Sanctuary

From the root chakra, we move upward to the sacral chakra.  Sacral, because it's right around the sacrum, a name that shares its etymology with "sacred".  Within the sacral chakra we find the source of the old bit about having to love yourself before you can love anyone else.  The sacral chakra houses the expression of the personality, of individuality, but also, the source for our need and ability to reach out to others.  When our sacral chakra is balanced and open, we can more effectively know and appreciate ourselves and subsequently, more effectively be a part of our world. 

Here's the source of our creativity.  Literally, as it's linked to our reproductive organs, but also on a more imaginative level, because it spawns our creative expressions.  Due to all these heady responsibilities, the sacral chakra is associated with the sacred; it's no mistake this part of our body is named for it.  How you define and relate to "sacred" in your life is unique to you. 

This chakra is often symbolized by the moon, which seems fitting.  The moon is mysterious, appears in the dark of night and quietly and effortlessly controls the tides.  Oh the symbolism around this stuff!  The moon, water, sacred spaces, it all has a bearing here and it's worth it for you to check in with your own sacral chakra to see where your mind goes.  Regardless of how it hits you, you really should give it some thought, because these poor lower chakras are too often shut down, ignored or even repressed.  We're made to feel a little nervous by their raw, tactless and somewhat barbarian rhythms.  We worry our own inner Incredible Hulk, werewolf or the like is stirring in there, just waiting to be released, and that once we do that, there's no getting things under control again.  These are ego-based concerns, and it's not fair to relegate them to our own, let's call it, nitty gritty.  Your nitty gritty, I assure you, always moves in peace with every living thing.

On a less esoteric note, this chakra regulates the sex organs, the bladder, prostate (if that's how you roll), womb (if the prostate's not your thing), the kidneys and of course, the sacral nerve plexus.  When you're ailing in any of these areas, your sacral chakra needs some healing because the energy it's taking in and pushing out, is not quite right.  Once you can jump start that gear, you'll be on your way to feeling better (and so will the people you hang out with, because you're blocked sacral chakra is sort of being a jerkwad to them). 

I Kick It Root Down! I Put My Root Down!

It is possible for me to name a blog post without referencing a song, but it's very, very difficult.  Today we're going to talk about the root chakra.  I recommend a soundtrack of African drumming for this (not the Beastie Boys, they're really more solar plexus than root, despite what they say).

Here's a bit of the skinny on the root chakra.  It's only a bit of the skinny because one could compose an entire tome on the topic of the root alone, but are you here for that kind of in-depth contemplation?  Of course not, this is blog, for cryin' out loud.  I've digressed, let's move on. 

The root chakra houses your will to live on this earth.  The will to live sounds like it should be written - The Will to Live in some fancy typeset not available in Blogger's list of fonts.  But let's break that down, shall we?  When we choose things for ourselves that are arguably bad for us, this is an expression of the will to live, or, rather, a lack thereof.  So, everything from throwing ourselves from a rocky precipice to the unforgiving rapids fifty feet below, to dating someone you know to be a horrible match for you, to badmouthing yourself out loud or in your head,  to opting for the Snickers bar instead of the apple is in play.  When these are the types of decisions we are making, not only the root, but most assuredly the root, is in need of some attention.

On a physical level, the root chakra affects the adrenals, the spinal column and the kidneys.  Here's one example of how we tie this together: you are incessantly exhausted and can hardly force yourself to get out of bed in the morning.  Your exhaustion seems to lead to constant, low-level illness.  So you're tired, catching every cold that goes around, can't shake that annoying cough or you succumb to seasonal allergies seemingly every season.  When you go see your doctor, she tests your adrenal glands and tells you your levels are wonky ("wonky" is definitely a medical term).  It is likely she will recommend a pharmaceutical solution and perhaps you will be relieved and imbued with hope.  The drug you are about to take will target your adrenals and, God willing and the Creek don't rise, alleviate your symptoms.  However, you've completely missed the point of your symptoms now.  This is a root chakra situation, and this part of your energy body is activated because you need to correct something.  You need to transform some energy.  So you've taken your medicine and you feel better, but you've also ingested some toxins that your body will not process out of you, but instead store in your fatty tissues forever, and you're not noticing that the energy is going to shift to something else, possibly your kidneys or, very likely, your spinal column. Balancing and opening your root chakra will help prevent you from making poor decisions for yourself.  Once balanced, you will find the will and the discipline to change your diet, or your sleep habits, or some other habit that's creating disease in you, and from there, you can truly begin to heal.

Here's a root chakra fun fact - down there in the root, right at the base of your spine, the Kundalini lies coiled and, in most of us, sleeping.  The Kundalini (Shakti), represented by a serpent, longs to move, to undulate gracefully up the spine toward her ultimate goal, reunification with her greatest love, Shiva, who's up there in the crown chakra, waiting.  Shakti is power at rest, the essence of life, the prana and when she and Shiva get together, they create nada (pure cosmic sound) and the supreme truth that underlies all manifestation.  This unifying force sets the soul free.  Our medical caduceus is inspired by the Kundalini.  All of us know, somewhere deep down, not only that Root Down was first a Jimmy Smith composition, but mostly that we really do need to kick it Root Down. 

May your Shakti and Shiva find one another!