I wonder if my friends at Athleta knew when they designed it how appropriate their muladhara hoody would be for this season. The muladhara or root chakra is the first of seven activity centers up and down the spine, each of which receives, synthesizes and expresses life force energy. The root chakra is at the base of the spine, and to put it simply, deals with all our basic needs: food, shelter, feeling safe and grounded. This chakra roots us to our bodies, the material world, the earth. So it’s no wonder that the current economic downturn is causing first “chakra shock”, particularly in the area of job and financial security.

The question here is: how do we manifest prosperity in these tough times? By accepting limitation. According to Anodea Judith, the author of Eastern Body, Western Mind – Psychology & the Chakra System as a Path to the Self, the muladhara chakra is the “most specific and limited level in the system”. I’m not saying that it isn’t a serious crisis to lose your job or your home; but for many of us, the current challenges to our economic security can bring about limitations that can force us to downright blossom – even if it feels threatening at first. To rise above the limitations with creativity, and prosper. Was it time for a career change anyhow? Do you need to focus on your health and your family relationships more? What matters most to you, and what makes you happy? I like to remind myself that what matters most to me is merely enhanced by my material possessions, rather than defined by them. Telling yourself that you have what you need manifests prosperity and helps the muladhara chakra be healthy. 

Next: Root Chakra Tune-Up