The word “Chakra” comes from Sanskrit, translating in English to “wheel” or “disk.” The Chakras are the seven main spiritual moving energy centers within our bodies that combine the emotional, physical, and spiritual vibrations in our beings.

The Chakras ‘spin’ around our bodies. They build from the foundation of our ‘Root’ and move through various planes to reach the Crown of enlightenment.

Since everything is energy, it is very important that our seven main Chakras stay fluid, aligned, balanced, and flowing. Breath, movement, and presence bring that alignment.

Your Root Chakra Over 60

The Root Chakra, known as mudlahara, is your ‘basic root.’ For women over 60, it’s the place where we might feel secure (or insecure) in who we are at this stage or unbalanced as we face the challenges of aging.

The security the Root Chakra provides from our birth gets redefined as we lose our parents, family, and friends to illness and death. The Root Chakra is our foundation of trust, and yet as we age, we find that we feel uncertain whether our physical bodies will continue to serve us.

The Root Chakra is also the place of solace as we age. It is where we find comfort in rituals, maybe religious customs, and in our wisdom of how life unfolds.

It is where we pass on traditions from generation to generation such as a family recipe or heirloom jewelry that honors our past, or the past of those gone before us. Balancing our Root Chakra provides us with the comfort and security that we are grounded and safe, no matter what life brings us.

The Beginning

When we are born, we enter into our family, our tribe, our belonging and are totally connected to the people who meet our basic needs.

The Root Chakra is where we feel safe, have food, shelter, clothing, and care – everything we need to actually exist and survive. Mudlahara is the most instinctual of all Chakras.

According to Dr. Shawna Freshwater, Ph.D., “The Root Chakra is comprised of whatever grounds you to stability in your life.”

On the other hand, “Imbalance in life force energy in the Root Chakra can leave us feeling restless or experiencing (…) anxiety, worry, panic, depression, frustration, resentment, anger/rage, or having no interest in the world or in our own survival.”

Location of Your Root Chakra

The Root Chakra is located in your perineum area, your groin, your lower hips, your coccyx, and all areas that are rooted or grounded. Associated with the element of earth, this Chakra holds us physically by gravity, emotionally through belonging, and spiritually as our foundation.

The Root Chakra is associated with the physical body that includes the adrenal glands, colon, kidneys, skeleton/bones, muscles, and arterial blood that flows through the left chamber of the heart, carrying oxygen and nutrients to our body tissue.

The Color of Your Root Chakra

Red is the color of our primal and first Chakra and symbolizes life force. It is the color of a STOP sign and calls our attention right now! Red is the slowest of all the wavelengths within the visible spectrum, yet, it is the most stimulating color.

It pulls the retina forward so all of our energy and attention is focused outward. Nutritionally, eating red fruits such as beets, tomatoes, strawberries, cherries, and pomegranate enhances our alignment to our Root.

Energy of the Root Chakra

The Root Chakra is our primal energy of survival, our fight, flight, or freeze response. The energy of Root Chakra allows us to harness courage, resourcefulness and the will to live during challenging times. The Root Chakra connects us with the spiritual energies of our ancestors.

When the first Chakra is in healthy alignment, we are able to tap into its graceful stability to support a calm and steady energy.

The Shadow Side of the Root Chakra

Physically, the first Chakra is associated with problems in the colon, with the bladder, with elimination, or with lower back, leg, or feet issues. Spiritually, the first Chakra is associated with our sense, or discomfort, with belonging and safety.

Trust is developed, or delayed, by our first sensitivities with our world. Whether or not you feel secure now is significantly impacted by how safe and secure you felt as a small child.

How to Balance the Root Chakra

Conscious movement can offer subtle shifts in an unbalanced Root Chakra. Grounding movements include:

Breathing

Breathing fully, deeply, and slowly brings you to the present. Inhale for 6, pause for 2, exhale for 6, pause for 2.

Sitting Pose

The easy cross-legged sitting pose has you sitting with your buttocks, hips, legs, and feet to the earth.

Child’s Pose

To do the child pose, sit in the easy pose, then extend your arms forward, open your knees, and bring your hips towards your legs and heels. Your heart is soft and face relaxed.

Squat

A squat is another balancing movement. Turn your feet out with heels solidly on the ground. Bend your knees and lower your hips toward the earth, feeling the weight of your buttocks. Your hands can point to the earth or stay in prayer pose at the heart.

Mountain

Another movement you can do to balance your Root Chakra is the mountain. Stand tall with feet grounded to the earth. Your legs should feel steady, belly strong, heart open, jaw soft, mind still.

Knee to Chest

Lying on your back, bring your bent knees to your torso, allowing your spine and head to be supported by the earth.

Savasana

Lie on your back, palms up but 45 degrees away from your body. Every part of your body should feel totally relaxed and supported by the earth. Release all control of your breath, mind, and body and move into a state of total relaxation.

Walking

And, needless to say, you can always connect to the earth and balance your Root Chakra by taking a walk around your neighborhood or local park.

Affirmations for Your Root Chakra

Repeat these affirmations when you need to align, recharge, and enhance your Root Chakra at any age.

• I feel centered
• I feel safe and secure
• I have what I need
• I am connected to my body
• I trust myself

These simple movements and validating affirmations will help you when you feel anxious or restless, and they could be a great way to unwind from tension accumulated at work or at a holiday gathering.

What do you know about your Root Chakra? Do you feel unbalanced, anxious, or stressed? What will you do to get back to a state of security? Please share with our community of women!