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The Best Mudras for Root Chakra Awakening and Alignment

The Best Mudras for Root Chakra Awakening and Alignment

Cultivating balance in your life is no easy feat. Finding time for yourself, managing stress and negative energy, and tending to your emotional and physical well-being is a full time job. Add on a busy work or school schedule, family obligations, and personal relationships — it’s a lot to balance!

We are constantly seeking new ways to bring harmony into our lives and chakra healing is a key part of this.

In this article we look at how you can use mudras (hand gestures) to awaken and heal your chakras and which mudras will balance the Root Chakra specifically.

The Root Chakra

The Root Chakra, or Muladhara Chakra, is the first of the seven chakras and the foundation of our energetic bodies.

Represented by the color red, it is associated with our connection to the earth and grounding within our lives. It is located in our pelvic area and is connected to the lower body, including the digestive organs.

It governs our connection to physical reality, our security, and our sense of belonging in the world. A balanced Root Chakra grounds us while promoting feelings of safety and security. When out of balance, it can manifest as fearfulness, insecurity, and anxiety about the outside world. 

If you are suffering from fatigue or digestive issues, this could also be a sign that your Root Chakra needs balancing. 

A Root Chakra mudra, when used as part of a mediation, yoga or chakra healing practice, can help you feel safe, secure and grounded. 

Root chakra location
Root Chakra location

What Are Mudras?

The word mudra is derived from Sanskrit and translates as “gesture” or “seal”. You can think of  a mudra as the bringing together or sealing of our fingers and hands. Mudras are said to originate from Buddhist and Hindu traditions, and are commonly used in yoga asanas and meditations.

Our hands and fingers are fundamental to how we communicate and transfer energy into the world – we wave to our friends, clap our hands when we’re excited, and we shake hands when we meet new people. 

In yoga traditions, our body is believed to consist of five elements and our fingers represent each one of these elements: 

  • Thumb: Fire
  • Index finger: Air
  • Middle finger: Ether
  • Ring finger: Earth
  • Little finger: Water
Elements and how they correspond to the fingers

This is why mudras can be so powerful as they tap into the essential elements which make up our being. They engage key parts of our brain which allow us to channel and engage with the emotional and physical energy in our mind and body.

When you hold your hands in a certain position, you are directing the flow of your life force energy into a specific part of your subtle body, which can help open your chakras and bring your attention to a part of your physical body.

Mudras for the Chakras

There are hundreds of different mudras or hand positions. Some mudras are used to cleanse the chakras, while others are used to open energy channels or awaken energy centers within the human body. 

There are mudras to support the characteristics of each of the seven key chakras:

  • Root Chakra mudras promote inner strength and feelings of security 
  • Sacral Chakra mudras focus on pleasure, creativity, and vitality.
  • Solar Plexus Chakra mudras emphasize power, will, and purpose.
  • Heart Chakra mudras connect us to love, compassion, and forgiveness.
  • Throat Chakra mudras focus on communication, self-expression, and healing.
  • Third Eye Chakra mudras cultivate insight and mental clarity.
  • Crown Chakra mudras help to encourage spirituality and self-realization.
chakra mudras
Chakra healing mudras

How to Practice Mudras

There is no right or wrong way to perform mudras. If you are just starting out, aim to hold a mudra for between 1 to 5 minutes. As you become more comfortable with your mudras, you can aim to hold them throughout the length of your chakra meditation or spiritual practice.

You can use mudras at any time and combine them with any healing practice, whether that’s at the end of a yoga practice or during a candle meditation.

As you carry out a mudra, focus on taking a few deep, relaxed breaths and as you inhale, imagine the breath going down to your chakra. Then, simply concentrate on the feeling of warmth spreading through you from head to toe. As you exhale, imagine the chakra releasing any toxins and negative energy.

What is the Root Chakra Mudra?

There are several mudras that can be performed to help stimulate the Root Chakra. The easiest involves simply bringing your hands together with the backs of your hands touching. Your palms should face inward, with your fingertips aiming upward.

If you’re looking for something more advanced, then the Prana Mudra and Muladhara Mudra are often used to support the Root Chakra. These Root Chakra mudras tap into the major Nadis or energy channels which begin at the Root Chakra. 

When properly performed, these mudras align and activate your Base or Root Chakra. As you perform these mudras, you can contemplate the different aspects of your life in which you are seeking stability and reassurance. 

Prana Mudra

Dormant energy in the Root Chakra can be awakened and activated using the Prana Mudra. This mudra gets its name because it is concerned with channeling the flow of life force energy around our being, known as prana.

Also known as the “life force seal” the Prana Mudra involves balancing the core life elements of earth, water and fire.

In this mudra, you will use your fingers to direct energy, similar to the way you would direct energy using your palms.

How to do the Prana Mudra:

  1. Take some deep breaths and close your eyes.
  2. Relax both of your hands and lay them palm up on your knees.
  3. Bring the tips of the little finger, ring finger and thumb together.
  4. Keep the index finger and middle finger straight.
Prana mudra
Prana mudra for the Root Chakra

Muladhara Mudra

The Muladhara mudra is said to bring grounding to the Root Chakra. When this mudra is held, you will feel a brightness awakening within you, as the flow of energy moves inwards and downwards into your body.

How to do the Muladhara Mudra:

  1. Take some deep breaths and close your eyes.
  2. Bring your hands together in front of your chest in a prayer pose.
  3. Interlink your ring fingers and little fingers.
  4. Keep your middle fingers straight.
  5. Interlink your index fingers and thumbs.
  6. Create this gesture with both hands.

