Earth and water – the first and second chakras.

The first and second chakras – muladhara and svadhisthana chakras – are located on the lower regions of our spine. To read more on just the chakras, check out the link below:

In yoga, we usually work by beginning with the lowest chakra (whereas, for example, we go from the crown of the head downward). As mentioned previously, the chakras are wheels of energy in our subtle body that affects us: physically, emotionally and spiritually.

Muladhara Chakra.

The muladhara chakra – or root chakra – is at the base of the spine. With males, it is in-between the anus and the genitals, and with females, it is near the cervix, where the vagina meets the uterus. “Mula” means ‘base’ and “adhara” means support.

This chakra is associated with the grounding aspects of our life. When we are provided for at our most basic levels – food, clothing, shelter – then we should be quite solid in our muladhara. This chakra also represents our relationship to earth – as its element is earth. Basically, if we are grounded, this energy wheel in our subtle body should be flowing smoothly.

Visually, this chakra is represented by a four-petaled lotus, with a square which represents earth / matter. In the centre of the square is the root sound of earth, “Lam”.

The sense correlating to the muladhara is smell, and the sense organ is nose. The organ of action is our eliminating organs, and the root chakra is also related to movement of our legs (and being stable on our legs).

The bandha (or energy ‘lock’) related to this is the mula bhanda, And the deity associated with this chakra is Ganesha – who is the gateway into anything – or Shakti, the goddess, who looks up the kundalini towards Shiva, who abides in the crown chakra.

The meridian points that match this chakra are for those of the small intestines and kidney.

If you want to connect with this chakra, or work on it, you can do sitting meditations with the mantra ‘Lam’, or focus on the earth (or spend time in nature), or work on your standing yoga asana, including and especially standing balance yoga poses, or all of these.

Read more on grounding below:

Blog posts on grounding.

Essential oils help to clear blockages in your chakras, so you can use the following to enhance your grounding or other muladhara work:

  • Frankincense
  • Cedarwood
  • Other woody essential oils, such as Arborvitae, Siberian Fir, Douglas Fir etc.

Svadisthana Chakra.

Svadisthana – or sacral chakra – is located a little above the coccyx, or in the sacrum above the coccyx. The name is derived from Sanskrit: “sva’ which means ‘self’, and “adhisthana”, which means ‘dwelling place’. While the muladhara chakra is the foundation of stability, the sacral chakra represents our ability to flow, its element being water.

This chakra is a good point to focus on when we seek to seed our intention to grow and flow – a place where intentions give birth to actual manifested experience.

The sense organ associated with this chakra is the tongue, through which we taste.

The lotus representing svadisthana has six petals, represented usually in red. There is a half moon (or crescent moon) inside the lotus, with the root mantra “Vam”. The deity associated with this chakra is Varuna, who is the god of water, and whose sound is also “Vam”.

It is at this chakra point that we either allow events to flow, or remain stuck in our own inner narratives – possibly imputing our own interpretations and stories on what happened. This chakra invites us to look into the patterns in our behaviour or thoughts. The six currents flow at this chakra point – indulgence, cruelty, destruction, delusion, disdain and doubt. Our job is to ensure we do not drown in any of these capacities.

The sacral chakra is an emotional point, which is why we need to observe, rather than allow the emotions to sink us. The meridian point connected to this chakra is the Pericardium and also our Triple Warmer (fight / flight / freeze response).

Read more on flowing and letting go below:

If you would like essential oils to help enhance your work on the sacral chakra, you can use the following:

  • Myrrh
  • Cypress
  • Cinnamon Bark or Patchouli
  • Tangerine or Wild Orange

Grounding and flowing.

These two base chakras basically help us to ground and flow. If you find yourself very ungrounded, flitting from activity to activity getting bored or not finding what you are hoping to gain, this means more work needs to be done on grounding.

If you find yourself stuck with patterns (e.g. MUST do certain things, refusing to let go of inner stories or narratives about yourself or others, MUSTN’T do certain things etc.), then more work needs to be done on letting go.

Stay tuned for blog posts on:

  • Yoga asana on the muladhara chakra and svadisthana chakra
  • The next two chakras – manipura (solar plexus) and anahata (heart) chakras

in the weeks ahead!

If you do have questions that need responses, then please do contact me here.

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