Root Chakra Nidra Journey

Relax into deep restoration of the first chakra. Muladhara, our root support, rules the base of the spine, legs, feet, bones. It is the red earth energy of elimination, survival, ancestry and manifestation. Plant a seed deep into the fertile soil to re-set this sacred center through the noursihing journey of yoga nidra with guided shamanic drumming.

Transcript

So let's get cozy and bring in as much of the earth element as you can. So that doesn't necessarily mean you have to be on the floor. I know a lot of us like to practice yoga nidra on the couch or in the bed, But in those spaces still how much support can you bring to the physical world? Can you add some weight through a blanket or socks? Can you cover your eyes? How supported and grounded can you allow your physical form to be? We begin this new year, New month, New lunar cycle with the root chakra. And in Sanskrit the root chakra is muladhara, Which translates to root support. And the chakra system is a rich, Vast, Super powerful energetic anatomy structure. There are seven main chakras, Although different traditions say that there's many, Many more, But we pretty much all agree on seven main chakras that relate to the spine, The movement from the base of the spine to the crown of the head. We know that corresponds beautifully with our central nervous system. And this is a system that has been around much longer than Western allopathic medicine. And the root chakra is at the base of the spine and it controls the physicality from the base of the spine down to the toes, Ruled by the element of earth. The color is red. It is related to our right to be here, To the shadow of fear, And has a lot to do with our ability to eliminate healthily. And also our survival response. It corresponds with the adrenal glands, Which have a lot to do with the ancient response to fight or flee or freeze. And when they're healthy, We are able to drop and to rest and digest. This is the chakra of safety, Security, Stability. It is said that the root chakra begins to form in utero. And so a lot of our root chakra awareness that we come into the world with is based literally on the environment while we are in our biological parents' body. However, We can always develop a healthier relationship with the root chakra. A healthy root chakra has a strong stability to our physical structure. Finances, Family are all part of this. Able to manifest, Able to not simply survive, But thrive. And when we have challenges in the root chakra, We can either have too much lethargy, Too much heaviness, Unable to motivate or make change, Or the opposite where we cannot manifest. We are too anxious or airy and we're unable to pay our bills, Work our jobs. But most of us have a little bit of everything. And so the idea of spending time in the root chakra through the practice of yoga nidra is to really feel into this space, To sense it, To honor it, And to allow the recalibration of this wheel. Chakra means wheel in Sanskrit. And so hopefully by now you've really settled yourself close to the earth. You've allowed your back body to soften, Feeling the shape of your bones, Your flesh. And notice the parts of you touching the earth, The earth touching you. Take a moment to honor your root support. Whatever you are feeling or experiencing today, Honor the structures that have allowed you to be here now. And every gardener knows from time to time we tend to the roots. And this time of year is a powerful time to tend to the roots, Whether that means we withdraw them from the earth and replant, Whether that means we clear out and nourish and feed. And so as you feel your body resting on the earth, I would like you to feel the base of your spine. Feel the tailbone base. Notice where it's connected to. And imagine a root, A cord moving out of that space and down through your blanket, Down through your mat or bed or couch, Down, Down, Down, Down, Down through the mud, Through the dirt, Through the bones, Through the glass, All the way down, Down, Down, Down to the red core of our planet, Like an ancient root, An ancient umbilical cord connecting us to our earth. The root chakra is our planetary ancestral awareness and connection. And as you feel yourself connected to the earth, Know that this cord will remain intact through the practice. And this is the place where you can let go of stagnant, Outdated, Unnecessary heaviness and where you can draw in healthy, Radiant, Sustainable root energy. Allow yourself to take a big breath in, Feel energy move up the spine and then sigh out the mouth and surrender deeper to that connection to the earth. And then again, Take a big breath in, Draw energy up the spine. And then again, With a sigh, With some sound, Release. And then one more time, Take a big, Big breath in as you draw breath up the spine, Squeeze your face, Squeeze your hands, Squeeze your feet, Feel the body engage. And then sigh it all out, All out, All out, Let it go, Surrender to the earth, Surrender to the roots as we begin this practice of yoga nidra for a muladhara chakra. Settle your attention back into the base of the spine, Feeling that connection to the earth. Know you are connected, Know you are safe, You are held, You are supported. And then feel that current of earth energy travel up your spine to the crown of your head. And then allow your attention to move