May Focus - Root Chakra (Muladhara) & Feet to Hips

Root Chakra - Muladhara

Welcome to May!
This month our focus is on our Root Chakra - Muladhara in our Yoga classes (think Mula Bandha lock, pelvic floor) and also including our feet legs, hips!  Pilates will also link into these same areas.  We will be adding in the stretchy bands again, also mini loop (booty) bands & a soft ball for foot massage (our feet are our foundation).  If you don’t have any mini loop bands, either tie a long stretchy band into about a 1ft diameter mini loop or use this affiliated link to purchase some (they are great to add into other workouts that you do & they’re on offer!)

Our Root Chakra is our first Chakra (in Yoga, outside of Yoga there are a lot more!), it is located at the base of our spine, our perineum.  It is associated with security & safety, our foundation, our identity & our grounding connection from ourselves to our world around us.  It’s colour is red.  Gemstones or crystals linked with it are deep red garnet (one of my favourites!), bloodstone, smokey quartz.  Key essential oils are bergamot, vetiver & ylang-ylang.  The Sanskrit translation for Muladhara is:  Mula means root and adhara means base or support.  When this chakra is balanced we feel stable, connected and grounded.  If it is out of balance we may feel anger, over worrying, insecure and physical feelings of pain or discomfort in our lower back or sciatica, gut related issues such as constipation.  Think of all that tension you physically hold when you are upset or stressed (my lower back tightens up every time there is a shift in our lockdown status!)
Key tips for engaging your pelvic floor (Mula Bandha) - this is the group of muscles in your pelvis, they are a bit like a bowl as they hold everything up inside you (or at least they should! Join in the my beginners Pilates & Hypopressives classes if you need more).  They should work a bit like a trampoline & should mirror the movement of your diaphragm.  They shouldn't be held tight all day, but should naturally engage & relax with your movements & breath throughout your day.  To consciously engage them, imagine you are trying to stop yourself from having a wee & trying to stop yourself from breaking wind! That GENTLE drawing in & up is what are aiming for.  You should still be able to breathe.  If you can’t then you are holding on too tight!  As we go through our Yoga & Pilates flows/classes we want to think about not pushing out into our belly or down into our pelvic bowl but instead a gentle feeling of drawing in & up.  Lengthening through your spine, growing tall from your hips.  For example in a Warrior pose, lift out of your hips without moving your legs & you might just feel a slight tension switching on in your lower abs.  In Pilates when we are doing our basic ab preps, toe taps or single leg stretches fro example, we should be thinking about that drawing in and up feeling, so as you lift your head/shoulders or stretch a leg out we are hopefully not seeing our bellies rise.
Keep an eye out for my new Chakra Box being released this month.  A mini at home Yoga retreat which includes 2 exclusive Yoga and Meditation videos along with a box of goodies - including a wrist mala (red garnet), soap, notebook, a card with journalling prompts and affirmations.
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Pranayama breath work for our Root Chakra
This is a slow calming and balancing breath.  If you feel like it is too slow, breathe at a slow but comfortable pace to you and see if over time, you can work at this pace.  Breathe through your nose.  When I talk about a deep breath, I mean that your breath should travel deep down in your lungs.  The best way to get your breath to the bottom of your lungs is to breathe via your nose.  Mouth breathing tends to be a very short, shallow breath into the top of your lungs.

1. Sit comfortably & scan your body for your stress & tension levels
2. Try to sit tall, with your, hips, ribs & head stacked
3. Take a couple of slow inhales/exhales whilst rolling your shoulders backwards
4. Rest your hands on your tummy (just helps with feeling what's going on)
5. Inhale, via your nose, for 3 seconds
6. Exhale, via your nose, for 3 seconds
7. Inhale, via your nose, for 4 seconds
8. Exhale, via your nose, for 4 seconds
9. Inhale, via your nose, for 5 seconds
10. Exhale, via your nose, for 5 seconds
11. See if you can keep going for 5 minutes, inhaling for 5 sends and exhaling for 5 seconds
12. However you are breathing, stay with your counting, maintaining awareness of any tension - try to relax that area
13. When you have finished, notice how your mind & body feel.

Taking your practice off the mat

1. Keep red around you or wear something red to bring you back to the security & grounding of the Root Chakra
2. Go barefoot outside if outside if you can to connect with the earth
3. Try the above meditation, 5 minutes first thing in the morning can be good - before your thoughts really get going
4. Meet with people (in person or online) to having that connected feeling re-affirmed