By Felicity Argent BETD BAI Reg.
If you’ve been out walking the land you may have noticed the first spring flowers pushing their way up through the earth. It’s Mother Nature’s promise that the light is returning to us.
In autumn the trees lose their leaves to preserve their energy, turning inwards in unseen activity, laying the foundations to become abundant again come the summer. There is much we can learn from the trees and the importance of their solid foundations.
In Bi-Aura® Therapy we use the chakra system as a diagnostic framework. The first chakra, the root chakra, has the Sanskrit name of Muladhara, which means “root support.”
Without a strong, rooted foundation, little else can be accomplished. The root chakra gives us an anchor point. Its stability determines how high we can build; what stresses we can withstand.
A healthy first chakra allows one to be energetically grounded. Being grounded gives us a source of strength through connection to the Earth. A person who is not grounded might typically spend a lot of time “in their head”; daydreaming, worrying, suffering from stress, anxiety or fear.
Other tell-tale signs could include:
Poor immune function
Slow digestion
Trouble falling or staying asleep
Slow wound healing
Poor circulation
Inflammation
A general lack of energy
For most of our evolution humans had a continuous contact with the Earth. It’s only recently that substances such as carpets, insulated beds, asphalt, wood, plastics and rubber soled shoes have separated us from this contact. When someone is in direct contact with the Earth however, the Earth’s electrons are conducting to the human body. This “charge” draws up from the base and, providing there are no blockages in the chakra’s, will flow up the body to the Crown chakra. It is important to note that just as we can draw energy up through the ground, so too can excess energy be discharged downward into the ground.
There are several ways in which to ground yourself. My favourite method is to walk barefoot on the Earth, visualising roots going down into the Earth, joining with the core of the Earth, and the Earth energy coming back up those roots into my body.
Dancing, gardening, walking on the beach and some yoga asana’s such as downward dog can be very grounding. Ujjayi Pranayama (breath of victory) is also a good choice.
One can never work on being grounded too much, even just a few minutes of conscious connection to the Earth in times of stress or anxiety can take you from fight and flight to rest and digest. If you’re feeling out of sorts, grounding yourself is often a good place to start.