Working with the Base Chakra - Part 2

Key – “I am”

Colour: RED

Location: Base of Spine

The base chakra is located at the base of the spine in the lowest part of the torso; the place where you sit and the center of your body's weight. The colour of the chakra is a deep red and stones which are red, black or brown generally correspond with it. Many of these stones deal with cleansing and releasing. When we cleanse our chakras, generally, negative energy is drawn down towards the base chakra and the legs and feet, where it is released back into the earth to be neutralised. Our connection with the earth through it is also important as this is what enables us to “ground” energy – letting it go from our bodies and be transferred to the earth to be transmuted into positive energy again.

The base chakra is also concerned with the basic physical necessities of life. It is the most energetically physical of the chakras, meaning that it is the area through which we are concerned with the material world. Its balance rests on the degree to which we are happy with our material existence. It therefore relates to survival and the basic needs of the body for shelter, food and company; as well as our desires for material things.

Below are some activities to help you to work with the base chakra, especially if you have purchased one of the Base Chakra Amulets. There is a rundown of how over- or under-active base chakra energy can affect us, and how to know when it has come into balance. There is also a ritual for blessing and receiving your Base Chakra Amulet, a meditation on the base chakra, and some affirmations you can work with to help bring your base chakra into balance.

Is my base chakra overactive, underactive or balanced?

Overactive

If the base chakra is more overactive than the other chakras it can pull the awareness out of the spiritual and make it difficult to be concerned with anything but our material, physical reality. In doing so there is a tendency towards greed and materialism, and an overwhelming urge to acquire belongings or to fulfil physical desires in order to feel happy. It can also cause tendencies to overeating, addictions to things like chocolate, coffee, sugar or even alcohol, drugs or sex. The feeling is of an overwhelming urge to gather things towards oneself in order to feel safe and satisfied, particularly out of feelings of fear, worry or anxiousness about having “enough”.

Underactive

An underactive base chakra can lead to a lack of connection with the material world, a lack of “presence” and can also cause imbalance in other chakras as a result of not being able to properly clear and ground their energy through the healthy function of the base chakra. A lack of connection with the physical world manifests in the body through things like clumsiness and a lack of control over physical movement, loss of appetite, not feeling “at home”,  as well as losing or breaking things often. It can also be a tendency of those who often find themselves in states of poverty because of an inability to hold onto or maintain physical belongings for one reason or another. An inability to let go of negative energy can feel overwhelming, leaving the other chakras imbalanced and causing all kinds of tension.

Balanced

When the base chakra is balanced there is a feeling of being able to let go of bad energy easily from other chakras. It also means that we feel very happy in our material existence – we feel comforted by our home, our food, our belongings, our bodies. Though we may bring new things into our lives we do so without anxiousness or craving. Though we may lose or break things, we feel safe and secure enough to be able to take it in our stride and not let it worry us. We are fully present in the moment of now and have a deep feeling of connectedness with the Earth. We are good to our bodies in every way, making sure we have all we need in health, comfort and safety.

The stones in the amulets

and their lessons:

Black Tourmaline – grounding negativity, protection, safety

Hematite – grounding negativity, grounding emotions, presence

Black Obsidian – awareness of negative and self destructive behaviours. Increases ability and will to change these also. Self-understanding

Garnet – physical health and vitality, strength, grounding

Mahogany obsidian – self-acceptance, body acceptance, physical awareness. Move beyond limitations. Positivity.

Snowflake obsidian – self-acceptance, presence, physical awareness, positivity towards life.

Picture Jasper – grounding, Earth energies and connection, self-awareness.

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Ritual for blessing and receiving the amulet:

This is a ritual to bless your amulet and set the intention of it for the next month. You can adapt the ritual as you like, especially if you are familiar to ritual working. You might like to bring your spiritual beliefs into the ritual or open and close the ceremony in a way that is meaningful to you, such as casting a circle. It is really up to you how simple or complex you make it. If you’re not familiar with ritual however, I would suggest you follow along with the ritual here and see how it feels.

You will need:

-          Candle

-          Stone

-          Small bowl of water

-          Incense

-          Incense holder

-          Lighter or matches

-          Black or dark red cloth

-          Your base chakra amulet

You can switch some of these for other items if necessary. The candle, stone, water and incense represent the four elements – fire, earth, water and air. You could represent these in different ways. For example the incense could be replaced by a feather, or the water by a shell. The stone could be swapped for a bowl of earth or salt. Nothing is quite as good as an actual flame for fire though.

