CHAPTER 4
SUPPLEMENTS FOR GROUNDING AND PROTECTION (ROOT CHAKRA)
It is only by grounding our awareness in the living sensation of our bodies that the “I Am,” our real presence, can awaken.
G.I. GURDJIEFF
CHAKRA DESCRIPTION
The physical world we live in has its roots in a dense, slow-moving vibration. Sometimes it may feel as though we are living in slow motion—we spend our days working long hours, in congested traffic, and our health may not change as quickly as we'd like. The nuts and bolts of our survival are what our root chakra brings to our energy palette. How we live—our shelter, our family, our meals—are all components that take time to create, grow, and experience. Think of the steady, consistent time it takes to go to school for a degree, to save up enough money to buy a house, or to procure a job we enjoy. All of these aspects of everyday living funnel into the energy of the root chakra, and the time it takes for them to come into existence mirrors the methodical, gradual layering process embraced by the steady vibration of this center.
Words associated with the root chakra: ancestors, being present, blood, body, earth, family/tribe, flesh, grounded, instinct, nature, origins, physical matter, protection, red, safety, security, survival.
CHAKRA ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY
The root chakra gives us a physical form—starting with DNA, our ancestral life force; the warm river of blood that runs through us; our immune defenses that ward off invaders; and the large framework of our skeleton and muscle tissue. It governs excretion through the rectum and creation in men through the sperm produced by the prostate gland. The outer layer of the skin provides the visible barrier to the external world. Overall, the root chakra gives our being its origin and protects that creation through internal and external defenses.
Root chakra anatomy: Adrenal glands, blood cells (red and white), bones, DNA, feet, immune system, joints, legs, muscle, prostate gland, rectum, reproductive organs (male), skin and tailbone.
HEALTHY INDICATIONS
A person who is comfortable with their physical self (root chakra) is someone who knows they can survive adequately in the world; is comfortable with receiving from or providing support to a family or tribe; is trustworthy and trusts others; accepts himself, especially their physical body and their earthly existence; maintains healthy boundaries; believes they have has a right to exist.
UNHEALTHY INDICATIONS
If you answer yes to a majority of the following questions, your root chakra may need healing:
Do you feel out of place within or at war with your family of origin? People with root chakra imbalances usually have not come to terms with challenging family issues, especially those involving acquiring a home or shelter, making a living, and carrying on family traditions. These individuals often find it difficult to bond with family members in a way that is meaningful and solidifies a feeling of unity and cohesion.
Do you constantly feel on guard or that you have to expend much of your internal resources to be safe or to defend yourself? Spending significant energy to feel safe, whether constantly being on guard physically by being especially careful about your possessions or even trying to protect yourself emotionally like not getting too close to someone for fear that you will be hurt, may ultimately deplete the energy reserves meant to protect you from physical invaders, like microorganisms, viruses, excess inflammatory compounds, and toxins. Lower internal (immune) defenses may ultimately lead to symptoms of fatigue, frequent cold or flu, or inflammatory or autoimmune conditions.
Do you struggle with the idea of life and the process of living? Individuals with root chakra imbalances find everyday life to be difficult and not worth the effort. They can lack motivation and appear lazy to others, and may enter a deep depression. When root chakra imbalances along these lines exist, the individuals can appear spacey, flighty, or “not all there.” In fact, it is almost as if the individual is not in their body. And truly, they are not in their body—or their root chakra—on an energetic level. Without being fully present, we are unable to live life fully and to manifest our dreams.
Do you fear having “enough,” especially when it comes to food? Are you preoccupied with your food resources—how much you have at any one time, or how much of your finances you allocate to food? Some of us have had strong messages about lack rather than abundance and guilt instead of gratitude programmed into us even as children (remember hearing, “Kids in Africa are starving so you better eat everything on your plate!”?). These built-in messages make us fearful about our existence. Since the root chakra is about survival, and food is fundamental to our physical functioning, it follows that most food issues can be traced back to the root chakra.
SUPPLEMENTS FOR THE ROOT CHAKRA
Because the root chakra connects with the physical nature of a human being, several supplements are associated with this chakra. Often, our root chakra is the aspect of us that most needs healing, and, fortunately, it is responsive to physical substances like food and supplements.
MACRONUTRIENTS AND MACRONUTRIENT SUPPLEMENTS
Protein
Protein is the main macronutrient associated with the root chakra. It provides the building blocks (amino acids) for the body's gross anatomical structure: bone, muscle, and skin. We obtain most of our protein through our diet when we eat animal-based foods like meat, yogurt, milk, eggs, and cheese, and hearty plant-based foods such as beans and nuts. We can also get protein through high-quality, protein-based supplement powders. Due to its animal origin (which is highly grounding, or brings us back into the present moment, helping us to focus) and ability to support muscle tissue and the immune system, one of the best supplement powders for the root chakra is whey protein; however, other protein powders (rice, soy, or pea protein) are also effective. When you are feeling particularly spaced-out or flighty (which I like to call “ungrounded”), try drinking a shake made in the blender using whey protein powder and red fruits like raspberries or strawberries. (Red is the color that feeds the root chakra.) For individuals who may have difficulty digesting protein, partially degraded proteins, like hydrolyzed whey protein, are an option. All individual amino acids, particularly those that are essential because the body cannot make them (including isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine) in a supplement support the function of the root chakra.
When protein digestion is a problem: People with imbalanced root and solar plexus chakras may have difficulty digesting and assimilating protein; this difficulty is indicated by stomach bloating immediately or shortly after eating. As we advance in age, our stomach tends to make less hydrochloric acid, a strong acid produced in the stomach to denature and digest proteins. Without this acid, our ability to digest and take in protein is significantly impaired. Bacteria could cause the undigested food in the stomach to ferment, which results in bloating. A chronic lack of stomach acid coupled with a more permeable (“leaky”) gut caused by bacterial overgrowth results in a lack of discrimination as to which molecules get absorbed. This is especially problematic since the absorption of large, undigested proteins may result in a heightened immune response.
For those with low stomach-acid production (a condition referred to as achlorhydria), hydrochloric acid (HCl) supplements are useful. In some cases, they