we have covered the basic introduction of prism yoga and the chakra system so let's go ahead and get started on the root chakra. this is the first energy center in the human body. it sits at the base of the spine, its colour is red and governs our basic needs... food, health, livelihood, survival, trust and family to name a few. it is the most primitive of our energy centers and much of what forms our first chakra is not only in our first year but the womb. when things are balanced and moving forward in this chakra we are healthy, vibrant and trusting of the world.
for every balanced energy center there is a flip side and that flip side is known as the demon. for the root chakra the demon is fear. if the gestation period and first 12 months of life are safe and healthy then overdeveloped fear most likely will not plague the individual. however, if pregnancy or delivery is troubled and or the first year of life is challenged with pain/illness, lack of food, family discord then fear can take hold and become a cornerstone of an individual's development. if you are unsure where you are in your own personal health of this chakra take a look at your patterns. what do i mean by patterns? there are some 'tells' to each one of these spinning wheels of light. check the health of your bones, legs, appetite, self care and fear/anger. do you have boundaries for yourself and do you respect them in others. a lack in these basic areas could be a sign that there is an imbalance to look into. these imbalances could manifest as excessive or deficient energy.
excessive root chakra energy manifests in ways such as hoarding, obesity, sluggishness and greed while the deficiency takes the form of being underweight, spacey, fearful, anxious.
to go a bit deeper let's look at some examples. there is a realization that has come to me in my own struggles with this first chakra and that is ~ where trust has been compromised, fear can take root. as a baby if there is physical abuse, lack of medical care, neglect, abandonment etc... then a trust has been betrayed. that baby will no longer feel safe and will become hypervigilant. this produces the fight or flight reaction and fear starts to take hold. here's where it gets tricky... because this time in a baby's life is so impressionable that baby will most likely have fear woven into what is considered 'normal' development. later in life if physical pain, neglect, abuse, perceived or legitimate, or even the idea of it comes to the forefront that person will get the same responses as when he or she was a baby. because there is most likely no actual memory recall for this it makes it even harder to 'see'. it can become frustrating even debilitating for some.
so if you see these things in yourself or in others around you; be kind and patient. these things are almost hardwired into many people and they may not realize it's happening or they simply don't know how to deal with it as it's all they've known their entire life. in these journals we will be addressing, on a rudimentary level, how to start healing these things from our past without actually having to relive them via talking about them.
keep in mind none of this is a judgement, only observations of energy that is stuck or unable to move properly. good news is it can be healed and balanced and it can be achieved right here. it will take time and it will require great patience. it will also require leaning on those persons in your life that care about you and learning to trust in them and lean on them for support. there will be times when you feel as though you've hit rock bottom but bear this in mind..... to be reborn one must die to one's old way of living. first and foremost to get this specific energy center ready for rehabilitation all one needs to do first is move, for movement is life and that is what this chakra is all about. walk, run, lift weights, do yoga etc... just get your body moving.
these are basic principles to the first chakra and the foundation with which we will learn all others. in the next journal installment we will take a look at some things you can do start clearing out old programming and blocked energy so this strong foundation chakra can give us the stability we need to move forward in life.
for questions or help please contact me at dawngriggs@prism-yoga.com
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