Root Chakra Healing Pt. 1: Five Hidden Ways We Lose Our Ground

The root chakra is the energetic foundation of our being – the ground that holds our safety, stability, belonging, and trust.

When our roots are strong, we feel supported in our essential needs and connected to our primal truth.

We can hold our ground and expand without constriction.

We can be firm and flexible, consistent and committed – with boundaries that feel devotional and nourishing, rather than confining us in rigidity, isolation, or disconnection.

The root chakra grounds us in our being – our physical experience here on Earth.

It is the home of the Soul, representing our right to be here, to be alive, to be present, and to have what we need. 

This is the foundation upon which everything else is built, the soil of our existence that shapes our capacity to thrive and rise.

Our roots also embody our origin: the womb, our family, our past, our lineage, our ancestors, our collective history.

When our roots are wobbly, life feels wobbly.

When the foundation that holds us is undernourished, we experience higher resistance to change, to embracing life’s currents, and struggle to navigate our own inner tides.

As a result, we feel stuck, confused, and are easily thrown off-center, because there’s no solid ground to stand on, no edges to contain and steady us.

When your ground is wobbly, you might still be showing up – leading, creating, holding space for others – but underneath it all, your inner soil feels shaky.

You can sense it cannot fully support you; it doesn’t feel safe to stand on.

If you’ve been feeling constantly stressed, on high alert, or struggling to focus, commit, or complete tasks, it may be time to pause – to take a closer look at your connection with your body, and rekindle your relationship with your temple.

The body is always speaking to us.

Sometimes it whispers; sometimes it needs to scream.

Five Signs Your Foundation May Be Craving Deeper Nourishment

1. YOU’RE ALWAYS “ON”

Even when you’re resting, relaxing, or receiving a massage, part of you stays hyper-aware – scanning for what’s next, what’s happening around you, what could go wrong.

In this hyper-vigilant state, the body doesn’t get to soften.
It’s tense, ready to brace, to fight, to flee.

This constant activation can be misinterpreted as healthy drive or care and attention to detail, but really it’s the nervous system acting out to protect you – because deep down in your being, it doesn't feel safe.

When safety feels unfamiliar, sitting in stillness, in silence, having space to rest or slow down, can feel uncomfortable – even scary. 

So we unconsciously avoid it by keeping ourselves “on”.

2. YOU STRUGGLE TO ASSERT BOUNDARIES + WHAT YOU NEED

When our foundation is steady and nourished, we know our basic needs will be met because we trust we are supported. We trust we can provide; the Earth will provide; our support system will provide.

But when we feel disconnected from the soil that nourishes us and connects us to something larger and bountiful, we carry the heavy weight of doing it all alone.

Our roots feel tender; asking for help feels impossible – almost terrifying, like exposing a weakness – so we over-manage and over-give until we’re depleted.

This disconnection leads to loneliness, to feeling like you don’t quite fit, don’t belong, don’t deserve, because your foundation doesn’t feel secure enough to hold you here.

This is where you’re called to reclaim your I-am-here aliveness. 

Your right to be here. Your right to have what you need.

3. CHANGE FEELS LIKE A NIGHTMARE

When uncertainty feels like your worst enemy – the very thing you avoid at all costs – you may find yourself giving a lot of energy to over-planning and gripping tightly, in an effort to control.

Instead of flowing with life’s seasons, you cling to certainty. 

Even small or positive shifts – a new offer, a move, a relationship transition – can feel like the ground is crumbling beneath your feet because your inner anchor isn’t steady.

On a physical level, you may feel stiffness, inflexibility, a sense of being locked in place.

As much as we resist it, change is a part of life.

Being grounded isn’t being rigid.

It’s being able to navigate the waves and winds and flow in life, while remaining steady in the center of your being.

You can adapt without breaking.
You can re-orient and pivot without losing direction.

4. DISCONNECTION FROM YOUR BODY

When we live mostly in our mind – planning, thinking, analyzing – our life force moves upward and stays there, because that’s where we feel most comfortable.

It often traces back to early experiences – all the way to the womb, our birth, our arrival and our first contact with the world – that shaped our sense of safety.

We might experience tension in our hips, legs, lower back, or numbness where there should be aliveness.

The body is our home, and when we don’t feel at home, everything else becomes harder to hold.

If we can’t hold our own aliveness, if we can’t animate the lower center of our body, then building and birthing what we’re here to create becomes way harder than it has to be.

5. BODILY PATTERNS OF IMBALANCE

Our physical body reflects what our energetic roots are holding.

If our very ground is unnourished, everything that stands on top will feel unsupported and uncertain.

You may notice postural imbalances, joint instability, recurring health issues, struggles with weight, or feeling out of sync with your hunger and ability to process food.

Many of us experience root chakra imbalance at some point in life, and all of us could use more grounding, especially in today’s fast-paced world. 

If you recognise any of these patterns, know that nothing’s wrong. 

You can nurture your roots and rebuild inner safety and trust. 

Our bodies are resilient, wise beyond comprehension, and already showing us the way to a more rooted, grounded, embodied life.

The root chakra is our first touching point with our sense of being: the origin of “I am-ness”.

Regaining our ground is to regain our aliveness. Healing and supporting our roots is returning to presence with our physical body.

Awareness is the first step, but it cannot end there. Knowing you’re ungrounded, or even understanding why, doesn’t re-root you.

The next step is release. It’s integration. It’s nourishment. 

It’s reclaiming safety in your body,
aliveness in your being,
trust in all that holds your existence: 

the Earth beneath you, nature, your physical being, your own boundaries, and the support of others. 

You’re not here to hold everything alone.

This is what we’ll explore in Part 2 of this conversation: how to nurture your root chakra and restore inner safety, trust, and connection – one grounding practice at a time.

Join the Upcoming Workshop

And if you want to experience this work in real time — to move, feel, and root together — join me for Sacred Roots, a live 90-minute workshop for sensitive women who want to lead from the ground of safety, trust, and sisterhood.

The body is our temple. Our roots are the sacred ground from which all else grows.

With heart & devotion,

Marina