The Practice of Grounding:Staying calm and focused.
Some of us find it more difficult to connect with the earth and with our bodies due to the emotional and behavioural patterns we developed in childhood. With practice, we can all learn how to feel more rooted in the earth. Doing so will allow you to feel strong emotions with less distress.
Grounding means:
- Inhabiting your body
- Remaining anchored in the present moment
- Feeling connected to the earth beneath your feet
Practice grounding on a regular basis so you feel more solid in life as your default mode. Whenever emotions begin to overpower you, ground yourself to regain your peace.
Try out these various ways to ground yourself and see which ones work for you:
- Dance.
- Walk barefoot and feel the earth.
- Whenever you’re walking, mindfully pay attention to your steps and the sensation of walking. When your mind begins to wander, kindly bring it back to the act of walking.
- Sit or lay on the ground and feel the stability and substantiality of the earth. Breathe it in. Let this feeling permeate and pervade your entire being.
- Practice any form of breath awareness like belly breathing or counting your breaths.
- Engage in a body-based meditation or relaxation exercise, like a body scan meditation or progressive muscle relaxation. You can find simple body scan instructions in this article: Be Still, Be Well: A Simple Practice of Mindfulness.
- Exercise or try a movement practice like Tai Chi, Qigong, or Yoga.
- Imagine a cord of golden energy travelling from your lower body deep into the center of the earth.
The more you feel connected with the ground, the more you’ll be able to handle in day-to-day life.
Understandably, it can be very difficult to shift your attention from tumultuous emotions to a grounding practice if you haven’t practiced on a regular basis. You might be fine for a few minutes and then feel emotions swell up once again. As soon as you notice your emotions building up again, bring your attention back to grounding yourself. You’ll be able to master this skill with practice.
For some of us, however, the body may not feel like a safe place. If that’s the case for you, never force yourself to do something that feels uncomfortable or unsafe. Instead, experiment with gently feeling a connection with the earth through the soles of your feet without pushing yourself to fully inhabit your body.
