Anodea Judith on Chakra One

In the chapter "Chakra One" of her book "Eastern Body, Western Mind" Anodea Judith talks about the problem of "upper chakra dominance."

"Experiences that threaten survival intensify the upward movement of energy in the body. When the body is neither safe nor comfortable, the child redirects her attention away from the unpleasant experience and cuts off bodily sensations. The downward, grounding current is inhibited as much as possible, directing most of the energy to the head. Such a person may be physically numb and fail to notice when she needs to eat or rest, both of which are first chakra maintenance programs. As a result she may contract frequent illnesses -- listening to the body only when it is yelling too loud to be ignored. She may not read emotions clearly (since emotions have bodily sensations) and consequently be unaware of her needs. A person with an accelerated upward current is hypervigilant to messages outside herself, as if constantly searching for ways to connect with her caretaker or constantly watching for danger. This is the hallmark of a deficient first chakra: the body is deadened and the consciousness is elevated creating a profound mind-body split.

An adult with damaged ground is usually plagued by a terrible sense that something is wrong, but cannot identify what it is. Ground is so basic and structured so young, that it literally becomes background. We are seldom aware that our ground is infertile soil, muddy landslide, or impenetrable rock. Like a fish who does not know it is in water, our ground is often invisible to us. As a result, a therapist working with this problem may feel confused about the issue and be led away from it, just as the clients own energy has led them away from their ground. The sessions may be highly intellectual, jump from topic to topic, or contain lies and omissions that cover up the true problem. Learning to develop the downward current of the body and literally building a ground just as one would build a foundation -- brick by brick -- is what is needed for the top-down structure in which the upper chakras dominate."

In A Judith's conclusion to "Chakra One" she writes,

"Without the healthy functioning of the first chakra, we are hopelessly trapped on a mundane level of existence, forever avoiding and forever dealing with the same issue -- a need to solidify the ground level from which all else grows. It is my belief that if a person's ground is not somewhat intact all other work is less effective. If the ground is intact, subsequent work proceeds in a more coherent fashion and strengthens the ground. Grounding is a slow and cumulative process. It is where we begin, yet it is always changing as a result of what we build above it."

"One can never work on grounding too much. Our culture, so very removed from the ground of the planet, and with values that hold the body and the physical world in such low esteem, continually separate us from our ground. Regardless of childhood development, there is always work to be done to overcome the cultural programming that weakens our first chakra connection.

"Reclaiming the sacred temple of our bodies, our right to be here, and our right to have what we need in order to survive can be a joyous reunion with the very ground of our own being and a solid beginning to the exciting journey through the chakras."