Muladhara Mudra Benefits

When you practice the Muladhara Mudra, you connect your Root Chakra to the earth, which grounds and roots you. You can also use the Muladhara Mudra to invite the earth’s energy into your Root Chakra to help strengthen this chakra and ground you.

The following are some of the benefits you can expect from using mudras for Root Chakra awakening:

Physical Benefits

Many health problems come from imbalances within our bodies due to poor diet, stress, chronic illness, or poor nutrition. Using a mudra can help heal your body, helping you to feel more balanced, healthy, and energized. It’s also believed that using a mudra can positively affect the immune system, helping you maintain good health.

Emotional Benefits

Using a mudra to balance the Root Chakra can help bring balance and harmony to your emotions in general; any imbalance in energy will make it harder for you to focus on one emotion over another. Using a mudra for Root Chakra awakening can help guide energy flow to the other chakras, such as the Heart Chakra, allowing for greater emotional balance and purity.

Mental Benefits

Having poor energy flow in your body and being out of balance can also lead to mental issues such as depression. Using a Root Chakra mudra can help bring harmony to your body, allowing for more positive thinking, focus, and clarity.

Spiritual Benefits

The main benefit of using mudras is that they help you connect with your inner self. By focusing on channeling positive, pure energy through your chakras, you open up a connection to higher spiritual powers that can help you grow.

Muladhara mudra
Muladhara Mudra for the Root Chakra

Alternative Root Chakra Hand Mudras

Prithvi Mudra or Earth Mudra

The Root Chakra can also be activated using the Prithvi Mudra, known as the ‘Gesture of the Earth‘. By holding this mudra, you can focus on the nature of who you are and how you want to connect with the universal source.

This mudra uses the ring finger and thumb and thereby creates an energy connection to the earth’s elements. While using this mudra, you can feel the power coming from your Root Chakra and flowing out into the universe.

This hand position is good to use after you have awakened your Root Chakra with the Muladhara Mudra to keep the energy of the Root Chakra flowing and balanced. 

How to practice Prithvi Mudra:

  1. Take some deep breaths and close your eyes.
  2. Lay the back of your hands on your knees.
  3. Press the tip of your ring finger to your thumb. 
  4. Keep the rest of your fingers straight.
  5. Create this gesture with both hands.

Makar Mudra

The Makar Mudra is especially powerful during periods of stress and worry. It is known as the Crocodile Mudra as it is thought to represent the energy and the lightening quick strength of a crocodile.

The Makar Mudra is used to calm the mind, treat depression and stress and improve mental concentration. It is also very beneficial for the Sacral Chakra as it promotes vitality.

How to practise the Makar Mudra

  • Put one hand on top of the other.
  • Interlink the thumb of the lower hand above the little finger.
  • Bring the ring finger and thumb of the upper hand to touch.
  • Keep the index finger and middle finger straight and wide as possible. 

Other Mudras

Even a simple mudra can help you access and heal the energy centres of your being. They are easy to practice and can be used anytime to help you feel more energetic and better balanced.

There are mudras for each of the chakras, for example:

The Shakti Mudra

The Shakti Mudra is often used in Sacral Chakra Healing. It is a powerful gesture which connects your body to the universal source of life energy and inspires sexuality and vitality.

How to practice Shakti Mudra:

  1. Bring your little finger and ring fingers to touch.
  2. Bend your index fingers and middle fingers and fold your thumbs behind them.
  3. Press the knuckles of your index fingers and middle fingers together. 

The Mudra of a Thousand Petals

The Mudra of a Thousand Petals is a popular mudra used to heal the Crown Chakra. This mudra allows you to connect your subtle body to universal consciousness and channel the divine.

How to practise the Mudra of a Thousand Petals:

  1. Bring the tips of your index fingers and thumbs together to form a pyramid.
  2. Extend the rest of your fingers upward and keep them straight.
  3. Raise your hands above the crown of your head.

Crystals for an Imbalanced Root Chakra

Crystals like Black Tourmaline and Rose Quartz can help to balance the Root Chakra by stimulating its upward flow of energy. You can use crystals when meditating or practicing yoga to further support positive energy. 

Check out our guide to using crystals to heal your Root Chakra

chakra healing crystals
Chakra healing stones

Essential Oils That Can Open Your Base Chakra

Essential oils, such as Sandalwood and Frankincense, can be very beneficial in opening and balancing your Root Chakra.

There are lots of different ways you can use essential oils. They can be massaged into your neck area or breathed in while doing yoga poses to stimulate this region of the body.

Check out our guide to using essential oils to balance your Root Chakra

When to Use Root Chakra Hand Positions

The Muladhara Mudra is a good hand position to use at the beginning of your chakra healing practice, as it will help align your Root Chakra quickly. You can also combine it with other Root Chakra healing gestures. 

You can use a Root Chakra mudra whenever you feel your Root Chakra needs attention. Root Chakra mudras can also be beneficial when working on other chakras, as the Root Chakra is the foundation from which energy flows to all the other chakra. 

Start Your Mudra Practice Today

The Root Chakra is about being grounded, feeling safe and secure, and having a strong connection to the earth element. Using different mudras at different times can help open all of your chakras, bring them into alignment, and keep them balanced. 

Author

  • Ramisha Khan

    I'm Ramisha - I’m a wellness professional and energy healing practitioner with a special interest in helping people find balance, harmony, and inner peace.