Nurturing the Spirit: Feeding the Soul with Muladhara Meditation

Nurturing the Spirit: Feeding the Soul with Muladhara Meditation

            Hey gang! Raven the Kitchen Witch here, and today I'm going to talk a bit about nurturing the soul. Nurturing your inner Self is just as important and imperative as tending to your physical and mental states. For me, meditation is one of the best and most effective ways to connect to your Spirit and calm the ever-increasing fragmentation of thought. Even if you do not believe in such a thing as chakras, or even if you aren't spiritual at all - you can still benefit from positive affirmation and meditation. And the best part is, you can benefit the world around you as well. And good news for those of you on a budget, as this practice is entirely free, the only thing you need to 'spend' is your time and energy.  

            When I say practice I do actually mean practice, though. Meditation is not known to 'come easy' to most people, and it does require practice. The first meditation I'd like to share is to balance and open your root chakra. The 'root' chakra, or Muladhara, is located at the base of the spine, pelvic floor, and the first three vertebra. According to spiritual gurus, balancing this chakra provides the base or 'foundation' to open the rest of the chakras above it. This chakra is our base energy and helps us ground ourselves.

            An imbalanced root chakra can lead to anxiety disorders, nightmares, and other manifestations of fear. It can physically present as problems with the colon, bladder, lower back, legs, and feet. Eating disorders are also typical of a root chakra imbalance.

            There are many ways to balance this chakra. Colors to focus on are varying shades of red. If you are a yoga practitioner or wish to physically manifest the alignment of this chakra, during meditation one can get into several yoga poses including Janu Siransana (head to knee pose) or Padmasana (lotus flexion), to name a couple.

            The sense of smell is also highly associated with the root chakra, so make sure you have pleasant smells (think of perhaps diffusing some good essential oils during meditation), and should focus on the tip of the nose during meditation to help align this chakra.

            To aide in your meditation, have near or on your person specific semi precious gemstones like garnet, red jasper, bloodstone, and black tourmaline. It is generally thought that if you are meditating, placing the corresponding stone in the area of the chakra will help open and balance the chakra you are working with.

            The meditation:  Sit in a cross legged position or lie on your back. Begin with deep breaths. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Sighing is OK and natural as you relax into the meditation. Tense each part of your body, from your jaw to your toes, one at a time, and then relax. Feel your whole body relax.

            Once relaxed, begin the affirmations. For the root chakra, we will affirm:

The Universe is a safe and loving place.

I am safe in this world.

I was ordained to be here, right now, at this time.

The Divines (or The Universe, should you not be a spiritual person) shall supply all my needs.

There is enough for everyone, including me.

I belong, and I have a right to be here.

I am able to stand up for myself.

The earth and all its wonders nourish me.

The trees, rocks, and soil, they are gifts from the Creators (or Universe) which team with life.

I am rooted and grounded in Life.

            You can repeat the full mantra for as long as you can concentrate, but typically when I am working on opening or aligning I will choose one of these and only focus on it during my meditation, and will work each affirmation at separate times over the course of about a week. If you find you have trouble focusing, be present during your meditation. Notice that your thoughts have wandered, and instead of giving up and saying this is not a practice you can handle, bring your thoughts back to the affirmation and try again. This is not a race, and it is something that requires practice. I promise after several weeks, your concentration will increase and meditation will come easier. Aim to work up to five minutes to start and see how you feel after. And please, if you try this or want to share your own root chakra meditation technique, comment below!  Shine on~