The ritual:

Whether indoors, or in a special natural place or a garden, find a space where you will be able to set up a small table, and somewhere comfortable for you to sit. Be sure that you will have privacy if you feel uncomfortable about others seeing you in ritual. You might like to wear a special outfit for the ritual. Clothing in a black, dark brown or dark red colour would be appropriate. It can also be a nice thing to take a bath or shower before the ritual so that you feel fresh and relaxed.

Turn off your phone and any other devices. Place the small table in front of where you would like to sit and set out the items for the ritual on it in a way that you find appealing with the cloth covering the table first of all. You can add any other items such as crystals, symbols or images, flowers or other plants etc. as you feel it is appropriate. This is your special altar to the base chakra so it should represent what you feel this chakra means to you.

Sit quietly as you set up the space and as you light the candle and the incense, take a moment to feel the energy of the space you are in. Feel the presence of other beings nearby, of sounds in the distance, maybe the sound or touch of the wind, or the feeling of the sun on your skin. Close your eyes and also be aware of your inner being, taking note of the area of the base chakra and how it feels right now. Think about what the base chakra means to you and feel it in your body. Take a few deep breaths and look over the items on your altar seeing how they represent the balance of the elements and the symbols of what the base chakra means to you. Take your amulet in your  hands and hold it in front of you so you can see it. Now bless the amulet by each of the elements:

Hold it to the stone, or place it upon it and say “I bless this amulet with the energies of Earth.”

Take a moment to feel the energy of Earth within the amulet. This is the most important element for the base chakra. Then continue with the other elements, after each taking a moment to feel the energy.

Pass the amulet through the smoke of the incense and say “I bless this amulet with the energies of Air”

Pass the amulet through the heat rising from the candle flame. (Do not hold it too close as it may damage the amulet). Say “I bless this amulet with the energies of Fire”

Dip your finger into the water and touch your finger to the bare stone of the amulet. Say “I bless this amulet with the energies of Water”

Now take the amulet and hold it in your lap. Feel the energy of the stones speak to you and interact with your base chakra. Take a few deep breaths and acknowledge that this is your amulet and project the intention that it will help you to balance your base chakra. Say to yourself, whether aloud or with the voice of your mind:

“Ground me. Release negativity. I accept all that I am”

You might like to repeat this a few times until you feel it has been heard by your subconscious mind. This can mean saying it over and over until the sounds end up sounding like nonsense. You can just say it a few times if you prefer though. It’s up to you.

You can now put on the amulet and feel the energy of it and how it affects your base chakra as you wear it. You might like now to do the base chakra meditation as a part of the ritual, or you can do that at another time and leave the ritual here.

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Meditation on the Base Chakra

Sit in a comfortable position either on the floor, on a pillow if you prefer, or in a chain with your feet on the floor. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths, becoming aware of your inner being. Feel the alignment of your spinal cord, and bring it into equilibrium: not strained in one way or another, not leaning to one side or the other; you should feel even front and back and side to side. You can help this also by the old trick of imagining a string being pulled from the top of your head all the way through your spine to your tailbone. Lifting you and finding your weight point on the sit bones. You should feel alert though comfortable. Try to avoid slouching or reclined positions as these can cause sleepiness or back troubles.

As you align your body’s position, continue to breathe in and out. As you breath in, imagine a white ball of light above you that comes into your body by the top of your head. With each breath in, become filled with the white light. With each breath out, feel more relaxed, letting go of any tension, stress or negative energy. Feel the light come down to your base chakra area, where it enlivens the red colour, making it brighter and stronger if weak; healthier and more balanced otherwise. Notice if there are any dark spots or weak patches in the center and let the light move into them, healing them with every inhalation. With each exhalation, let the dark spots fall away into the earth to be neutralised.

Do this exercise for about 5 to 10 minutes. A good way to time it is to put on some meditation music for the right amount of time. I like searching You Tube so I have new music all the time, but there are also many beautiful tracks that you can find for this. Low tones, huming, soft drumming and nature sounds are excellent for the base chakra’s energy.

When you have finished your exercise, thank the white light for its healing energy. Thank the Earth for grounding your negative energy. Begin moving by wiggling your fingers and toes, then open your eyes.

