. 256 Hz is perfectly matched to this chakra and is easy to find and play on YouTube.

Food:

• Onions
• Carrots
• Parsnips
• Potatoes
• Radishes

Eating these foods can be a great and tasty way to balance your roots.

When the Root Chakra is in alignment and balanced, you will feel grounded, content, secure, vital, and safe in all ways including finances and mentality. The best way to balance this chakra is using smell, so getting yourself the recommended essential oils and a diffuser can make all the difference! Not to mention it will make your home smell amazing and therefore even more pleasant to be in.

Needless to say there are many many options open to you to align and balance your chakras, and it can even be fun. Let's be real here, though, taking care of yourself is extremely important, and even if you don't believe in Chakras, (like I didn't when I first started looking into them) you have to admit that there might actually be something tangible to the idea, especially considering how much it worked and still works for the people who pay attention to them. You don't have to be super spiritual or religious to get into Chakras and to learn more about them. For me, I don't usually give an idea much of a chance unless it has some kind of scientific link, and considering I've suffered from depression most of my life and have found that balancing my Chakras have helped more than I can express, I'd say looking into the Chakra system is worth a shot.

I will cover the other Chakra's here very soon, but with this article I figured I would start at the base and work my way up. I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading this and even more so hope that these suggestions work for you! Keep an eye out for the next Chakra installment in my article collection, and have an amazing day!

-Shelbie Fae