Root to Rise - A Yogini's Journey Through the Lower Chakras

I pondered this for months, not knowing what to research and growing weary of my varied "What is a chakra?" Google searches.

chak·ra
noun
plural noun: chakras
(in Indian thought) each of the centers of spiritual power in the human body, usually considered to be seven in number.

With as much reading and intake as I could get my hands on, whether through books, meditations, or talks, I never seemed to be able to grasp just WHAT was behind all the mystical descriptions.

Now that I’ve been consistently working with my chakra system for two years, I find that the easiest and most understandable ways for me to communicate and engage with others on this massive system is by sharing my own experiences.

As with anything, I’ll never know what steps of spiritual expansion, evolution, or growth will look like for you, but I can certainly share my own processes in as grounded, open, and relatable a way as possible.

What I’ve come to find is that many of us face similar shadows and rays of light. We are not so different. In this lightening-fast society, patience is golden. These esoteric systems of work TAKE TIME. Imagine how many years that have passed without being self-aware.

Spending time remembering and reflecting on the past requires patience (the most priceless gift we can give our selves). From coming to know your self from the basis of your unique being (root chakra), building stable structure comes easier. Don’t rush the process.

Through revisiting and healing past trauma, I’ve cleared so much space for growth, gratitude, happiness, and contentment! Through this system, I’ve been able to cultivate much greater access to my centers of compassion and empathy.

I’ve awakened my self as a self-healing machine. I’ve journeyed to places in my self I never knew existed, much less that I could revisit or have continual access to. It’s awakened me to how magical I am. And how magical each and every one of us is, because we’re all made of the same stuff, yes?

The Lower Chakra Centers are vast but have their own foundations upon which much is built:

Root (I AM) - foundations of survival, basic living needs, irrational fears, stability, food, shelter, security, water, finances, ability to care for oneself fully.

Sacral (I CREATE) - foundations of creativity, womb-space, creation, creative center, sex, sexuality, primitive movement, artistry.

Solar Plexus (I CAN) - foundation of self-confidence, worthiness, will power, belief in ability, belief in personal power.

When one is blocked or in excess, it effects the others as well. If you can think of the entire system as the inside of a clock, each chakra is a cog or wheel, each spinning at its own rate, running itself and contributing to the entire functionality.

I’m sharing some examples of how chakra deficits have shown up in my life so you can start to understand how real life circumstances are linked to these energy centers.

Root Chakra Deficit

Many of my childhood years were spent moving (I grew up in 20+ houses, my mom loved to move), and not financially stable. My father had PTSD from experiencing trauma in the Air Force that was never healed. This formulated a mentality that safety was hard to come by, and that most people were untrustworthy. This instilled an idea that people were "out to get me" from an early age.

Sacral Chakra Deficit

Sexual health wasn’t addressed in my born-again Christian house. As children, we were made to use cloths to wash ourselves and taught that touching our bodies was dirty and sex was to be saved until marriage. This made me ashamed of my body and not know how to have a healthy relationship with it.

I was teased in middle school for writing darker poetry. This lead to not wanting to show anything I created for fear that I’d be shunned or teased, not accepted. I blocked my creativity and decided that being "normal" was safer and would result in being more liked and accepted.

Solar Plexus Chakra Deficit

Of my first 12 days after being born, 10 were spent in an incubator. During those days, I was isolated. My mother could hold me only one hour per day. My father also worked a lot and wasn’t around for much of my childhood. This instilled significant abandonment and self-worth issues. Moving often meant changing schools often. I went to four elementary schools and started being severely bullied in 3-4th grade. As a highly sensitive empath, I became very introverted, not knowing how to express myself, not knowing why children dragged me across playgrounds or threw me in trash cans. It followed me from school to school and through middle school as well.

These personal experiences are just scratching the surface, but I did want to give a taste of what these deficits look like close up. If you’re curious, I suggest mapping these three chakras out in your own life. You’ll probably be surprised at what memories surface.

Each and every one of these life experiences I’ve mentioned have been revisited and sat with. Some wounds are easier to heal than others. Many take months to see with clarity, learn from, forgive, and heal. With all this being said, I can say with total certainty: Healing. Is. Possible.

Curious and communicative Gemini Britt Lynn is a lover of spiritual practice as a vehicle to personal development and internal liberation. She offers workshops and sacred ceremony encouraging self-inquiry and gentle growth in Las Vegas, where she resides.

Big thanks to Britt for sharing her story and inspiring us to trust that deep healing is possible when working with the chakra system.

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