Our Root chakra is often a little mysterious. It’s often not very conscious, even though it’s about the very obvious physical and etheric bodies. This is partly because it’s very present, non-conceptual, and instinctive. The mind doesn’t relate to that. It’s about survival, being, and physical presence. We know it through sensation and an existential pressure or urgency.
That pressure can be generated internally, or we can pick it up from others around us. We can also inherit pressure patterns from our ancestral line and from prior lives. They’re common and yet rarely conscious. We’re more likely to be conscious of the effects.
It can be like a push to be doing, even when we may need to rest. (This differs from willpower.) We live in a culture of doing, and many live busy lives of expectations with little regard to why they’re here or how to be in their life.
As energy flows, the pressure rises to the second chakra, where we can experience emotions like fear or angst. If it rises to the third, we get persistent anxiety or anger.
Of course, there’s lots of variation in how we respond to that sense of pressure. Each of us has the same basic structure and systems, but there’s variety in what’s emphasized. For example, some are more somatic or body-oriented. Some are more emotionally driven. Some more mental, and some more heart-based. Very few run from the higher, universal centres.
Similarly, some are more prone to fear, anger, sadness, anxiety, or whatever. We can respond to the pressure by procrastinating, numbing, or resisting doing. Or inversely, by overdoing and resisting rest.
Due to how we relate to our bodies and existing shadows and impressions, the way we relate to all this and what’s conscious varies a lot.
Many of us have learned to suppress emotions and physical sensations as a coping strategy. This is especially true if we don’t understand them or how to process those experiences – which is most of us. Thus, we feel pressure to do without knowing why.
More healed and we rest when needed, act as needed, and don’t do busy work. We become conscious of the pressure, see it as not ours, or allow it without responding. Then it moves smoothly. The pressure eases. The root can be a resource of calm and solid stillness. That can bring us an inner sense of security. It’s also very physical and present, so very grounding.
Davidya