Today I want to talk about grounding yourself and 3 uncomplicated ways to do so.
What does it mean when you hear the term grounding or grounding yourself or to ground oneself?
No, it’s not from your teenage years- being grounded.
Nope, it’s not the electricians’ term within electricity. However, it’s a good example if you want to translate it into your own energy field.
Grounding yourself energetically means connecting yourself in a way that will root your energy. This connection can be to the earth, your lower extremities or chakras.
What happens when you actively ground yourself, your energy will change to become calmer or still. For me, often my energy is a whirlwind and all over the place. However, after grounding practices my energy becomes more serene, easier to flow, and so much more! Clarity of the mind can be another benefit. Another way to look at grounding is that you are converging your mind, body, and soul together in a time of solace.
There are many ways to ground yourself and no two people will experience the exact same thing.
Now that I’ve shared some basic concepts about grounding yourself, I will elaborate on my 3 favorite ways to ground my energy.
- Trees & roots: this one is the easiest in my opinion and my #1 fav way to root my energy, find center and shift perspective. It’s simple, place your feet flat on the ground, either sitting or standing. Close your eyes (be sure you can maintain balance if you’re standing up). Take a few deep breaths. After those initial breaths, keep breathing intentionally. With each breath, imagine you start to grow roots from your feet into the ground. Your roots can grow as deep and/or large as you need. When your roots are fully grown you may want to shift focus to your body and head where branches and leaves may grow. Imagine sunlight hitting the top of your head as you grow in tree form. Stay breathing in this imaginary space for as long as you like. Slowly return yourself to reality when you are done. Do you feel any different?
- Next up, I call this one “tethering to the center of the earth.” I use it when my energy is so high and wily that I can’t even get to growing a tree (above). I close my eyes and take a few breaths. During those breaths or right after, I imagine a giant chord, rope, or line which goes from my center to the earth’s core and wraps itself around the center of the earth. There. Now, I can float without worrying about floating away. I can allow myself to feel the chaos with the certainty of knowing I’m not going to get carried away. Usually, things settle, and I can further ground my energy as per #1 or carry with what’s going on around me. This one also helps with extremely heated emotions too.
- Feel into my feet. This one is a mix of grounding and tuning into your body. Wherever you are, you can try this by tuning into your feet. How do they feel? Can you even feel them? Are they numb, tingly, hot, cold, or? We don’t often think of our feet even though they carry us throughout each day. Spend some time concentrating on these lower extremities and tuning into the sensations felt or not felt. Then close your eyes and breathe into those areas. Try 10 breaths to start, see if there are any changes and keep going. Sometimes new sensations may occur, or other sensations elsewhere may diminish.
When life feels chaotic, try grounding yourself.
When you don’t know which way is up, try grounding yourself.
When you’re feeling overwhelmed, try grounding yourself.
Grounding exercises are great for all kinds of emotional states, even serene ones.
When you’re feeling calm or in bliss, try grounding yourself.
What about trying to ground yourself in various locations? Malls, airports, living rooms, bathrooms, dinner tables, theatres, check-out lines, churches, with a workout, in a park, or a pool?
Learn if water, dry air, temperature, or other sensations affect your ability to ground yourself.
I encourage you to go forth and ground yourself! Experiment and learn what suits you the most. 🙂