How to Open or Balance Muladhar Chakra

In this post, I will write about different methods of opening muladhar chakra.

By meditation

Sit on floor cross-legged or in lotus pose or on chair with spine straight and erect. Breathe rhythmically. Imagine and visualize solid ball of energy in a clear and bright red color, rotating anticlockwise. Chant ‘lam’ sound mentally as you are knocking to open it. Continue for a few minutes.

By yogic exercise

The contraction of perineum by gold nugget exercise activates muladhar chakra and kundalini. Kegel exercises, although not yogic exercises, help to open and balance muladhar chakra.

By refining exercises

In the set of refining exercises, refining exercise no.3 helps to open muladhar chakra when done regularly. After some time, it slowly clears debris of negative emotions which causes blockages in energy circulation in our astral body. It acts as a vacuum cleaner of sushumna nadi. At muladhar chakra there is energy of rootedness which keeps us rooted with mother earth. When that energy of rootedness gets refined and sushumna gets cleaned, muladhar chakra opens and energy rises up and gets transformed to energy of creativity.

By yoga asanas

The following yoga asanas also help to open muladhar chakra.

1.    Setubandhasan (Bridge pose)
2.    Salabhasan (Locust pose)

Yoga asanas should be done on empty stomach.

1.Setubandhasan

 

Lie down on your back with arms on your side and palms facing downwards. Bend your knees bringing soles of your feet close to the buttocks.

Lift your hips, pubic bone and spine upward by pressing down on the soles of feet, weight shifted to shoulders and chest expanded. Bring the arms under you while holding hands together. Breathe normally. Hold it for a few seconds.

When you want to release your posture, first release your hands and allow the spine to roll down slowly. Then relax

This posture also helps to strengthen the muscles of the abdomen and thighs. It alleviates back pain and helps to keep the spine flexible.

2.Salabhasan

 

This posture helps to open muladhar chakra by contracting perineum muscles.

Lie down on your abdomen. Bend arms from the elbow. Put palms of your hand facing down at the waist. Lift both legs up from the back keeping them stretched and straight. Lift your head and chest. Breathe normally. Hold for a few seconds.

When you want to release the posture, bring the hands and leg down and relax. This posture is also good for lower back problems. It helps in reducing lower back pain and sciatica. It also helps to improve the function of the digestive system.

Muladhar (Root) Chakra

In this post, I will write about muladhar chakra, the first of seven chakras of energy system of astral body.

Introduction

Muladhar is a Sanskrit word. ‘Mul’ means ‘root’ and ‘adhara’ means ‘support’. All other chakras are above this and it provides support for our physical existence, so it is called muladhar chakra.

Location

It is situated at the base of spine in the vicinity of the coccygeal plexus. It lies between anus and the reproductive organs, two fingers above anus and two fingers below the reproductive organs. It is at the junction where ida, pingala and sushumna nadis meet. Its superficial activation point is situated on the perineum close to the anus. The great potential spiritual energy, kundalini, is sleeping here waiting to be awakened.

Structure

Four important nadis are emanating here, which appears as the four petals of the lotus flower. Its colour is bright red. It is associated with the element earth, the heaviest of all the five physical elements. It is rotating anti-clockwise. Seed mantra or sound to activate it is ‘lam’. The endocrine gland related to it, is prostate gland and adrenal gland. The body functions associated with it is elimination and sex drive. Body parts related with it are anus, reproductive organs, legs, knees etc.

Working

The muladhar chakra has to work at optimum for energy to start moving upward. When energy moves upwards, you become more and more silent and the mind becomes steady. Silence, calmness and coolness are by products of energy moving upwards. Tension, anger and irritation are signs of energy moving downwards. At this first chakra, there is energy of sex, the lowest form of energy. We live life at minimum.  When that energy is little purified, it becomes energy of love. When energy of love is purified, it becomes spiritual energy. Efficient working of muladhar chakra gives us vitality, vigour, growth, health etc.

 The physical symptoms of malfunctioning of muladhar chakra are obesity, legs and knees problem, prostate cancer, back aches, painful or frequent urination etc. The emotional symptoms are uncertainty about money and future, holding on to old ideas, anger of the past, blaming others, deep grief etc.

The dysfunctional muladhar chakra can be healed by certain yoga practices such as mulabandha, meditation and yoga asanas.