Childhood Trauma paves the path to spiritual pursuits-Does it purify the soul or burden it?

Trauma shatters the illusion of control. It cracks open the story we tell ourselves about who we are and how life is supposed to work. From a neuroscience viewpoint,trauma rewires the brain where the brain starts understanding the old coping mechanisms will not work if one's consciousness needs to elevate. Thus,our nervous systems gets into the quest of searching for new patterns.

Childhood trauma comes in the form of neglect, physical or emotional violence,domestic abuse that fractures the psycho spiritual energy depriving the child of self identity and joy. The authentic versions such as vulnerabilities,joy,trust get left behind to keep the physical body safe.Range of adverse childhood experiences get stored in the root chakra and the sacral chakra of the energy body of the child. I would like to deep dive into each of these two chakras and the impact. The Root Chakra becomes a "chord of absorption" where early life instability,hurt provided by caregivers makes the energy body feel unsafe. In adult life,this translates into fear and chronic anxiety as the energy body moves towards disassociating from the root chakra and solar plexus chakra and gets locked into a state of fight,flight and freeze response. The physical tension is thus manifested into the body of adults who as children have been silenced as youngsters.

Discussing about the impact on the Sacral Chakra,childhood trauma gets stored in the emotional centre of the chakra which is the Sacral chakra that blocks emotional expression,stifles passion and creativity. According to The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry(2014),adults who experience childhood trauma have personality disorders,anxiety and mood swings as there are dysregulated stress response systems in the sympathetic nervous system that disrupts the energy flow in the chakras. The Solar plexus Chakra gets blocked by early childhood trauma causing powerlessness,invalidation that results in poor self image,loss of personal power and lack of assertiveness.

The rook chakra is the foundation of a person's whole being.The root chakra is the primary energy center developing from the womb across all the 9 months upto the age 1.If the child feels safe and secure in the bringing up years,the root chakra remains sturdy,however if the child is exposed to hypervigilance,deep seated fears right from the womb energy, the root chakra is innately imbalanced.This brings me to the next segment to unravel how do we,then unblock the solar plexus chakra and the root chakra.

Few simple methods to unclog these aforementioned chakras are discussed below:

#1 Walking barefoot on grass,spending time in nature and practicing foundational yoga/

#2 Consuming red coloured foods and root vegetables such as sweet potatoes,beetroot, pomegranate,strawberries and carrot.

#3 Adding and practicing rituals using spices such as nutmeg,cinnamon and ginger to ground the energy.

#4 Having a consistent routine such as proper sleep schedule,meal timings and wise spending habits keep the energy grounded.

#5 Basking in the sunlight restores vitality of the solar plexus chakra.

#6 Consuming yellow foods such as pineapple,banana,zuchinni,corn and bell peppers activate the solar plexus chakra positively.

#7 Core focused workouts such as dance,power walking activate the willpower centre of the body.

#8 Diaphragmatic breathing discharges the trapped fight or flight responses from the energy body.

Childhood traumatic experiences can have a positive reinforcement when one adapts to reshape their identity, alter their core beliefs by navigating their experiences through ethical transformations and spiritual awakenings. There is always light at the end of the tunnel and embracing to reach to the end healed is a choice that is to be made.