The Root Chakra: Reclaiming Joy Through Movement

Joy is Not a Mood — It’s a Nervous System State

For many people, especially those carrying unresolved trauma, joy can feel distant or even unsafe. It's not that they don’t want to feel joy, but that their body has learned to prioritise vigilance over relaxation, protection over pleasure.

In a world where the body has become a battleground — for productivity, for perfection, for survival — joy often becomes a luxury instead of a birthright.

But joy is not just a fleeting emotion. It is a regulated state of the nervous system. It emerges when the body feels safe enough to relax, to play, to receive. And that sense of safety begins in the root chakra — your energetic foundation.

The Root Chakra: A Map of Safety and Survival

The root chakra (Muladhara) is located at the base of the spine and governs our relationship with the physical world. It is associated with basic human needs: food, shelter, safety, and connection to the Earth. When balanced, it provides a sense of groundedness, resilience, and stability.

From a physiological standpoint, this aligns with the autonomic nervous system, particularly the sympathetic (fight or flight) and parasympathetic (rest and digest) responses. Chronic stress, early childhood trauma, displacement, and emotional neglect can all lead to dysregulation. The body stays in survival mode, unable to relax, unable to let go, and unable to feel joy.

As Dr. Bessel van der Kolk writes in The Body Keeps the Score:
"Being able to feel safe with other people is probably the single most important aspect of mental health."

When the root chakra is imbalanced, joy becomes inaccessible. Not because you’re ungrateful, but because your system is doing exactly what it was trained to do: survive.

The Body’s Original Language of Healing

Healing doesn’t always begin with stillness. For many of us, especially those with trauma stored in the lower body, stillness feels threatening. It can trigger anxiety, dissociation, or restlessness.

This is where movement becomes essential.

Movement is how we return to the body. Not through control, but through relationship. When we move — especially to rhythm — we stimulate the vestibular system, engage proprioception, and activate vagal tone, all of which help regulate the nervous system. In somatic therapy, repetitive, rhythmic movement has been shown to lower cortisol levels, support the release of trauma responses, and bring the body back into balance.

And spiritually, movement is a way of saying:
"I’m not trying to leave my body to heal. I’m bringing my body with me."

Dance and the Root

Across cultures, dance has always been a tool for healing, grief, celebration, and community. In African, Caribbean, Indigenous, and South American traditions, dance is more than expression. It is ceremony. It is communication. It is medicine.

The root chakra thrives in rhythm. The hips, feet, and legs are extensions of this energetic center. Movement in these areas signals safety, groundedness, and power. Dance, when done with intention, reconnects us to the wisdom of our ancestors and the stability of the Earth.

It’s not about performance. It’s about presence.

It’s not about choreography. It’s about reclaiming the right to take up space.

Why 396Hz Supports Root Chakra Healing

Solfeggio frequencies are a series of tones believed to support energetic and emotional alignment. 396Hz is associated with the root chakra and is often used to help release fear, guilt, and shame — emotions commonly buried in the lower body.

Early studies, like those conducted by biochemist Dr. Glen Rein, suggest that sound frequencies can influence DNA repair and cellular activity. Although more research is needed, many people report emotional shifts, nervous system softening, and deep calm when exposed to these tones.

When paired with grounding rhythms like tribal house music, 396Hz becomes more than a frequency. It becomes a felt experience. The beat anchors the body. The tone speaks to the subconscious. Together, they create a container for release, reconnection, and joy.

Try it here:
Tribal House Mix | 396 Hz Activate Root Chakra | Ease Trauma & Anxiety

Why Joy Requires Safety — Not Just Positivity

In trauma healing, joy is not the starting point. It is the outcome of restoring safety in the body. Without that sense of inner stability, joy can feel threatening. It asks you to soften in a system that has learned to brace.

This is why practices that focus only on mindset or "positive vibes" often fail people with complex trauma. They try to jump to the heart without stabilising the root.

When we begin with the root — when we prioritise grounding, presence, breath, movement, and nervous system regulation — we lay the foundation for authentic joy to emerge.

As Resmaa Menakem writes in My Grandmother's Hands:
"When the body is settled, the mind is settled."

Other Tools for Root Chakra and Nervous System Healing

Movement is powerful, but it’s just one entry point. Here are a range of accessible, body-based tools that support the root chakra and create the conditions for joy:

• Somatic Grounding: Place a hand on your lower belly and simply breathe. Feel the rise and fall. Repeat the words, “It’s safe to be here.”

• Tension Release Exercises (TRE): These are designed to help the body discharge stored stress through gentle shaking and movement.

• Weighted Blankets or Sandbags: These tools provide deep pressure touch, which supports vagal regulation and a sense of safety.

• Nature Connection: Gardening, walking barefoot, or even sitting on the ground can realign the body’s bioelectrical field with that of the Earth.

• Salt Baths with Red Stones: Salt helps discharge excess energy, and grounding stones like garnet or hematite reinforce the Earth connection.

• Vocal Toning: Humming or chanting the sound “LAM” (associated with the root chakra) while sitting upright can help activate both vocal resonance and energetic flow.

• Guided Meditation with Binaural Beats: Pairing grounding visualisations with low-frequency brainwave entrainment can deepen the sense of stillness.

These aren’t trends. They’re trauma-informed, energy-aware practices that support a long-term return to safety.

Journaling Questions to Deepen the Work

• Where in my life do I not feel safe?

• What memories does my body hold that my mind has forgotten?

• How do I respond to stillness? To movement? To joy?

• What does my body need in order to feel supported?

• What would it mean to live as if I belonged here?

Final Thoughts: You Were Never Meant to Heal Without Your Body

Joy is not a reward for healing. It is part of the healing. But it doesn’t arrive through force. It arrives through safety.

When you move with presence, when you listen to your body with compassion, when you root yourself in music, breath, and rhythm — you give your nervous system permission to remember what it once knew: that joy is natural, that rest is allowed, and that you belong.

Start with one step. One beat. One breath. You don’t have to be ready. You just have to be here.