This Energetic Imbalance May Contribute To Your Anxiety & Allergies

The root is about safety and survival, which is essential for any healthy, thriving life. Therefore, we must create stability in the root before we can express ourselves through the other chakras in an aligned and authentic way.

While all of these health issues can be improved with lifestyle changes, nutrient supplementation, and medications, exploring and supporting the root chakra is integral to sustainable healing.

For example, an authentic desire for a toddler may be the preference for apple juice over orange. One morning, the coffee shop is sold out of apple juice, so the parent gives them orange. When the toddler throws a tantrum among a crowd full of people to express their unmet desire, the parent becomes embarrassed and frustrated. During this early phase of life, children are highly sensitive to the feelings and energy of others, so the toddler may feel the parents frustration and respond by suppressing their desire in service of secure attachment. Some version of this has happened to all of us as young children and we learned to compromise our less critical (yet authentic) needs or desires to secure attachment and survive.

The misunderstanding that it is not safe to express oneself authentically is the foundation for dis-ease of the physical and subtle bodies.

Healing the root chakra is a process of working through fears and learning to trust that it is safe to be who you truly are. It involves (1) exploring unconscious fears about survival; (2) learning that it is safe to be authentic; (3) clearing other people's beliefs, emotions, and energy out of your field; and (4) trusting yourself and the process of life, even in the presence of fear. Here are four practices to get you started:

Set up your mountain pose barefoot on the grass (if possible). Take your time setting up the pose, focusing on the feel of your feet against the ground. Lift and spread your toes and the balls of your feet, then lay them back down. Rock back and forth on the soles of the feet, finding the point where your weight feels balanced. Then soften the knees but engage the legs, creating a strong foundation. Only once the foundation feels solid should you engage the belly, open the chest, relax the shoulder blades, and imagine the crown of your head lengthening up toward the sky. Stay in this pose for three minutes.

Spend some time journaling about these fears. Note where they came from and how they affect your life. What would be different in your life if you were not affected by these fears?

Close your eyes and visualize yourself as a young child under 7 years old. Imagine your current self holding the childhood version of yourself. Silently whisper the following phrases into his/her ear:

Hold your childhood self closely and then visualize his/her body merging with your current body.

Close your eyes and visualize the roots of a tree extending from the base of your spine into the center of the earth. Imagine all of the energy in your body and your field that is not authentically yours, draining down the roots into the earth. Don't worry about who the energy belongs to. Simply allow it to drain out of your body. When you feel complete, visualize yourself chopping the roots of the tree off of your body.