This is the first post in a series on the chakra system that I work with. It consists of guided meditations and energy healing exercises that any women can use to work with her own energy, or subtle, body. I believe that all of us can learn to work with our chakras (energy centers) for self-healing, personal development, and spiritual awakening.

My first seven offerings here will each focus on one of the main seven chakras and include a free mp3 file of a guided meditation and energy work session that you can use to clear and empower the corresponding chakra. These guided sessions are actually a much faster and more effective way of learning about your chakras than reading about them. We work with our chakras through our subtle awareness, in the realm of feeling and intuiting, beyond words.

We will begin with the root chakra. Our root chakra is the foundation chakra for our energetic system, entwined with our connection to the earth, our family, and our physical body. It’s our anchor to the material world, to matter, and to being a spirit in a human body. When our root chakra is strong, clear, and balanced we feel grounded, present, secure in the physical world, connected to those around us, and able to manifest that which we want or need to create in the physical world.

There are many ways that a blocked or weakened root chakra might impact us in our daily lives. Here are some of the most common patterns that I see, especially in women:

A tendency to ‘escape’ into upper chakras due to past trauma or abuse. Our root chakra is connected to our ‘flight or fight’ response to danger. Often trauma or abuse survivors develop an energetic ‘flight’ response to danger. They develop the ability to ‘go away’ into the realms of their upper chakras – private mental or astral states – as a way of coping with the pain of their experiences. Childhood survivors of ongoing abuse are particularly prone to develop this tendency. Unfortunately, this can impact their ability to ground in their root chakra, and fully manifest their power here in this world.

An inability to ever relax or feel safe. While escaping into our upper chakras is the energetic equivalent of the ‘flight’ response, an inability to ever feel safe is the energetic equivalent of the ‘fight’ response. We can get stuck in a constant state of hyper-vigilance, never feeling safe or relaxed, even when we are in a secure environment. This can impact our ability to sleep and decompress, both vital to our physical and mental health. Sometimes this pattern is also a response to past abuse or trauma, but sometimes it is simply a reflection of the society in which we live. Of course we are not always safe, so empowering this aspect is not about denying that – it’s simply about being able to relax and let down our guard when we are, in fact, in a safe environment or situation.

Difficulty trusting in our physical body. This is not so much about body image as it is about feeling strong and connected to our physicality. Of course we don’t always enjoy good health, and especially when we do go through an illness or injury (not to mention the aging process), we can feel angry or frustrated with our bodies. Some of this is very natural and not a problem. But if these feelings develop into an actual block of our connection to our physical body, it can impact all of the other areas related to our root chakra. Developing an appreciation for, and acceptance of, our human body is the best way to begin to free up any blocks in this regard.

Problems manifesting our ideas on the physical plane. Manifesting is a process of bringing our upper chakra energies, in the form of vision and ideas, down into the root chakra realm – material reality. If you continually have problems moving your ideas all the way from thought to reality, this can be a sign of a root chakra weakness or block. Of course, we often have many more dreams and ideas than we can actually manifest, and there are many different ways that our manifestation abilities may be hindered (including feelings of unworthiness, associated with the second chakra, which we will focus on next month), but if you repeatedly have problems with this, strengthening your root chakra can only help.

In energy medicine, our root chakra is associated with our adrenals, so anyone with chronic fatigue, immune issues, or other adrenal related problems can often also benefit from root chakra work. And of course not all chakra work is diagnostic – you can also strengthen natural gifts in this way! Our root chakra is related to our ability to sense and feel nature, work with the elements, sense physical energies of all types, and aid physical healing. Strengthening your root chakra can help you reach your full potential in all of these areas.

The following guided ‘energy work’ session will walk you through a series of visualizations and sensory work designed to help you release any root chakra blocks and awaken its full potential. You may or may not feel anything as you do this work, but that’s ok – simply bringing your intent and awareness to your root chakra in this way will generate healing, and begin an ongoing energetic process. You may do this meditation once as a trigger, or as many times as you like as part of an ongoing healing journey. Trust your intuition – your natural self-healing abilities will guide you toward what is right for you.

To begin, sit in an upright position, aligning your spine as naturally and comfortably as possible. Take a few deep belly breaths to center yourself, and then gently place one hand over your tailbone, the focal point we will use in this meditation for your root chakra. Enjoy!