to the space between your eyebrows. And as you feel into this space between the eyebrows, Feeling connected, Held, Safe, Imagine a red light, Like a red dot right between your eyebrows. Just hold the image of this red light, Red circle. Red is the color of the root. Imagine a rich red light. We offer sankalpa. Sankalpa is the heart's longing, The resolve or its intention for practice. And you might already be working with an intention for this new year. The intention is a short positive statement in present tense beginning usually with I. But if this is new for you or if you'd like to work with a specific intention for the root chakra, You might try on, I am safe. I am grounded. I am present. I am embodied. I open to earth healing or anything like this. But if you feel an intention that resonates, Bubble up, Offer it three times with gratitude, Dropping it into that rich red fertile soil of the unconscious. And then let it go like planting a seed and then trusting its gestation and manifestation. And as you feel yourself beginning to sink deeper into relaxation, We're going to move this red dot of light through the body. I will call out body parts and you can just imagine them, Hear them or imagine that little red light moving this root chakra energy through the pathways of the body, Helping the body to heal and transform and develop healthy pathways from the brain and feeling the red light, The space between the eyebrows, And then it moves to the right hand. Feel your right hand seeing the red light appear at the tip of your right thumb and then feel the whole right thumb just sensing the whole right thumb and then the index finger, Middle finger, Ring finger, Pinky finger, Red light at the palm of the hand, The back of the hand. Feel the whole right hand immersed in this red light or these little sparkling red dots. Feel the right wrist, Right forearm, Elbow, Upper arm, Right shoulder. Just the whole right arm, Right side of the chest, Right underarm, Right ribs, Right waist, Right hip, Feeling that right side of the torso, And then your whole right thigh, Red light or red dot, Feeling the right thigh, Big muscles of the quad, And then feel into the intricacy of the right knee and the shin, Sensing the right ankle, And then feel your right foot, The top of the foot, The sole of the foot, And the little red lights appearing out on the toes, Big toe, Second toe, Third toe, Fourth toe, Pinky toe. Feel the whole right foot as though you were slipping on a warm sock. Feel your right foot sliding into this red root light as though that were a thigh high stocking, You were drawing it up your leg, Again feeling the shin, The ankle, The calf, The front and back of the knee, Pulling it up around the quad, The hamstrings, Really feeling the whole right leg, The whole right leg, Bathed in little red lights, The whole right leg, The whole right side, The whole right side resting in the earth, In this healing red light. And then feel again the space between the eyes, And then move your attention and maybe that little red light to the left hand, Focusing fully on the left hand, Feeling the left thumb with all of your attention. And then the left index finger, Middle finger, Ring finger, Pinky finger, The palm of the left hand, The back of the left hand, The whole left hand with little red lights, The left wrist and forearm, Elbow, Upper arm and shoulder, The whole left arm and hand, Left side of the chest, Left underarm, Left ribs, Left waist, The left side of the torso, Left hip, And then feel into the left thigh, Little red lights or dots lighting up the whole left thigh, The quadriceps, And then feeling again the intricacy of the left knee, Down the shin to the ankle, And then sensing the left foot, The top of the foot, The sole of the foot, Out to your toes, Maybe little red lights on the big toe, Second toe, Third toe, Fourth toe, And pinky toe. Really feel the whole left foot as though you were sliding on that thigh high sock. Feel your toes at the top and bottom of the foot, The heel, The whole foot, The ankle, Front and back, The calf and shin, The front and back of the knee, Sliding the stocking up through the quadriceps, The hamstrings. You really feel the whole left leg with this earthy red weight, The whole left leg. And then that awareness through the whole left side of your body, The whole left side bathed in this earthly light. And then again sensing the space between the eyebrows and moving that red energy to the back of your heels. So again, Really feeling the back of your heels as they settle into earth, Back of the ankles, Backs of both calves, Backs of the knees, Backs of the thighs. And then feel the back of the pelvis, Feeling your glutes, And then sensing the tailbone, The space where that root, That cord is still down in the earth, Feeling the tailbone, Base of the spine. And then imagining that earth energy traveling up the spine, From the base of the spine to the base of the skull, This red stream of light, Offering healing earth energy up and down your spine. And as it flows down the spine, You sense out to the right, Gentle red light at the low back, Nourishing your low back, Red light at your mid-back. Then feeling the upper back and the right shoulder blade all resting into this red light, Feeling the back of the right arm and hand, The whole back of your torso settling deeply into