Establishing a Steady Foundation

Chakras • Home Yoga Practice • How to • Infertility Resources
April 13, 2021


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In last week’s blog post, we provided an overview of the three different energetic states of the first chakra, also known as Muladhara or root chakra. Today, we’re going over what a balanced and out-of-balance root chakra looks like, and how to find harmony in your first chakra.

WHAT DOES AN IMBALANCE LOOK LIKE

BALANCED

When our Muladhara chakra is balanced we feel: connected to the body, sturdy and stable, rooted, relaxed and able to sit still, have trust in the world, firm in our boundaries, and a strong sense of self.

EXCESS

You may have an excessive (or overactive) first chakra if you feel or have any of these characteristics:  stagnant, stuck, overeating, obese, lazy, sluggish, tired, and/or fear of boundaries.

DEFICIENT

A deficient root chakra may look like: an inability to focus, swirly, anxious, restless, fearful, not present, poor boundaries, and/or disconnected from the body.

HOW TO COME BACK INTO BALANCE

EXCESS

Get that body moving — daily. Go for a walk, a bike ride, or skate around your neighborhood. Do whatever it takes to create forward momentum regularly. Here’s why — when we’re feeling stagnant it’s hard to get unstuck. We tell ourselves excuses. We compare ourselves to others. We say we’ll do it tomorrow. We beat ourselves up. We give ourselves guilt trips because tomorrow is here today and we still haven’t done something. Well, now’s as good a time as any. You can do anything for 5 minutes. Then increase it to 10 minutes. Each week or whatever frequency you choose (but avoid falling into old habits of stalling or skipping), increase the length of time you spend moving. Eventually, you’ll start to notice a difference. You’ll start to feel better. The time will fly by because the movement will become easier. Continue to increase the amount of time, the distance, the intensity, and the frequency until you’ve worked off your COVID weight. But you gotta start small, start simple. We believe you can do it! 

Bring awareness with you when you’re eating. If you’re eating your feelings because you’re stressed, anxious, or feeling whatever it is you might be feeling, stop and notice what you’re doing and why. We so often eat our feelings — it’s true. When we feel ungrounded or swirly, we eat comfort food. And when we combine that with little to no movement, that’s when we gain weight. But when we use the practice of mindfulness to observe our cravings and connect the dots to our feelings, we’re better able to understand the source or root cause of it all. When we do that, we’re better able to pause and choose how we want to proceed. And then, we start to replace negative repetitive patterns with healthier lifestyle choices.

Do you have strong willpower? Are you disciplined? This one ties into chakra three, but we’re going to touch on it here because it applies (FYI – you’ll start to notice the chakras overlap and influence one another). If you don’t get enough exercise and you eat your feelings, then we’re gonna guess you’re lacking in the willpower and discipline area. You know what’s, that’s ok. At least you know it, and now you can make that positive change we’ve been talking about. Here’s what we suggest – stop buying the container of your favorite cookies. Or if you absolutely must treat yourself to a cookie, promise yourself that you will only eat one versus many cookies (we know it’s hard but this is where willpower and discipline come into play). I purposely don’t stock my cupboards with the things I know I’m addicted to (e.g., cheesy puffs, cookies, soda, candy, chocolate). So, what’s one item you could remove from or stop buying completely for the next three months? Start today, and then notice how far you’ve come in three months time.

DEFICIENT

You still need to move that body. Yep, get up and get moving. When we’re unable to focus or we’re feeling anxious, it’s probably because we haven’t exhausted the mind or the body today. So, go for a run or a hike or whatever it is you do to get out excess energy. We encourage you to explore different times of the day for working out. Are you better able to focus after a morning run? Do you feel less anxious when you workout right before lunch? Do you need to break up your workout into smaller chunks of time in order to squeeze in a full routine? These are all good things to explore. 

Get grounded. We’ve written about how to reconnect to your foundation ad nauseam because it’s so important. Here’s why – many of us spend more time up in our heads than we do in our bodies. And when we’re in the midst of infertility, many of us become disconnected from our bodies because we believe they’re broken or worse we unknowingly disassociate from the pain and grief we’re feeling. If this is resonating with you, give one of these 10 ways to reground yourself daily a try and do it consistently:

What’s your relationship to your body? Do you cherish it or do you believe it’s just a vessel that gets you from point A to point B? Our bodies are amazing. They have complex systems that keep us operating efficiently without us even knowing it (most of the time). But if we feel disconnected from our bodies or we don’t appreciate them, we’re more likely to get burnt out or disassociate from them, and we don’t want that. One of the best ways to get reacquainted with your body is the physical practice of yoga. By combining mindfulness, the breath, and movement, the practice quietly reintroduces you to your body’s subtle sensations. So, give a physical practice of yoga a try. Or better yet combine a stationary or vinyasa practice with a restorative yoga practice. You’ll feel super chill afterward, we promise!

We hope you find these activities helpful in reestablishing a strong sturdy connection to your foundation. Practice one or many of them regularly to maintain a happy healthy balance in your root chakra. Next week, we dive into svadhisthana or your sacral chakra so stay tuned!


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