In all the hats I wear (as an artist, a blogger, a doula, a mentor, a wife, a sister, a daughter, an auntie, + friend) I get disconnect from myself, my roots, from time to time.

It’s easy in our busy life to forget the whole picture of our big, beautiful life.

What I do in these moments is I turn to what keeps me grounded; I use my knowledge about the root chakra to keep me creatively rooted. 

I like to simply define a chakra as a place where our emotions are stored in our body. This is an oversimplification for the vast world of chakras, but even after a year intensive of studying the chakras and their meaning, this definition rules.

The root chakra is located at the base of our physical torso. Energetically, the root chakra is a place that holds our emotions about belonging, safety, and security. Our feelings of rooted-ness are formulated during the first months of being in the womb and into the first 9 months of our babyhood.

A thriving root chakra in you comes forth as feeling secure, knowing deep inside you that belong here. It’s about trusting that your needs will always be met.

A prospering root chakra is feeling a deep connection to your familial tribe and heritage.

A healthy root chakra allows for creativity to be possible.

It allows for you to be healthy in your overall being enough to engage in the choice that is creativity.

A misaligned root chakra comes out as fear, as fight or flight in almost every decision you make. You experience a need to be approved from other people.

If your root chakra is off you generally don’t trust, and feel afraid that your basic survival needs won’t be met.

Things that cause your root chakra to shift: life change (divorce, moving, death in the family); being hurt by a loved one or someone you place trust in; losing a job or changing careers; growing up in an emotionally unstable environment.

Below are 9 rituals that work for me when I feel disconnect to my sense of the whole + complete me. May one or all of them guide you back to your place of knowing:

1. Walking barefoot in grass: the sensation of the earth against your bare skin will and does ground you. Take advantage of any Spring/Summer/Fall time to get into the earth without shoes to protect your feet.
2. Meditation: Set time away, sit with your eyes closed, and meditate. All it takes is a few solid minutes to have a meditation practice. A good rooted saying to keep repeating is: I belong here.
3. Prayer: Call out to that which is larger than us all for a sense of belonging, comfort, and security.
4. Dance: I dance almost every day. Some days I go to a public class, some days I whop it up in my living room. To move to music is one of the most primal things we know to do, so allow yourself a non-judgmental space to DANCE.
5. Touch your legs/feet: Your legs and feet root you to the ground, the earth, this planet. Touch them to remind yourself of being and belonging.
6. Surround yourself with red: Red is the first color on the rainbow spectrum, and is often associate with the low end of the musical scale by some thinkers. It’s the color of our blood, that which provides us life. Get together a few red books, stones, flowers, paints and create an altar of red to gaze upon (like I did in the picture above).
7. Go back to where you grew up: I recently took a trip to where I grew up. My roots thrive there, still, and I always take away from my time there a deeper connection to my sense of belonging. If going to where you grew up isn’t a healthy option, eat some food that reminds you of a place where you felt you belonged. Invite the people that are your tribe over for a protein rich nourishing dinner. Surround yourself with your people.
8. Organize/purge: There’s nothing like a bunch of old mess to clutter your root chakra. Take 15 minutes a day and fill a bag of stuff you don’t need anymore or organize that clutter on your desk (or desks). Clear spare=clear emotions=clear creativity.
9. Take a technology break: At least once a week, I step away from the computer. I stop instagram-ing everything, and I read. I paint. I call my family. I hike and romp around with my husband. I remind myself of what is simple and necessary to live: being, belonging, and loving the present moment.

My wish for you is that your root chakra thrives.

And in this glowing, healthy, and abundant sense of self: your creativity soars.

If you need a bit of help accessing your root chakra, check out this program I created just for you. Invest today in getting to know your emotional system and trust your life to unfold as you want.

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