In this episode I’m going to re-introduce myself and my story incase you are just tuning in now and talk about why having a balanced root chakra is so important to our early imprints around safety, belonging and stabiltiy.
 
My story: Mom as 3 months pregnant with me and started to hemmorage…her uterus was tipped. We’re pretty certain she miscarried my twin sister at that point, although that information came out many many years later!
 
She had to lay in bed for therest of her pregnancy and stand on herheadevery hour on the hour to tip it back in place, so htat she wouldn’t miscarry me.
 
So me, the baby, felt trapped. My spirit didn;t think it was a great idea to stay, and knowing what I know now about losing a twin, I was also grieving, which later explained a lifetime of deep sadness and loss that “technicnally” didn’t really make sense.
 
When I finally decided to come out, a nurse panciked and tried to hold me in not permitting me to be born!  So I swallowed a lot of gunk and was very ill the first six months of my life not being able to digest anything.  It also created chronic neck problems.
 
The worst part was that I was not put onto my mother, but instead whisked away all ten pounds of me, jaundiced and put in an incubator for three days.  So me, the baby, felt after being trapped, then I wasn’t allowed out, and then I wasn’t wanted because I wasn’t held and separate from my mother. And she also chose not to breastfeed me, so again lost out on that essential bonding.
 
This unfolding of events manifested in my central nervous system being affected, the doctors were concerned to see how that would play out. I’m fine, and only my mother would notice the ever so slight tremor I get when I’m overdoing things. It also manifested with me not trusting authority, disliking small enclosed spaces, and always wanting to be first, never feeling I could ever get enough holding. Digestive issues, until they discovered goats milk, and always extreme sensitivity to cold.
 
And boy did I ever walk on eggshells around my mother.  
 
I didn’t find out about the being held in and being in an incubator part until I was 37.  I went to my first Transactional Analysis class and we had to write down what our mothers were feeling when they were pregnant with us.  I wrote down something like, “Trapped, frustrated and totally alone.” I had other reasons for thinking those things but Mom happened to be visiting me in England at that point and I asked her what she felt and she said the exact thing I had written on my paper.  She explained her feelings at the time.  And then she told me the rest of my birth story and I cried in her arms until I had salt trails on my face.  It explained so much about our relationship.
 
It’s essential to ask yourslf and your mother how your birth went?  How did your entry into this world shape your sense of security?  Do you feel supported by life, or are you always on guard?
 
I have a pdf of birth questions to ask your mother, father, grandparents, spirit!  You can have access to this on my website: shannonbtb.com or shannonoflaherty.com
 
After the break I’ll talk about the root chakra which is all about our Foundations of Safety.
 
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Chakras are energy vortexes shaped like spinning funnels of bioenergetic activity in 7 key areas of our bodies. We also have many secondary or mini- chakras too. The term chakra originates in India but many different cultures work with this fascinating field where physical, emotional, mental and spiritual energies all come together.  Chakras don’t just interact with each other, they also have the potential to connect us to the energetic interaction of our world and universe, connecting spirit and matter, mind and body.
 
Each chakra influences the organs associated with it, ligaments, muscles and veins and any other body part within it’s field.  They also affect the endocrine system, which is a network of glands and organs that produce and release hormones into the bloodstream to control many of our bodily functions.
 
Chakras are also strongly connected to our moods, personality, belief systems, physical and psychological evolution and spiritual journey. Basically they are an intrinsic part of our overall health and wellbeing which is why we want them to be in balance and flowing properly.
 
Nowhere is the chakra journey more apparent than during pregnancy as new being manifests in the mother’s body and is brought into the physical realm through the multidimensional initiation of childbirth.  Learning about the passage of the baby through pregnancy, birth and the first 6 months to 2 years of life and the significance for the baby’s foundation and birth imprint is truly empowering knowledge.
 
Understanding our chakras as a map for rediscovering our inner landscape and re-energising the centres that our ancestral legacy, unconscious conditioning and life experiences have closed down, helps us understand and cultivate our own energy preventing illness and a multitude of possible issues.
 
Our root chakra is located at the base of our spine above the perineum, below the cervix and in front of the coccyx. Basically between our front and back privies.
 
 It is our foundation of personal power, well being and our connection to the Pachamama (Mother Earth). And just like a tree with its beautiful roots connecting it, it lets us know that we are connected and safe to grow into our highest potential.
 
On a literal level its about our safety, security and primal needs for survival; ie: food, shelter, safety and security.  It helps us meet our daily demands of what we need to survive. If its in balance we’ll stay self confident and out of fear.
 
Anatomically, it governs our bones, blood, our immune systems, the colon, rectum, vagina, lower pelvis, pelvic floor, base of spine, legs and feet. It’s domain is also the hips, our vitality, stamina, strength and energy. It also governs the sexual and birthing instinct and has the power to open the vagina to receive the sperm, to release menstrual fluid and to birth babies.
 
Emotionally its about feeling protected, and having strong foundations about our groundedness, stability and trust, as well as our survival and security. Our emotions and physicality go together because if our energy is out of whack, it will affect our emotions.
 
Mentally its about our foundation, our contentedness and connection to the earth. It holds the space for us to connect to the tribe or family we were born into even if life’s journey has pushed us in another direction.
 
With a balanced root chakra we’ll stay out of worry and attract all that we desire with a quiet sense of strength and confidence about us.  We’ll also be reassuring for others to be around because they’ll feel that calmness and easy going -ness about us. 
 
The beliefs about the root chakra grounds us to the earth, its about our abundance. It’s also about our inability to let go, and all the lack, scarcity and abundance issues you may have, live here.
 
When its not working properly there’s a lack of vitality. When we feel vulnerable about our survival or safety, victimised by society or within our family or clan, this chakra may need some stabilising. If a woman feels unsafe and frightened, or isn’t grounded or feeling safe and secure, her labour may become slow and difficult or even stop altogether if cervical regression arises from stress.
 
We may have food and health issues, or feel spacey or un- grounded. We could also have problems with our bones and blood.
 
In Sanskrit the root chakra is called Muladhara which translates to “root of existence”. It’s made up of two words: mula, which means “root”, and dhara, which means “flux”. 
 
The Root chakra is our foundation and beliefs related to the root are about: security, safety, anything around work, order, routine, whether you feel nurtured or if you nurture yourself, what your nutrition is like, fairness, organisation, honesty, flexibility, responsibility and health.
 
When you regain balance in your foundation in all of those qualities, your spirit will inspire all your own personal ways for maintaining that balance.
 
Some ways that root chakra issues could potentially manifest: Physically, our bones are the structure of our bodies.  They literally hold us up and without them we’d just be a big puddle of skin and organs.
 
Our ligaments, muscles and nervous system are all based on the bones because the bones are the core of all that we are! Bones can pertain to sacrifice and worthiness issues like not feeling supported, deserving or worthy and not trusting.
 
Our colons hold onto old issues like anger, resentment, fear, guilt, old abuse ad the ability to accept love.  So if you have any issues like irritable bowel, or any rectum issues like haemorrhoids (unless you’re pregnant which is common in pregnancy).  It’s all about eliminating old stuff.  All the old stuff that holds us back in life.
 
We may also feel frustrated because things we intellectually know, we still somehow cannot break out of our habitual patterns. Until now! Stick with me, you’ll soon learn how to grasp your destiny by the reins.
 
Because the root chakra also governs our feet, hips, knees and spine which is all about moving forward, standing tall and feeling secure and safe to step out into the abyss of the unknown.
 
So if you are constantly making excuses, that chunks down to fear. If you have an inspired moment, a real “AHA” moment, what often happe