I remember the first time someone mentioned “grounding” to me. At the time, it sounded woo-woo, and my logical brain immediately rejected the idea of it.
Fast forward to now, I can’t imagine my life without having a practice (actually a whole toolbox full of practices) to help me get grounded.
If your logical mind is resistant to the idea, it can be helpful to think of grounding as a mental reset. There’s nothing mystical about it – it’s simply a way to focus the busy “thinking mind” on something other than the endless stream of thoughts, in order to clear the static on the line.
When I’m ungrounded, I feel fuzzy and unfocused. I’m forgetful, finding it difficult to concentrate, and often losing my train of thought or having a hard time keeping track of conversations. When I’m reading, my mind might skip through whole sections without retaining anything.
Ungroundedness also leaves me feeling drained and generally low-energy, or frazzled and a bit frantic, depending on what’s going on at the time.
Grounding is a way for me to come back to the present moment, and create an internal sense of stability and calm. From that place, I can deal with pretty much anything that life throws at me.
When I’m ungrounded, I feel more like a loose balloon that’s being tossed about by the wind.
Below is one of my favorite grounding techniques:
- Begin by taking between 4-7 deep breaths. Slowly inhale deep into your diaphragm so that your belly puffs out a bit (I like to call these “Buddha Belly Breaths’). When your lungs are full, pause and then slowly release. Ideally the length of your exhale should be the same as the inhale.
- Continue breathing at this slow and steady pace, and bring your attention to the parts of your body that are touching the surface beneath you. If you’re sitting, this would be the points that yogis refer to as your “sits bones”. If you’re standing, this would be the soles of your feet. You get the idea.
- Imagine that you are growing roots from these contact points, down through any floor or other structure, deep into the earth below. I like to imagine my roots branching outward as they go deeper and deeper. If it feels good to you, you might imagine your roots having a certain color or texture.
- Continue imagining your roots growing, down through all the layers of soil and bedrock, deep into the center of the earth.
- When you’ve reached the center, you can feel free to imagine yourself drawing up any energy you might need, or sending down anything that isn’t serving you. This isn’t necessary, but it’s available if it feels good to you.
- When you feel ready, you can imagine yourself slowly pulling the roots back into your body. Take one or two more of those Buddha Belly Breaths. That’s it!
When you’re first starting out, you may find it helpful to close your eyes as you go through the process.
It may take several minutes to go through the process at first, but with practice, you’ll find that you can quickly and easily ground yourself as you’re going about your daily life – I use this technique when I’m driving in the car, folding laundry, or standing in line at the store.