Do you ever feel like you don’t belong anywhere on this planet? The feeling that no matter where you go, you can’t feel at home there, like you got dropped off on Earth from some distant planet. If this sounds like you, you might have a blocked root chakra. The root chakra, or the first chakra, is located at the base of your spine, and helps you to feel balanced, grounded, and safe. This chakra, when balanced, allows you to feel secure, focused, and in the moment. However, a blocked root chakra can make you feel anxious, restless, fearful and simply imbalanced.

Below, let’s talk a bit more about the root chakra, and what you can do to get it unblocked.

If You Always Feel Restless, This May Be Why…

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In Sanskrit, the root chakra’s name is ”muladhara” and can signify “base”, ‘foundation”, or “root support”. It’s often depicted by a rich red color. Since the root chakra lies at the base of your spine and is the first chakra, it literally lays the roots for your whole life. When you open this chakra, you can begin to expand your world and open yourself up to new possibilities. However, a blocked root chakra can make you feel frazzled and like you can’t settle down with anything in life.

Characteristics of the Root chakra:

  • Safety and security
  • Basic survival and basic needs in life
  • The physical self
  • Grounding
  • Lays the foundation for our lives
  • Focus and stability

Ultimately, the root chakra symbolizes the ideas of safety, security, and grounding ourselves to the Earth. It signifies anchoring our physical self to our world so that we may feel stable and have our basic needs met. The root chakra lays the foundation for everything else, for it begins at the literal root of your body, and expands upwards into the other chakras.  You want to use your root chakra in order to ground yourself and establish your sense of security in this world.

Signs of a blocked root chakra:

A blocked root chakra can make you feel restless, anxious, and out of place in the world.. However, an overactive root chakra can lead to feeling greedy and paranoid, and can sometimes manifest in the form of eating disorders. It can seem as though you have no home on this Earth, which will make you feel constantly restless.

The following are symptoms of an imbalanced root chakra:

  • Very negative and cynical
  • Overly restless
  • Anxious and paranoid
  • Unable to focus
  • Excessive greed
  • Feeling like you can’t get out of survival mode
  • Too dependent on others
  • Issues with abandonment

A blocked root chakra can make you feel as though you have no purpose and no place to call home, as if you are floating through life aimlessly. A root chakra blockage can also make it difficult to keep a job or stay in one place for extended periods of time. Upon opening this chakra, you will find it easier to “root” yourself, and will feel more secure and stable in life.

Some common physical symptoms of blockage include:

  • sciatica
  • hypertension
  • impotence
  • colitis
  • constipation
  • back pain
  • fatigue
  • weight gain

Emotional Signs of Root Chakra Blockage

  • depression
  • anxiety
  • fearfulness
  • guilt
  • resentment
  • eating disorders
  • greed
  • delusional
  • insecure

An imbalanced root chakra can lead to feelings of paranoia and constant restlessness. You might feel as though you will never settle down, and that you can’t ever relax. If you feel that you have a blocked root chakra, read on to find out how to clear this blockage so you can live more freely and move out of survival mode.


What To Do About A Blocked Root Chakra

Related article: 7 Signs You Have Blocked Chakras

Clearing the root chakra involves a lot of meditation and grounding exercises, so that you can begin to feel comfortable within your own body and mind.

A few beginner steps to clear the root chakra include:

  • Any physical exercise. The root chakra is associated with movement, so doing any sort of physical activity can help it to open. Try to do outdoor activities, as the root chakra is strongly associated with Earth. You can do gardening, hiking, or simply spending more time connecting with the Earth. Yoga is also a wonderful activity for grounding yourself.
  • Go deep within and meditate quietly. Remind yourself that you are loved, and that you have a home here on this planet, even if it often doesn’t feel like it.
  • Incorporate red colors into your life to help boost this chakra’s energy. Also, when you feel disconnected from yourself and the Earth, try walking outside barefoot. This will establish a direct connection between you and the soil, allowing you to literally ground yourself to the planet.