The Root Chakra

What the Root chakra is

The Root chakra sits at the base of the spine, the lowest of the seven. Its Sanskrit name, Muladhara, means something like "root support." In the chakra tradition it is the seat of belonging and steadiness: the feeling of having somewhere to stand, of being held by the ground and by your people. In modern sound work its tone is 396 Hz, a low, full sound that many listeners describe as settling.

DIVINE Sound pairs three planetary tones with the Root: Saturn at 147.85 Hz, the planet of structure and time; Pluto at 140.25 Hz, the planet of depth and change; and the Earth year tone at 136.10 Hz. Together they make the lowest, most grounded corner of the library. When one of these planets is strong in your chart, the Root is where your sound bath tends to begin.

Where the number comes from

The chakras come from Indian yogic and tantric traditions, where the body is mapped as a column of centers along the spine. The old texts do not all agree on how many there are; the seven-center map most people know today became standard much later. Pairing each chakra with one of the Solfeggio tones (396, 417, 528, 639, 741, 852 and 963 Hz) is a modern sound-bath practice, not part of the old yogic texts. 396 Hz carries the Solfeggio name Liberation. Sound healers use it as a starting place, a first tone to arrive in before anything higher.

Listening

Sit on the floor or lie flat, so as much of you as possible is touching the ground. Let the 396 Hz tone play low and steady. As you listen, notice the places where your body meets the floor: heels, hips, the back of your head. Stay with the weight of yourself. You are not trying to feel anything in particular, only to notice that you are here, and held.