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Daily affirmations:

I am grounded and present

I am feeling healthier with more vitality every day

I accept and love my body and all of myself

I am who I am

I am here and I experience now

Working with the Base Chakra - Part 1

After recently making a series of Kundalini amulets with serpent designs, I have found myself moved to create some more amulets that relate to each one of the chakras. So here's what I'm going to do. Over the next few months I am going to work through each of the chakras, sharing ideas and resources about each of them with you, as well as creating a series of amulets that relate to that energy.

So we will start with the base chakra, so let's talk a bit about it to get us started :-)
For the base chakra, the focus is on the physical realm. It's about the basic necessities of life: food, shelter, health, comfort, self-acceptance and the healthy fulfillment of base desires such as sex drive (though not love, just the urges of the body), the desire to organise or clean, and to acquire material items. Areas it addresses are the release of addictive behaviours and grasping or craving tendencies; to recognise the importance of our physical health and wellbeing, as well as our stability financially and our sense of having a place to call home. It also relates to our relationship with the Earth in a very hands on kind of way. Our comfortability in nature, and our connection to our wild primal self in that.

It is our rootedness and the base of our being. It is our ability to survive. It is "TO BE".

Chakras can be either underactive or overactive. In the case of the Base Chakra, if it is underactive, there is a lack of stability, sense of having a home, or a weak or undernourished body, lack of libido etc. It can also come in the form of too much emphasis on other areas of life (such as mental, emotional or spiritual) that causes this area to be neglected, such as laziness, procrastination etc. There is also often a tendency to want to "hibernate" or be hermit-like, hiding away from the world.

If it is overactive there can be grasping tendencies that can be addictive. This can be associated with unhealthy yearnings for certain foods, wealth, sex, exercise, material goods or a tendency to hoard things. There may be more focus on the physical material world as opposed to other areas. There may also be tendencies to take the physical world for granted, seeing it as a means to an end or a resource to be milked. In extreme cases of overactive base chakras people have little care for anything or anyone but their own greed and sense of self-worth through the acquisition of material goods.

Working with crystals is one of the simplest ways to work with the chakras. Simply choose a period of time you will wear the amulet for (eg. a week, a month etc) with the intention of noting changes and insights you have in that time about your base chakra. Just wear the necklace everyday and keep a journal to write down anything you notice about your nature in this area of your life. Some questions you could ask yourself might include:

- Do I feel grounded, stable and rooted in this time of my life?
- Am I yearning for anything, and is that yearning healthy or unhealthy?
- Am I feeling physically healthy right now? Is there anything I need to change to make myself more healthy?
- Is there any negativity in this chakra I need to let go of?
- Is this chakra in need of more energy?

You can use this mediation (click on the link) to help you to clear your chakras and to get a subtle understanding of how they are functioning for you right now. Working with crystals can help this meditation to work well for the chakra you are focusing on.

To get some more inspiration, please also have a look at my Pinterest board of images and ideas about the Base Chakra here.

I can't help but take these journeys with you! As I make the amulets, which I have begun already, I feel myself moving into the process of working on this chakra as I connect with the intention. I also have my own series of the chakra amulets that I have been working with for over a year now. It's a process I enjoy going through again and again to get a deeper understanding of myself.  I'd like to share my personal experience with you too.

For me, it's brought up my need to focus on very physical aspects of my life, particularly, my eating habits, organising my daily routine, keeping on top of the housework and letting go of my addictions to caffeine and sugar. I tend to be a very mental, emotional and spiritual person, so for me, the base chakra is underactive. I tend to get carried away with creating things or thinking about things or talking to people, and end up neglecting basic things like making sure I do the laundry or the vacuuming, eating badly, staying up late, and then managing my tiredness with caffeine. I'm sure this will be a familiar tale to many mums out there!

So what I'm starting is a healthy eating routine, using Aryurvedic dietry suggestions, cutting out refined sugar, cakes, biscuits etc, and also, to my horror, my daily flat white. I'm going to go to bed at 10pm and get up at 6:30am to do my yoga. I'm allocating time everyday to do "general cleaning" in the house. And I'm also giving up my rather limited consumption of alcohol and cigarettes too.

It sounds like the standard New Year's Resolution list right? The one I write every year and never manage to achieve. The difference here is that all the other standards on that list are missing. There is focus here, based on the chakra I am working with, that creates a centeredness that should (fingers crossed) help me acheieve this, if only for the period of time I work with this chakra - at the very least I will learn something about myself.

I would love to hear your experiences of working on the base chakra, so if you'd like to leave a comment below that would be awesome. Let's take this journey together :-)