Muladhara

Muladhara: First Chakra

An energy vortex located at the perineum, the base of the spine, traditionally associated with the earth element, and the colour red.

When we think of the energy of the first chakra, we think of our basic needs being met, our right to be here, our right to exist.

The basic issues of the first chakra are those of: safety, shelter, groundedness, self esteem, acceptance, trust, boundaries, nourishment and our physical health and awareness.

The ultimate issue of this chakra is that of survival, an archaic instinct. When the first chakra is balanced our survival needs ebb in to our sub conscious allowing our conscious to engage and expand. When we feel threatened it dominates all other functions of our conscious state.

The Demon emotion of the first chakra is FEAR.

When our fundemental right of existence is challenged we feel afraid. If our survival issues are constantly provoked Fear pervades our survival programming, making it very difficult to break the enslavement of our fears. Living in a constant state of stress becomes the norm and we become less aware of our inability to relax.

To overcome our fears we must first understand them:

Where did they come from?
How did the fear originally serve you?

Secondly we are required to sit with the fear, emotions are lodged in the body, so we truly need to feel it in the body.

What is the instinctual response to the fear?  Do you want to run, get angry… 

Once we understand the response it becomes much easier to recognize our patterns and why we are reacting certain ways. Shining a light into our sub conscious helps us create new and health patterns.

The following is two lists of words, unbalanced and in balance, feel what these words mean to you. What resonates?

The Unaligned Muladhara

  • Emotional: feel you do not belong here, do not know where you belong feel isolated, abandoned, disconnected, insecure, numb, empty unable to relax cannot trust other, or the universe
  • Mental: poverty conscious, past orientated, possessiveness, greed, escapism.
  • Physical: little body awareness, ungrounded, restless
  • Social: not heard when you speak, actions never seem to make things happen, difficulty manifesting
  • Beliefs: can not count on anyone else, scarcity
  • Behaviour: need to control, resigned, victim, hope escapism
  • Common addictions:food, alcohol, sex

The Balanced Muladhara

  • Emotional: feeling connected to the planet, and to other living beings,feeling accepted in the social community, ability to trust others and the universe, feels secure, and able to relax, feels calm and peaceful, has a sense of serentity
  • Mental: patience, acceptance, prosperity conscious, love of life, generous, living in the present, able to dare, emotional present in the physical body
  • Physical: at home in your body, accepting of your body, full sensual awareness, grounded, able to heal your self, energy is distributed through the whole body allowing the shoulders to relax
  • Social: heard, presence is noticed and appreciated, able to manifest
  • Beliefs: abundance
  • Behaviour: Trust and surrender, realistic

Balancing The Muladhara

The realm of the first chakra is the realm of habits.

“first you make habits, and then habits make you” Yogi Bhajan

To be able to bring awareness to our habits, our patterns of behaviour, it becomes much clearer why we react to situations in a certain way. It is not about judgement, there is no right or wrong, just noticing and looking at the situations from different perspectives and finding self acceptance as we begin to make our adjustments. When we are able to accept ourselves, it is much easier to accept those around us, which in turn allows us to drop resentment another demon of the first chakra.

“Acceptance of someone does not excuse their transgression. It means that you don’t want to be burdened with the feeling of the pain it caused you any longer. You accept another to set yourself free from the bondage of resentment”. Gurumukh

When we let go, we are no longer a victim of the other, we are in control, we are secure, we are worthy and we become grounded.

In Kundalini yoga we use bandhas, body locks, Mulbandh, literally root lock is integral to dispersing and balancing the earthy energy of the first chakra.

When we are able to feel connected to the earth we feel grounded. Without grounding we are unstable, we loose our centre, often shifting into a fantasy world. When we are grounded we are able contain which is the ability to have, and to hold, and thus to expand. We first have to accept boundaries and limitations to transcend them.

Try this… and get a sense of your first chakra.

Get a large piece of paper some crayons and draw yourself… this is not a life drawing art class, and there are no art critics. Just you and some colours and you are not drawing an accurate representation of what you look like… we have cameras for that. You are going to the essence of you in the realm of your understanding the first Chakra.

I had great fun with this, I got some paints out and collage … but that is my thing, you can go as creative as you feel comfortable today.

If you want to do this stop reading until you are finished….

There is no wrong drawing, it is YOUR representation of YOU.

Take a look at how you fit on the paper, where did you place yourself, did you fit, or did you barely take up any space? How did you use the crayons? Faint or dark, jagged or curvaceous lines, what were the colours you used. What does all this mean to YOU? (you may have to channel your inner three year old here, they are very good at confidently decoding a wonderful jumble of lines on a page to any adult willing to look at their masterpiece… and often quite miffed that they need to explain at all).

The basic right of every human is the basic right of the first chakra; the right to be here and the right to have what we need in order to survive.

Be here, be present, and enjoy all of the abundance around you.

 

kelly edwards