the earth. And then again, Feel that red stream of light moving up and down your spine. And then it moves out to the left side of the torso, Feeling the low back, Mid-back, Upper back with shoulder blade, All the way to the back of the left arm and hand, Feeling the whole left side of the torso, The back side of the torso, Bathed in red, Earthly light. And then feel the back of the torso, The spine, The whole back of the torso resting in the earth, The back of your neck, The back of your head, Sensing the back of the body, Heavy and rooted. Feel the crown of your head, Your forehead, Feel your right temple and left temple, Right ear, Left ear, And the space between your ears. As you feel the space between your ears that connects to the midbrain, The pineal pituitary glands, Then move your attention forward to the space between your eyebrows. And then feel your right eyebrow and your left eyebrow, Your right eye, Eyeball, Eyelid, Eye socket, Left eyeball, Eyelid, Eye socket. Feel the right cheekbone, Sinuses, Left cheekbone and sinuses, Right nostril, Left nostril, The bridge of your nose, Tip of your nose, Your whole nose, Upper lip, Lower lip. And then feel inside the mouth, The teeth and gums, The roof of the mouth, The tongue from the tip to the root, Feeling your whole mouth, Your whole jaw, Your chin, The whole face softening with red light, Softening back towards the earth. Feel the throat soften right and left side of the throat, The hollow of the throat, Right collarbone, Left collarbone, And then feel your whole chest relax, The whole chest, The whole heart. Feel your solar plexus soften, Your low belly down into your pelvis, Pelvis softens, Till we again feel the base of the spine. Feel the base of your spine and both your legs front and back. Focus all your attention, The base of the spine, Down your legs, The back of the legs, Front of the legs, The toes, Feet, Shins, Calves, Knees, Thighs, Feeling the tailbone and the organs of elimination, The intestines, The colon. Feel this whole lower half of your body bathed in red light. As you feel the lower part of the body grounding, Rooting, Resting, You again feel that free flow of energy up the spine. You feel the spine energy up to the crown and you sense your whole body. As you inhale, Imagine breathing from the base of the spine up to the crown and then exhale it back down. As you breathe up and down the spine, Breathing through the body, The whole body, The body whole, Our strong foundation, Our strong root allowing us to breathe through the whole body. And as you inhale, You're breathing that red earth energy up the body and then back down. And as you inhale and exhale, I want to invite you to hear the sound, LAM. LAM. So as you inhale and breathe red up the spine, Here LAM. As you exhale and breathe red down the spine, Here LAM. So breathing in and out, Following your breath, Moving this healing earth energy through your body, Through your system, Hearing the sound of LAM, Which is the seed sound from Mooladhara Chakra. The seed sound helps to balance and recalibrate each chakra. And it is especially powerful when we align it with its color and qualities. Breathing up the spine from the root to the crown, The sound of LAM, Exhaling down the sound of LAM. Not forcing the breath, Allowing this to all be inward. The breath, The color, The word. Just stay with your breath, Moving LAM up and down the spine, Bringing earth energy through the body, Clarifying, Supporting, Purifying the root chakra and the root chakra's integration with all the energy centers. Or if the foundation is shaky or shattered, It affects all parts of the system. Stay with your breath, Breathing LAM up and down the spine, Recalibrating root chakra. And allow your breath to stay focused at the base of your spine, That base of the spine where that red cord reverberates. And now imagine as though you could breathe up your right leg to the base of the spine and then down the left, As though there are roots at the bottom of your feet as well as the base of your spine. As you inhale, Imagine breathing up the right leg, The toes, The foot, All the way to the base of the spine and then down the left, Down into the earth. And just focusing your breath and your attention here, Breathing up the right leg into the base and then down the left. Finding that red light, That root light through the body and then you can also bring back the LAM again if you'd like. So breathing LAM up the right leg, Holding it at the base of the spine and then breathing LAM down the left leg. So really focusing, Concentrating this earth energy in the root chakra, Deepening this connection, This cord, This root to the earth. Okay, Maybe the sound of LAM flowing from one leg to the other, Focusing the base of the spine. And just stay with that, Not forcing the breath, Breathing up the right leg, LAM, Hold at the base, Down the left. And then just breathe into your right leg and imagine the right leg really heavy, That feeling when the right leg falls asleep and you almost can't feel it. It's so heavy. It's part of the earth. You can feel heaviness in the right leg. And then can you focus on your left leg and allow it to be light? Feeling a lightness like your left leg could just float up off the earth. And then for a moment, Can you hold both? Can you hold heaviness in the right leg and lightness in the