Welcome to the inaugural post of a seven-part, seven-month series, Chakra of the Month!

Although August is nearly drawing to a close, I would like to introduce the root chakra as this month’s energy center.

The root chakra is your body’s security guard. You know when you get sick and literally feel like you are going to die? Or completely overwhelmed and on the verge of a nervous breakdown? That’s your root chakra screaming that it’s seriously out of alignment.

On the other hand, feeling grounded, safe, stable and confident signifies that your ruby-red root chakra is spinning healthily and shining like the sun.

I experienced a big-time, root-chakra shaker at the beginning of this month.

After getting married in July, we were on our honeymoon in Colombia when our baby daughter, Jade, got a fever. She ended up needing to be hospitalized with a bacterial infection. After a few days, she was fine, but I was a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

I’ll write more about this experience next month, but, in short, I was reading When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron, and then things fell apart. My root chakra was spinning out of control, in a bad way. After the honeymoon at the hospital, I had to deal with my new mother-in-law, unreliable bus travel in South America, frustrating corporate airline policies and facing my ugliest fears around the issues of authority, power and control.

When this happens, as it will at various times throughout life, the most important thing to do is breathe.

Inhale, exhale and know that this too shall pass. We humans are remarkably resilient. You will survive, and –even better– prevail!

Now, I’m back home, getting settled, taking root. I’m thrilled to wake up every day and have the chance to write about, teach about, and share the things I love best: yoga and mindfulness.

I’ve realized that in order to maintain my lifestyle (living at a lake in Guatemala where the scenery is beautiful but the salaries are slim), I need to earn more money. Hence, I am grateful to Waylon for paying his top elephant writers as well as other free services that allow me to create e-books and earn royalties. I’ve earned $2.20 so far, but I feel so rich!

Want to learn more about your root chakra and the other six main chakra points? Here are some free relephant resources.

Bonus–I Will Survive: Rock Your Root Chakra Playlist

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Ed: Sara Crolick