Colour: The primary colour of Muladhara is red. This is the colour connected with our primal needs, such as sleep, eating, drinking, survival and later, sex. Red is the color of raw energy. When we stimulate this area through the Ashwini mudra, we activate our vital energy, which is very helpful when we are low on energy. By activating the Shakti of this chakra, we rise above our primal needs.

The secondary colour of Muladhara is black — the colour of gravity.

(When we take up the visual representation of Muladhara next week, we will also look at the significance of the colour yellow in the diagram.)

Relation to Endocrine Glands: The endocrine gland connected to Muladhara is the gonads (testicles) organs responsible for sperm production in the male and the ova, responsible for production of eggs in the female.

Both the left and right gonads, and the left and right ovaries, have deep significance. The right gonad/ovary is the place from which the Pingala nadi rises. This gland controls the strong overriding passions we feel in life. The strong desires and attachments to material life. The right gonad/ovary activates the fire element which lies in Muladhara as a part of the earth element. As the pingala nadi rises, coiling around the Sushumna and crossing it at exactly the spots where the chakras lie, it partakes of and gives different qualities to each chakra.

In Hatha yoga, there are techniques to merge the left and the right gonads/ovaries, but this has to be done under the guidance of the Master.

Elements: The earth element contains within itself the other four elements.

The right gonad/ovary is male and the left gonad/ovary is female. While the right gonad/ovary activates the fire and ether part of the earth element, the left gonad, the watery and wind part.

The ida nadi rises from the left gonad/ovary; this nadi is cooling, watery and reflective. The desires of the right gonad/ovary are hot, passionate, overtly reactive, violent like the lion, of the land animals and the patterns of the left gonad/ovary, of the reptiles, watery, not rushing, covertly reactive, manipulative, violent, sexual. Both the passions of the right gonad/ovary and the cold, violent desires of the left gonad/ovary have to be transformed for the kundalini to rise in a balanced way.

Relation to the Adrenal Glands: Let’s try to understand the connection between the Muladhara and the adrenal glands. The chakra connected to the adrenal glands is Manipura, but it has a deep connection with the Muladhara chakra. This is because the activation of all impulses comes from the adrenals. Passionate desire may arise in the muladhara but the form that it expresses itself in/through comes from Manipura. In other words, the adrenal glands trigger the impulse. The passion or energy comes from the Muladhara, but the form it takes - whether anger, fear or passion - is expressed in the Manipura.

Most people have imbalanced adrenal glands. There is too much adrenal secretion, which leads to people holding a lot of suppressed anger and violence.  Low blood pressure which can turn into high blood pressure, blood sugar fluctuations, exhaustion and consistent inner chatter are signs of imbalance in the adrenals. This leads to worry, fear, guilt and exhaustion.

The adrenal glands are connected with many body parts and an imbalance in the Muladhara chakra could lead to a physical manifestation in the muscles, the bones (mainly the hips), the bladder, rectum and the genitals. It shares responsibility with the Manipura chakra for the kidneys. Further, an imbalanced muladhara can lead to obesity, eating disorders, piles (anal fixation), constipation, sciatica, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, leg and knee problems, varicose veins, arthritis, skin problems, disorders of the bowels, anus, the large intestine, sexual dysfunctions and alcoholism. The 3rd Refining Exercise plays a vital role in bringing balance in the Muladhara chakra  

Relation to Senses: The sense associated with the Muladhara is the sense of smell. As the associated tattva is prithvi, the action organ is the feet.

An excellent way to fill ourselves with positive earth vibrations is to walk with attention concentrated in the soles of the feet. (Here, I’m definitely not saying to walk without shoes and socks.)

Main Weakness: The main weakness here is greed (lobha). Certain I’s can be very visible in self-observation. There is a ‘rasa’, an interest in getting something for nothing. This is a deeply rooted ‘I’ with greed in the background.

As we have seen, the instinctive center part of the chakra is connected with the sense of smell. When we take this at a psychological level, we have worrying I’s that we must observe and not identify with. On a positive level, we will be able to smell out trouble before it happens.

The sign of a weak Muladhara is being in a constant state of internal considering. The mind is chattering and accounting all the time. It leads to the expression of the negative I’s connected to safety, not feeling appreciated, feelings of sexual inadequacy and the primal feelings of rage and resentment.

We can also talk of some other exercises to bring balance in the muladhara.

Chakra Rotation: The basic rotation of the muladhara is anticlockwise.

Chakra Exercises: Before practicing any exercise for the chakras, do alternate breathing for a few minutes and then practice Three Step Rhythmic Breathing with full attention, visualizing the chakra for five minutes.

(1) The grounding cord exercise - We visualize the Muladhara as the size of an ‘eight anna coin’ with four spokes. At first, do not visualize any colour. Gradually visualize a thin beam of white light from the top of the head down into the perineum. Then let the beam touch one of the spokes and rotate it anticlockwise, one rotation with one breath.

(2) We can also do an exercise which is mentioned in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika. It is the special nose exercise. This is the practice of the nasikagra drishti, which involves gazing at the tip of your nose until you develop the ability to smell psychic fragrances over time. This practice is also called the agochari mudra, the gesture of invisibility.

To perform this exercise, sit comfortably and gaze ahead as you normally do, breathing normally. Relax your shoulders and place your palms on your knees. Slowly move your eyes so you are staring at the tip of your nose. Keep your gaze here for only a few seconds, holding your breath while doing so. If you feel pain, return your gaze to normal. Repeat this process at one sitting for as long as you can and then return to it at a later time, making sure not to strain your eyes. Practice for several months and see if your sense of smell is evoked while thinking about a certain event, person or situation. You will be on your way to developing a higher state of consciousness.

--- Rajen Vakil