Why Your Kundalini Isn’t Really Awakening: The Root Chakra Truth Nobody Talks About

If you’ve spent any time in spiritual communities, online forums, or social media groups, you’ve probably noticed something: everyone seems to be going through a kundalini awakening. Tingling in the spine? Must be kundalini. Feeling emotional after a meditation? Kundalini rising. Had a vivid dream? Definitely kundalini.

I get it. Kundalini awakening is one of the most talked-about milestones in spiritual growth, and for good reason—it’s a truly transformative process when it genuinely happens. But here’s what over 25 years of spiritual practice and guiding hundreds of students have taught me: the vast majority of people who believe their kundalini is awakening are not actually experiencing it.

And the reason is simpler—and more humbling—than most want to hear.

The Inconvenient Truth About Kundalini Awakening and Root Chakra

From my own spiritual research, hands-on spiritual practice as spiritual guide, and direct observation of numerous students going through genuine stages of kundalini awakening, I’ve discovered something that most spiritual teachers either don’t know or won’t tell you: the root chakra and kundalini energy only truly awaken and begin to ascend when a person has resolved the majority of their issues in two critical areas.

1. Survival fears. These include deep-seated fears about physical safety, financial security, health, aging, death, and the general anxiety of “Will I be okay?” These fears are stored energetically in the root chakra (Muladhara) and represent our most primal attachment to the physical body.

2. Connection with nature and Mother Earth. The root chakra is quite literally our energetic gateway to Earth’s energy. If that connection is weak, blocked, or neglected, kundalini energy—which is essentially Mother Earth’s energy flowing through us—simply cannot build up enough to begin its ascent through the chakra system.

Hiker barefoot in forest

Think of it this way: kundalini energy is like water trying to rise through a pipe. If the pipe’s foundation—the root chakra—is cracked, clogged with fear, or disconnected from its source (the Earth), the water has nowhere to go. No matter how much you meditate, chant, or visualize energy moving up your spine, it simply won’t happen if the foundation isn’t healed first.

Why Survival Fears Block Kundalini Rising

The root chakra governs everything related to our physical existence and survival. When you carry unresolved limiting beliefs around safety—whether it’s “I’m not safe,” “There’s never enough money,” “My body will betray me,” or “I can’t trust the world”—these fears act like energetic walls around the root chakra. They keep it locked tight.

And here’s the part that catches many spiritual seekers off guard: you can be deeply interested in spirituality, practice meditation daily, read all the right books, attend every workshop—and still be running a survival program in your subconscious. Many seekers pursue spiritual awakening precisely because they’re trying to escape the discomfort of their physical reality. They want to transcend the body rather than fully inhabit it.

But kundalini doesn’t work that way. You can’t bypass the body. You can’t skip the root. The energy of the Earth needs to flow through you, which means you first need to make peace with being a physical being in a physical world. That means confronting your fears about survival—not running from them into the “higher” chakras.

In my spiritual healing practice, I’ve seen this pattern hundreds of times. Someone comes to me claiming they had a kundalini awakening. When I look at their energy fields, what I typically find is something very different: shattered energy fields, blocked chakras, and a root chakra that’s barely open. What they experienced was likely an energy surge—a temporary spike that comes and goes—not a genuine kundalini awakening at all. And unfortunately, forcing or imagining kundalini activity when the root chakra isn’t ready can lead to serious complications, from chronic fatigue and anxiety to full-blown energetic crises.

The Forgotten Prerequisite: Your Connection with Nature

The second piece that most spiritual teachings overlook is even more fundamental. Your root chakra is designed to be the primary gateway through which Earth’s energy enters your body. As I’ve explained in my article on the science behind kundalini awakening, kundalini energy is essentially Mother Earth’s energy—the same life force that nourishes every living being on this planet.

Now, look at how most modern spiritual seekers live. We spend our days indoors, surrounded by screens and artificial light. Our feet rarely touch the ground. We eat processed food. We’re disconnected from the rhythms of nature—sunrise, sunset, seasons, the living Earth beneath us. And then we wonder why our root chakra won’t open and why kundalini remains dormant.

