How root chakra energy blockages cause overeating
Written by Delilah Bisase, RD
Our body communicates with us in more ways than one, and it’s up to us to pay attention. Whatever may be going on at an emotional level, or deeper at a soul level, can absolutely manifest itself through our eating habits. Considering the pandemic that we’re still in the midst of, I think it’s a good time to talk about grounding and how being ungrounded can manifest as overeating.
GROUNDING & THE ROOT CHAKRA
Grounding is heavily centered around the root (or muladhara) chakra. To be grounded means to be present, aware, and connected. When our root chakra is healthy we feel a connection to mother earth energy, our ancestors, we feel supported, and we feel a sense of belonging within our communities. Other keywords in addition to grounding that describe the root chakra are safety, security, survival, and family/tribe.
COVID-19 GOT US ALL UNGROUNDED AND NOT LISTENING TO OUR BODIES
This COVID-19 pandemic has directly affected the root chakra; on both the collective and individual level. It has shaken everyone’s sense of safety in multiple ways. Many people are facing financial struggles, are struggling to pay for food & rent, and most of all people are terrified of contracting this novel coronavirus. Everything I just described can lead a person to feel unsupported, disconnected, and essentially ungrounded.
Since the root chakra deals with survival, that means it also deals with food and eating because eating is something we as humans need to do to survive. Like I mentioned before when our root chakra energy is healthy we feel safe, secure, and we are present. In this state, our eating habits are more mindful because we’re present at our meals and we’re truly listening to (and honoring) our body cues for hunger and satiety. When our root chakra energy is blocked we do not practice mindful eating because we’re not in tune to our body’s hunger & satiety cues; this leads us to either overeat or undereat.
For the purpose of this post I'm going to zero in on the overeating part. When we’re ungrounded, we start to reach out for things that bring us feelings of safety and security. Eating food is a great way to make us feel safe, because eating is necessary for survival. In addition to safety and security, eating can also be an escape. When we’re ungrounded, we’re not present and we’re not paying attention to our body’s cues- making us vulnerable to leaning into an escapist activity like overeating.
I’ll use myself as an example. When I was stressed out about my job and housing situations (both root chakra issues) I was over eating daily. I didn’t listen to my hunger or satiety cues at all. I would keep skipping meals, and then when I did eat I overate way past the point of satiety. I would be eating a meal, and even before it was finished I was already thinking about what to eat next. It almost felt compulsive, in a way, eating everything so quickly and not stopping until I was super stuffed. And this pattern lasted for a good while.
GETTING BACK TO NORMAL
After taking some quiet moments to sit with myself I realized I was letting the stress get the best of me, and I had to come back to my senses and remember that I am supported, I live in abundance, and I will always be provided with what I need. That was the deeper message on a spiritual level. Strategically for changing my eating habits, I literally had to press pause on myself- seriously! After eating one meal, I would explicitly tell myself “girl, just wait 20 minutes” and if I was still truly hungry after that 20 minutes was up then I would help myself to another serving. It’s super important that this 20 minute wait is not spent thinking about food (lol, but seriously), and rather it’s spent doing something else, anything else, that is not stress inducing. This wait times give the body and mind a moment to catch up with one another and get on the same page, so that your hormones can let you know whether you’ve eaten to satiety or not. It also allows you to approach the situation again with a more calm mindset when you take a moment to check in with your hunger cues the second time around. Also, in addition to all of that- affirmations! I absolutely love affirmations because they are such powerful tools for shifting our mindset. Here are some affirmations for the root chakra to help with grounding.
AFFIRMATIONS FOR GROUNDING
Mother earth (or the universe, or god, etc) provides me with all that i need to fulfill my life purpose and live in prosperity
I am exactly where i need to be
My body supports me with it’s strength
I am safe and nurtured by the energy of mother earth
BONUS: Another tip to help with grounding is to get out in nature! Walk on the ground with your bare feet, touch some dirt, or sit under a tree. Connecting with the earth helps one to feel very grounded.
I have a whole chapter about the root chakra, as well as the types of foods that correlate with it, in my e-book “Feeding the Body and Soul”. Check it out here!