Getting Grounded
How to Stay Centered and Balanced
Being grounded can mean a couple things; you’re fully present in your body and/or you’re connected to the earth.
We’ve all experienced being grounded when we have that “at home” feeling. It’s usually accompanied with a dose of happiness and a sense of peace. However, most often, it’s a fleeting thing.
Grounding exercises can increase your overall performance by clearing your mind, calming your emotions, recharging your energy, and strengthening your instincts.
So how do we get grounded and maintain it?
There are several grounding techniques that can help us get and stay rooted in our bodies. I’m going to share a few of those with you.
First, let’s take a quick look at what happens when you aren’t ground.
Signs of Being Ungrounded
You’re ungrounded if you:
- Over think things!
- Experience anxiety.
- Worry – worry – and worry some more.
- Space out or get distracted easily.
- Engage in drama.
- Are easily deceived or manipulated.
- Obsessed with acquiring material possessions.
- Are an overly jealous or angry person.
- Are obsessed with your personal image.
Being ungrounded shows up in your body like this:
- Inflammation
- Chronic pain
- Poor sleep
- Fatigue
- Poor circulation
- High blood pressure
Being ungrounded is the root cause of a lot of human suffering.
How do we correct it?
It’s pretty easy really, it just takes a little time and some conscious effort.
There’s been a lot of research over the last 15 years on the effects of being grounded. You can search for some of that information on your own – maybe I’ll find some links for you later – but right now I want to keep this as short as possible and get right to the deets.
The bottom line is this:
Getting grounded improves your mental and physical health. Grounding elevates your mood, relieves stress, and improves your blood flow and your body’s immune response.
You’ll see the effects in your own life (and body) when you practice a daily grounding ritual. I don’t mean a ritual like hocus-pocus, just start doing some of these simple things on a regular basis (Daily is best!) and you’ll see the change.
Ways to Get Grounded
There’s more and more talk about “grounding in your body” vs. (a newer term) “Earthing.”
I use the word grounding to cover it all. I understand that others are trying to determine the difference, but to me, grounding is grounding and it’s important that you do it. Plus, grounding to me has always included the Earth! So let’s simply get to the point and get ourselves grounded, centered, and balanced so we can live a peaceful, happy, and rewarding life. Sounds like a good plan to me!
Here’s my tips:
Connect Your Body
(Here’s where people say there’s a difference and would call the following suggestions “grounding in your body”.)
· The Hook Up
This is a technique I learnt through the world famous energy worker, Donna Eden. I’ve watched others demonstrating energy techniques, but they’re all copying her. Someday I’ll copy her too and put together a video of my morning grounding ritual – everything I learnt from her!
The Hook Up is easy and it helps center and balance you immediately. I’ve witnessed it stop asthma attacks, anxiety attacks, and seizures.
I’m not kidding. Straight up truth telling here.
Here’s how you do it:
- Put a middle finger on the center of your forehead (third eye chakra) and the other middle finger on your belly button. (I use three fingers, but the middle finger is in those positions.)
- Gently push upward.
- Take a couple deep breaths – if you can.
- Pay attention to your body. You’ll feel some sort of sensation; a sigh, a tingle, a sense of relaxing – something will happen here to tell you when you’re “hooked up.”
What happens, and why this works, is because the line of energy that runs from our tailbone around to our pelvic bone can get disconnected. When it does, it’s usually at our crown. This fuses that line back together so the energy in your body can flow properly.
· Cover Your Crown
I mentioned above that line of energy that can get disconnected at your crown, so here’s an addition (not an instead of) way to help your body out.
Here’s how you do it:
- Put your hand on top of your head.
- Take some deep breaths for about a minute.
· Ground Your Feet to the Floor
This works the best if you’re barefoot, but if you’re in a setting that doesn’t allow that, you can still do it with adding a deeper visualization.
Please note that it’s not as easy to ground through carpet or vinyl flooring, asphalt and concrete aren’t ideal either. It can be done, but it takes longer and isn’t as lasting.
Here’s how you do it:
- Put your feet flat on the floor – barefoot if possible.
- If possible – close your eyes.
- Take some deep breaths.
- Imagine your feet getting heavy and sinking into the floor – not in a creepy sci-fi way, just merge them.
- Deeper Visualization: Imagine that your feet have roots coming out of the bottom of them that go through the floor, into the ground, and around the center of the earth.
Connect With Nature
(Here’s where people say there’s a difference and would call the following suggestions “earthing”.)
· Hug a Tree
Yep, that’s it. I don’t think I need to write any “here’s how you do it” steps, just go hug a tree.
The bigger, more alive it is, the better. If you have a fruit tree that’s baring fruit at the time, or a flowering tree that’s currently flowering – this is even better!
Do it for as long as you need to.
(I wish I had a photo of me hugging my pear tree to insert right here. Some day. J )
· Take a hike!
It’s not that I want to get rid of you, I just want you to get outside!
We spend waaay too much time indoors in front of computers and TVs …doing whatever TVs and computers do.
Getting outside and walking through the yard barefoot is one of the very best ways to get grounded. If you can go beyond your yard, that’s even better.
Here are the keys to making this work:
- Make this mindful. When you go out for a walk, clear your mind as you go. Pay attention to the sights, sounds, and smells around you.
Don’t…
…take your work thoughts and ideas with you.
…carry with you that last argument you had.
…think about what “wrong” someone did to you.
…think about finances, paying bills, etc.
…go over your to-do list or what you need to make for supper.
- Be barefoot if at all possible!
- Roll your feet as you walk: heel – ball -toe – repeat.
- Take some deep, relaxing breaths.
- I’m gonna say it again: Stay present in your enviroment.
· Be a Lawn Ornament
Honestly, I didn’t know what else to call this. If you have a better idea, shoot me an email. Otherwise, for now we’re going with this.
The idea is to soak up some excellent energy from the earth by lying in the grass, or dirt, or sand, or on a big rock. Your choice.
If the sun is shining, that’s an extra bonus because the sun is a wonderful grounding tool too.
This is What I Do
I’m not the kind of person to give you tips and tricks if I don’t use them myself. I put all of these things into action daily. I do more on the days I’m in front of my computer working, or the days I do phone sessions, group events, or are just out and around a lot of people.
I incorporate several things into one. I mentioned that I have a routine of energy techniques that I do in the mornings. If it’s pouring down rain or freezing cold, I’ll do these things inside otherwise I’m outside barefoot in the grass. (The hook-up is one of these things.)
After I go through my routine (that I need to video tape and link right here) I go talk to and hug my pear tree. You can read that sentence again if you’d like, but I can tell you right now, you already read it correctly. I’m pretty thankful for that pear tree and I make sure it knows it.
I also walk through my yard barefoot and lie in the grass. Sometimes I lie in the grass with my feet flat and doing The Hook-Up.
See what I did there? I incorporated several grounding techniques in one swoop. That’s proof that it doesn’t take long and there’s lots of ways you can tweak these ideas to fit into your schedule – and do what’s perfectly right for your body.
Final Thoughts
There’s much more I could say about grounding (and may someday), but for now I wanted to keep this short and sweet so you’ll get out there and do it!
These are easy things to do, not too time consuming, and –this is the biggie- there are significant benefits to keeping yourself grounded.
Let me know which techniques you use, if you use any of these, and what you like the best.
Much love,
Julie