How to Manage Your Energy

Your body responds to stress with the most primitive response; fight-or-flight, also known as the caveman’s response. When in the flight-or-fight response your blood pressure rises, you breathe faster, you sweat, and your stress hormones increase.

If you are constantly in fight-or-flight mode, your physical body will start to suffer. This can, over time, lead to serious conditions such as heart disease, anxiety, insomnia, diabetes and premature ageing. It is important to reduce stress as much as possible by increasing your self-care.

These nadi channels feed into each of our 7 chakras and when these chakras get blocked that can cause an imbalance in our bodies.

These imbalances will show up in all aspects of our life, perhaps you have been feeling a little “off” lately? Have you made silly mistakes at work or home? Have you been tripping up or dropping things – being clumsier.

Although any number of things could be the explanation for these distressing circumstances, they could also be indicative of an imbalance in your chakra system.

So what are chakras?

Chakras are energy centres throughout the body. Although there are hundreds of chakras, there are seven main chakras that are generally focused on. These wheels of brilliant energy line up along the central channel of the body, the shushumna nadi.

The human body system thrives when the chakras and the nadis are open and prana, or life force, is allowed to move throughout the system with ease. Any kind of disturbance or disease in the body, mind, or spirit can cause blockage and imbalance. The goal is harmony. So if you’ve been feeling out of sorts, take a closer look at your chakras to investigate what’s going on and begin to find balance.

Each of these elements has a potentially big impact on your human system as a whole. In general, there are five warning signs that your chakras may be out of balance. In striving for balance, too much or too little energy in each of the chakras creates imbalance.

The general warning signs are:

1. Something feels “off.”
2. You get sick.
3. You get sick. Again.
4. You start making silly mistakes.
5. Everything seems to be falling apart.

Each of these general imbalances manifests as specific physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual imbalances in each chakra. If you are feeling out of balance, consider what you have been consuming (food, drink, ideas, experiences), your current life circumstances, and the current season (wind, cold, rain, heat, dryness).

Today we will focus on the Root Chakra

This chakra, physically located at the feet, legs, and “roots” of your being, is connected with the element of Earth. The Root Chakra is associated with your sense of safety, security, and feeling comfortable within your own skin.

Warning Signs this Chakra Is Out of Balance

If you are experiencing any of the following symptoms, you may have an imbalance in the root chakra:

• Pain and stiffness in your feet and legs
• Excess flexibility in your hamstrings/low sense of physical stability
• Feeling ungrounded, unsafe, and insecure
• Home life feels chaotic and unsettled
• Feeling stuck in life/low sense of flexibility

To Bring into Balance

• Connect with the earth: go for a hike, walk in the sand, or garden.
• Eat vegetables and fruit—food from the earth.
• Practice grounding pranayama like sama vritti - alternative nostril breathing
• Wear the colour red.
• Stretch and strengthen your legs.

Today, try and spend some time grounding yourself, in particular keep stretching your legs and if you can, go for a solo walk in nature, if you can't, then walk then round your home, movement with your feet flat on the ground is the key - you will see the difference.