by Parita Shah: The shadows in you are the uncomfortable and challenging parts. By becoming aware of these energetic blocks, and establishing mindset and lifestyle shifts, you can bring vitality into the muladhara (root) chakra…
The shadow is the part of you that blocks you from the light. It includes your limiting beliefs, inherited trauma, learned patterns, and stored emotions that you can choose to work through in order to balance your chakras and realize your full potential.
The root chakra is the first of seven energetic centers. It’s a red wheel of energy, located at the base of the spine, that houses your thoughts, emotions, and experiences relating to your foundational needs. By exploring the shadow of this chakra, you can uncover the mental and emotional blocks that may contribute to physical health issues, relationship issues, and every area of your life. Here are the six main energetic blocks.
1. Lack of Presence
The Muladhara (root chakra) flourishes when you are present with your experiences in mind and body. During the pandemic, you may have felt a longing to be somewhere else, literally or figuratively. Your energy becomes scattered when you regret the past, or play out the future outcomes in your mind. The first chakra, when in balance, feels grounded, and strong. To bring this chakra into balance, you may recite the following invocation, “I call back all of my life force across time, space, and dimension. I allow myself to be here in this moment with acceptance and awareness.”
2. Isolation
The ancient Indian chakra system recognizes that human connection and support are essential needs for humanity. Prior to COVID-19, you may not have recognized the role that your extended family members, friends, coworkers, and even strangers on the street play in helping you to feel loved, safe, and nourished on a soul level. Whenever you feel alone, unheard, or unseen, it can contribute to a root chakra deficiency. Bring this shadow to the light, by exploring the following questions, “When did I feel safer in being alone rather than with others? What thoughts and feelings hold me back from being vulnerable with my loved ones?”
3. Missing a Connection to Earth
Muladhara means “root” or “basis.” Humans have a fundamental spiritual need to be in a relationship with Mother Earth. When you deny your connection with the planet and its resources, you lack grounding. The root chakra expands when you take time to notice Earth, commune with it, and allow it to support you. You may connect consciously with the herbs in your tea, walk barefoot on your grass, or meditate with your houseplants. You may choose to ask the plant spirits, “What would you like me to know? How can I best work with you? What medicine or message would you like to share with me today?”
4. Disconnected with the Body
The root chakra is imbalanced when you don’t tune into your relationship with your body. As the collective experienced fear around health during the emergence of COVID-19, you may have learned to not trust your body’s innate healing capabilities. You can nourish the root chakra by reclaiming your body as a sacred vessel for your soul. By taking a few moments each day to listen to your body’s cues, moving mindfully, and massaging it, you can come into a deeper exchange with it.
5. Dwindling Trust
Anxiety, lack of faith, and excessive questioning are shadows of the first chakra. Although the pandemic brought uncertainty and reasons to feel fear, you can actively process these emotions, and lean into feelings of trust and faith. Balance the root chakra by reaching for these affirmations several times a day: “I trust the process of life and evolution of my soul. I welcome Universal Consciousness to support me.”
6. Scarcity Mindset
Across the globe, the pandemic stirs feelings of scarcity and financial insecurity, which block the light of the root chakra. The Muladhara chakra recognizes money, food, and a safe home as essential needs. When the chakra is expanded, you are more likely to feel that your foundational needs will be taken care of. You may tap into the feelings of abundance and security by expressing gratitude for what you have. You may wish to reflect: “Am I constantly being told that I need to have, or buy more things? What do I actually need to thrive?”
When you lack presence, trust, and social connection, the root chakra becomes deficient. Feelings of scarcity, anxiety, and isolation block the first energetic center, which in turn can manifest in your outer reality. By creating relationships with Earth and your bodies, and shifting your mindset to conscious and faithful thoughts, you create flow and harmony in your auric field. The shadow is not to be avoided, but rather observed and processed.
