Mūlādhāra Cakra

The first cakra, located at the base of the spine (perineum). Mūla means “root”; ādhāra, “support”. It is the foundation of the entire energy system and the seat of dormant kuṇḍalinī.

Associated with the earth element (pṛthivī), the sense of smell and the seed syllable LAṂ. Its yantra is a four-petalled lotus with a yellow square at its centre, representing the solidity and stability of earth.

Here resides brahma granthi —the first of the three energetic knots— which binds consciousness to inertia, security and survival. Until this knot is pierced, kuṇḍalinī cannot ascend through suṣumṇā.

In the Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā, mūlādhāra appears constantly as the starting point. Siddhāsana presses the perineum against this centre (1.37). Mūla bandha contracts and lifts energy from here (3.61-69). Śakti cālana agitates kuṇḍalinī at its seat (3.104-130). The entire architecture of classical Haṭha Yoga —āsana, bandha, mudrā— converges on one goal: to awaken what sleeps in mūlādhāra and make it rise.

Without firm roots, nothing holds. Mūlādhāra is not a “lower” cakra to be hurriedly transcended. It is the ground from which everything else grows.