The First Chakra's Relationship to Eating Disorders
By Ashley Paige, Yoga for Eating Disorders Writer
Muladhara, the first chakra also known as the root or earth chakra, governs our sense of belonging; our right to be here. It’s located at the base of the spine and symbolizes security, trust, and safety. We feel calm, grounded and stable when this chakra is balanced. However, it becomes unbalanced when our basic needs aren’t being met, leaving us exhausted, lethargic, anxious or depressed.
How the Root Chakra Relates to Eating Disorders
Embodying one’s authentic existence is nearly impossible for women who have been socialized to make themselves literally and figuratively smaller. As Naomi Wolf, author of The Beauty Myth writes, “A culture fixated on female thinness is not an obsession about female beauty, but an obsession about female obedience. Dieting is the most potent political sedative in women’s history; a quietly mad population is a tractable one.” As long as we are preoccupied with shrinking ourselves physically, we also do so metaphorically.
This conditioning runs so deeply that having permission to be as we are feels like a revolutionary act. The reason most women find body respect and acceptance so challenging is because of the belief that our bodies are a sign of our worth. When we struggle with an eating disorder, we’re battling a feeling of not being enough - good enough, thin enough, healthy enough, fit enough, etc. In an effort to conform to societal ideals, we under-eat and/or over-exercise. Our ability to feel grounded and secure is overridden by fear. We jump from one thing to the next, distracting ourselves from our hunger. Our body stays in a sympathetic (fight or flight) state of stress and anxiety because it’s not receiving proper nourishment from food and rest. These patterns impede our potential for growth in other areas of life. We value our fears more than our dreams when we feel like we’re not enough. With so much energy being directed towards our bodies, there’s none left for what matters most in life.
How to Balance the Root Chakra
The number one determinant of global satisfaction is healthy relationships. The most important relationship we have in life is the one we have with ourselves. In order to balance the root chakra, we have to learn how to be in relationship with ourselves mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. When balanced in holistic wellbeing, we trust our body, feel safe in it and pay attention to it’s needs. We are attuned to our intuition and approach health from an embodied place. Feeling safe in our body, we know it is good regardless of how it looks. Rather than having a compulsion to ‘fix’ it, we appreciate it for everything it allows us to experience in life.
When we engage with our body from a place of self-respect, our life purpose, the second determinant of global satisfaction, can reveal itself. We cultivate a foundation of self-confidence which supports a healthy flow of positive energy. We have time and energy for activities that fulfill us and make our lives more rich. More than anything, we know we are inherently worthy because we exist. This sense of belonging then impacts other women to liberate themselves from body dissatisfaction, food obsession, and self-critical thoughts. With a foundation of a strong root chakra, empowered, confident, and secure women can achieve great things.
Interested in learning more about the first chakra and eating disorders? Check out our posts on the Yoga for Eating Disorders Community Facebook group to learn more and do the free yoga practices and guided meditations we share.
Raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Ashley is a yoga instructor and body image coach on the Pacific Southwest coast of Nicaragua. Through her recovery of orthorexia she transitioned from a rigorous asana practice to now healing, accepting, and connecting with her body through yoga philosophy. She’s rediscovering hobbies like psychology, baking, music and art, as well as pursuing new interests such as writing and surfing. She believes her healing journey can support others to overcome their own struggles with body image. Ashley writes for the Yoga for Eating Disorders blog.