Naturally, parents want to provide for all of their children’s needs. When a child is hungry, we feed him/her. When he/she is cold, warm clothes and heat are made available. When he/she is sad, love and attention is given. Most parents would do anything to keep their child healthy and happy. And yet, very few parents are aware of the need for energetic nurturing. The energetic development of our children is vital to their total well-being through out their lives, providing a foundation for them physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.

Energetic nurturing is based on the chakra system. We each possess seven major chakras. Each of these major chakras governs specific aspects of the physical body, relates to various emotions and mental formations, and offers support to one’s whole being and spirit. These chakras are energized chronologically at definite times in our childhood. If we are conscious of the chakra and it’s corresponding aspects that are being developed at that time, we can encourage their proper development and help our children to be truly healthy.

The first chakra is called muladhara, which means root support. This chakra relates with our foundations: our family, our home, our body. It provides us with the ground to root into and the means to support our spirits, to feel the security we need to explore and discover our lives. The element of muladhara is earth. The earth supplies us with the raw materials that we need to survive. Thus, we discover our basic right, which is the right to exist. And when the soil of our lives, our surroundings and experiences, are rich, they cultivate us, allowing us to grow strong and to relax into a sense of stability and consistency. Fear and struggle are diminished by a feeling of harmony with the world and our lives, and we are confident in our ability to meet the demands of life.

Muladhara is first energized while we are in the womb and completes its process during the first year of our life, but it will continue to be our foundation throughout our childhood. The womb is our first home, and the ground from which our bodies spring forth. Positive nourishment is essential, not only in the form of food, but as love and affirmation. If the womb is constrained by anxiety and stress, it contracts and inhibits the formation of the first chakra. The body and corresponding emotional foundation will be rooted in fear. These children will be uncomfortable in themselves, their families and homes, and this distress will undermine their basic right to exist, causing them to question the basic validity of their lives.

Furthermore, a positive environment is also essential. If there is a great deal of struggle surrounding a child in his/her first year of life, this child will base his/her life on struggle rather than the security one needs to create a bountiful and prosperous existence. The first chakra will not be developed to its full potential and as a result the child's foundation will be based upon need, rather than fulfillment.

To truly provide for our children, we need to create a positive environment that welcomes them into their lives even before they are born. We need to cultivate peace, love, and compassion. We need to care for our earth, so that it will care for all of our children. We need to establish stability and security for our children, so that their spirits can easily relax into their bodies and live with hope and joy.

By Andrea Brook
www.yogagirl.com

Andrea Brook is a yoga instructor and spiritual consultant based in Florida. She has a gift for intuiting and creating the "perfect practice", in yoga and in life, for each individual's unique body, mind and spirit. In addition to her successful yoga career, Andrea is also a core member of MASS Ensemble (Music, Architecture, Sonic Sculpture), a music and arts performing group.