left? Feeling the sensation, The texture, The quality of heavy on the right and light on the left. And then release it. Release heavy and light and just feel the base of the spine, Feel the root to the earth. Breathe in and out LAM as you hold your attention at the base of the spine. And then feel the left leg and feel cold, Allowing the left leg to feel cold. Like the left leg is the only thing out of a blanket on a cold winter night. The left leg is cold. And then shift to the right leg and feel hot. The right leg is underneath too much heat and the right leg is burning up. And then again, For a moment, Can you allow both? Can you feel cold on the left and hot on the right? Noticing this balancing of left and right with hot and cold, Cold and hot. And then let it go. Just feel the base of your spine, The red root, The base of the spine, The sound of LAM clearing any stagnant energy through the root chakra. And then keeping your attention at the base of your spine, Knowing you are safe, Knowing that you are supported. But when you invite in the experience of not feeling safe, Where does that happen in your body? Maybe it stays down in this lower half or maybe that fear of not feeling safe, The fear arises somewhere else in your body. Where is that fear? Fear of being unsafe. No story or attachment, Just allowing it to emerge. And then what happens when we bring in feeling safe, Trusting, Knowing we are safe, Letting that move in from the earth and wash through us. You are safe. You have the right to be here. You are safe and supported. And you allow the body to release any lingering fear, Any lingering fear of not being safe. Let it release out the root, Maybe imagining like a dirty brown-gray moving out through the root, Any outdated fears, Any ancestral fears, Releasing it out through the root, Back to the earth so that you are flooded with a sense of safety and support, Trust, Abundance, The right to be here. And as you rest into the root, As you rest into this beautiful red earth light, You allow yourself to remember your favorite smell. Your favorite smell, Don't overthink it, But when I invite your favorite smell, What comes up? And just let that smell create a scene without again too much attachment to the story or reality. What story comes through? What scene comes through with a favorite smell? And you allow yourself to be there, To be there fully, Smelling, Seeing, Tasting your favorite smell. The sense of smell is associated with our root chakra. Our survival instinct is connected to our sense of smell. As mammals, A lot of times we sense fire, We smell poison and we know to respond. And in the same way, Smell can also bring us into safety, To relaxation, Aromatherapy, Certain herbs and spices. Call in that favorite smell and let it wash over you this picture of a place where you feel safe, Where you can immerse yourself in this resetting of the root chakra through your favorite smell. Just let yourself be there, Breathe there, Be held there, Wrapped in this inner resource of safety and pleasure, Joy maybe, With your favorite smell. You are grounded and supported, Breathing in and out this favorite sense, Immersed in whatever that scene has emerged. As you are in this space, If you had a sankalpa in the beginning of the practice, You repeat it here again at least three times, Letting it reverberate through the scene, Sealing in this sense of safety and groundedness, New structure and support to carry us into the new month, New year. And then you allow all the smells and images to release. You feel yourself on the earth, In the room you're in. Notice the smells in this space. Notice the temperature of the room, The sounds in the room. Let your body arrive here fully, Maybe imagining the wall, Ceiling or your placement. You are still connected to that root and grounding cord and you can continue to keep that connection or you can allow it to dissolve, Knowing you can always reattach to the earth, To the roots any time you need to recalibrate. Slowly returning to the body, To the earth, Offering gratitude for the earth, For the land that we rest upon, For our bodies, Our homes, Our support systems and structures. May all beings be safe and happy and healthy and free. The practice of yoga nidra for the root chakra is now complete. You are always, Always welcome to linger in this space, Continue to rest. But if you would like to move forward in your day, You can begin to deepen the breath. Maybe start to wiggle your toes and fingers and move your ankles and wrists. Move your head side to side. You might stay heavy a bit longer as you stretch or just simply curl into a fetal pose. Nestling closer to the earth. Maybe placing a hand at the earth, Hand at your heart. And then when you would like, You can come up to sit. If you want to, You can place your hands at your heart or belly or for a little mudra, You can make peace fingers on both hands. So index finger and middle finger up and then point those fingers down. That's a boo mudra, Which is one of my favorite earth mudras. And then we'll close with the sound of lama. I love toning the chakra seeds and you're welcome to tone along with me or you can just listen or even hum feeling your roots in the earth that beautiful red light. Take a big breath in. Om mudra namaha. We bow to the root support. Thank you for practicing with me today. Adiyon typesets