Muladhara Chakra - The Temple of the Body

With the spectacular Full Moon Lunar Eclipse this evening (15th June), my sutra (thread) for this weeks classes is grounding, rooting and building a strong foundation as we feel connected and earthed to our planet, Gaia / Mother Earth...

So, the theme is Muladhara (Root) Chakra...

Happy grounding :-)
With love & Goddess flow,
Anil xox

Muladhara Chakra
1st Chakra
Base, Root
Located at the base of the spine

Red, Black

Stability, grounding, physical energy, will, security.

First Chakra---Root located at base if spine area of coccyx.

Issues: survival, security, safety, ability to be grounded to earth plane.
Physical functions influence: excretion and digestion; small intestine and colon; kidneys; sex glands/drive; reproduction; hips, legs, lower back rectum uterus.
Ailments: constipation; diarrhea; colitis; knees; sciatica; vaginal; hemorrhoids; prostate; ovarian; uterine; chronic fatigue.
Root Issues: accidents; homelessness; suicidal tendencies; panic.
Blockages: not belonging; not belonging (no roots); not able to make a living; not able to materialize goals.
Your Root Chakra: Balanced Foundation
Located in the energy field at the base of your tailbone, it provides the firm foundation necessary to living, establishes personal access to everything needed in order to survive and grow, and offers a basic sense of security and safety.
Your first chakra's main role is to help you meet your basic needs for survival-smoothly, certainly, and with grace. It focuses attention on your daily needs and stimulates your ability to fulfill them. The result is confidence - in yourself and the Universe - and connection, a true sense of spiritual heritage and community kinship.

Root Chakra Facts:
·   The first chakra governs eating, the need for shelter, warmth, and comfort and the   
    desire to feel protected.
·   A well-balanced root chakra results in a feeling of calm and an aura of quiet strength and
    confidence.
·   In your body, the first chakra governs the bones, blood, immune system, colon, rectum,
    legs, and feet.
·   An apt image for the first chakra is a plant or tree rooted firmly in Mother Earth.
·   The root chakra vibrates with the color red.
·   The root chakra's mission statement is: I want, I need.

Maintaining a balanced foundation is an ongoing and sometimes challenging process. Life is ever changing, and you must be able to go with the flow, bending like the branches of a tree in an unpredictable wind. Because it is impossible to control your external environment, you must concentrate on creating an inner environment that is both solid and flexible.

Muladhara Chakra

Muladhara is the root centre of physical experience, located at the base of the spine, the sacral plexus.

The square represents the earth itself, the four dimensions and the four directions. Four allows for completion, and earth embodies the elements and conditions for human completion on all levels.

Patience and greed are the attributes of this element, survival its desire, collecting and saving are its activity. Muladhara Chakra is the meeting place of the three main nadis: Ida, Pingala and Sushumna. The downward-pointing triangle indicates the downward movement of energy and the three main nadis.

The seed mantra is Lam, the yellow square represents the earth element. The chakra governs the vital breath Apana. An inverted triangle in the centre of the square encloses the unmanifest Kundalini in three and a half coils around the svayambhu (self born) linga. With her mouth open, facing upward, she is connected with the path of Sushumna, the central nerve canal that runs along the spine.

Asanas

Yoga poses that correct first chakra imbalances, bring us back to our body and the earth and helping us experience safety, security, and stillness. Muladhara Chakra is associated with the element earth, representing physical and emotional grounding, and with the color red, which has a slower vibration than the colors that symbolize the other chakras.

Calf openers, hamstring stretches, and standing poses help to open and strengthen the lower body and root the energy downwards.