The connection with nature isn’t just some nice spiritual idea—it’s an energetic necessity. When your body is cut off from Earth’s energy, your root chakra starves. It’s as if you’re trying to charge a device that’s unplugged from the power source. You can push all the buttons you want, but without that fundamental connection, nothing happens.

I’ve observed that people who spend regular, meaningful time in nature—walking barefoot, sitting against a tree, swimming in natural waters, simply being present outdoors—have noticeably stronger root chakra energy. Their bodies are better nourished energetically, and when combined with resolved survival fears, they create the conditions where genuine kundalini awakening can actually begin.

The Body Attachment Problem

There’s an irony here that I want you to see clearly. Many spiritual seekers are deeply attached to their body’s comfort and safety while simultaneously claiming they want to “transcend” the physical plane. This contradiction sits right at the root chakra level, and it’s one of the biggest obstacles to genuine spiritual progress.

Body attachment—the excessive identification with and worry about the physical body—is a survival fear at its core. It shows up as hypochondria, obsessive health anxiety, fear of aging, terror around death, and the constant need to feel physically safe and comfortable at all times. When this attachment is strong, the root chakra stays locked in “protection mode.” It channels all its energy into survival rather than allowing that energy to build up and ascend.

True kundalini rising requires a fundamental shift: from survival to trust. From “I must protect this body at all costs” to “I am a soul having a physical experience, and I trust the process of life.” This doesn’t mean being reckless with your health—it means releasing the fear-based grip on physical existence that keeps your root chakra in lockdown.

So What Should You Actually Do?

If you’re reading this and recognizing yourself—maybe realizing that what you thought was a kundalini awakening might have been something else—please don’t be discouraged. Awareness of where you truly are on your spiritual journey is far more valuable than a comforting illusion.

Hugging a tree

Here’s what I recommend based on my experience working with students in over 40 countries:

• Start by honestly assessing your survival fears. What keeps you up at night? Where do you feel unsafe in your life—financially, physically, emotionally? These are the beliefs and fears that are energetically blocking your root chakra. Working on releasing these limiting beliefs is not a detour from your spiritual path—it is the path.

• Rebuild your connection with nature. And I don’t mean an occasional scenic Instagram photo. I mean regular, deliberate time spent in nature with awareness. Walk barefoot on the earth. Sit still outdoors without your phone. Feel the energy of the ground beneath you. This practice alone can begin to revitalize a weakened root chakra.

• Don’t rush the process. The stages of spiritual awakening and kundalini rising follow a natural sequence. Trying to force kundalini before your root chakra is genuinely healed is like trying to build the top floor of a house without a solid foundation. It’s not just ineffective—it’s potentially dangerous.

• Get an honest assessment. One of the most helpful things you can do is have a qualified spiritual guide look at your actual energy state. In my spiritual reading sessions, I evaluate exactly how open each of your chakras is, where your blockages are, and whether your kundalini energy has genuinely begun to awaken. No guesswork—just a clear, measurable assessment of where you stand.

• Invest in proper spiritual education. Understanding the real mechanics of how energy, chakras, and consciousness work gives you an enormous advantage. In my spiritual school I teach a systematic, analytical approach to spiritual development that shows you exactly what to work on, in what order, and how to measure your progress. It’s the kind of structured, results-oriented guidance that analytical minds crave—and that genuine kundalini awakening demands.

The Real Kundalini Awakening Is Worth the Wait

I know this article might sting a little if you’ve been telling yourself—or others—that your kundalini is on the rise. But I’d rather share an uncomfortable truth that helps you than a comfortable myth that keeps you stuck.

A genuine kundalini awakening is one of the most profound experiences available in human consciousness. It transforms everything—your perception, your energy, your connection with the divine. But it doesn’t come cheap. It requires the patient, honest work of healing your root: facing your survival fears, releasing your body attachment, and reconnecting deeply with the Earth that sustains you.

If you’re willing to do that foundational work, the kundalini will awaken naturally—not because you forced it, but because you created the conditions for it to happen. And when it does, you’ll know the difference.