The days that leave our minds spinning out of control are days to hide in bed and eat three boxes of chocolate, right? Er… Nah.
The world outside can be chaotic, but we don’t have to get caught up in it. We can remain peaceful and composed, even though it requires effort to swim against the current. Use our resources. That’s the work!
Over the years, I’ve learned ways to remain centered and rooted no matter how hard the storm outside seems to be raging. That’s why I’m happier now in my late 30s than I was in my early 20s. Life has its ups and downs, but it also improves when we do our part, yay!
Here is a list of things that help me stay grounded, centered, and not swept away by worries in my mind: reconnecting to my own center, not letting every thought or event blow me around like the wind, and not overreacting to the outside world. That is what grounding means to me —to be my own anchor.
We can have a solid toolbox that establishes our foundations.
What you practice is what grows in your life.
“The bad news: You’re falling through the air with no parachute. The good news: There’s no ground.” Chögyam Trungpa
1 Less, but Better: One Thing at a Time
Avoid eating and checking your phone at the same time. Enjoy your cup of tea without distractions. Remember, how you do something matters as much as what you’re doing. You might love biking, but if your mind is elsewhere as you ride, you won’t get any pleasure out of it.
Whatever you do, do it well, do it divinely, and live it.
We cannot be present if we are busy distractedly multitasking, causing chaos in our lives.
2 Get Physical
Take a stroll, play sports, or go for a run. Strengthen your body with exercises that make you feel like a powerhouse. Feeling strong brings about a positive change in our mental and physical resilience. It also brings body awareness and self-confidence in our power over our lives. Being grounded brings us back to our bodies, and the most physical aspects of existance.
3 Listen to Music, Dance, and Sing
I find it particularly grounding to dance to music with deep, rhythmic beats, such as drums and techno. Singing at a lower register, from the depths of my belly, also helps me. Dance to the Earth and sing along!
This is also extremely fun! When we have fun, we stay in the here, now.
I like to stomp as if I were checking the ground beneath me — yes, it’s there, preventing me from falling too far. Good!
4 Especially Grounding Yoga Poses
Yoga can do wonders for grounding. Some key asanas for grounding include mountain pose, tree pose, sukhasana, malasana, uttanasana. Any balancing pose is also helpful.
If the poses I’ve mentioned don’t ring a bell, you can look up “yoga for grounding” on YouTube and see countless results. Trust me, it works! .If these names mean nothing to you, you can go to YouTube and search “yoga for grounding” and you will get millions of results. It works!
5 Food
In search of a deeper connection to the Earth, I opt for root veggies. I prepare them with calmness, joy, and a side of good music.
Before I start eating, I take a minute to connect with the food and my intention. I ask the food to help me find my grounding before I begin tasting it.
When it comes to mindful eating, it is about presence, allowing ourselves to taste it, smell it, and stay with it: without letting any other thoughts and worries distract us.
“Rejoicing in ordinary things is not sentimental or trite. It actually takes guts.” Pema Chödrön
6 No to Caffeine
Caffeine gives us a jolt by heightening our cortisol levels, which are basically stress hormones. It seems counterproductive to try and stay calm and in the moment while also stimulating our body and inducing anxiety, so it’s best to go without caffeine if we want to be our own anchors.
7 Belly Breathing
The majority of us are shallow breathers, leading to not oxygenizing our bodies as much as we could. The result is higher levels of stress, tension, and anxiety.
Taking full breaths helps invigorate our bodies and keeps us focused. Consciously breathing into your belly will support you to stay present in your body, grounded. By default, when we pay attention to our breath, we are grounded in our bodies, here now.
Inhale as deeply as you can while expanding your belly, then let it go completely when you exhale. Five minutes with your eyes closed can make a huge difference in calming yourself down.
8 Go to Nature
Head outdoors. Wander around in nature, admiring the strength of trees and their deep roots. Sit down on the grassy ground, no shoes needed. Spend some time appreciating the beauty and abundance of nature. Relax and be thankful for the wonders around you.
9 Smell
Muladhara, known as the root chakra, is associated with the sense of smell. To activate this area of energy, pause for a few minutes every now and then and become aware of your sense of smell. Can you capture any different smells? Close your eyes and explore your smelling sensations to further engage in this practice.
Go further by bringing your awareness directly into your root chakra (in your perineum) as you smell, connecting with it even more.
10 Grounding Scents and Essences
Essential oils and incenses, such as sandalwood, lemon, musk, and vetiver, are effective grounding fragrances. You can inhale them or apply one drop underneath your feet.
Ylang Ylang may not be grounding yourself, but it brings a strong sense of positivity and wellbeing that also makes it a beneficial ally.
11 Connect to Your Legs
Living in our minds, we don’t pay enough tribute to the power of our legs. Certain Qi Gong and Taoist exercises involve envisioning that your breath is flowing from the Earth, up through your legs and then down into the Earth again.
See for yourself how much energy you can tap into with these basic exercises. Stand with your feet apart, soles on the ground, knees slightly bent, and tailbone drawn out long. Legs relaxed, dropping heavy towards the floor. Place your hands near your sides and close your eyes as you take a deep breath in, picturing energy coming up through your legs and back down to the Earth.
12 Create Physical Things
Try your hand at clay sculpting, painting a picture, creating a collage, building a sandcastle at the beach, or cooking something special.
So many of us work behind computers full-time and are preoccupied with digital projects that we forget to embrace the joy and satisfaction of creating something tangible by hand.
Crafts and arts can be fun, creative, great for concentration, and incredibly grounding.
13 Take Conscious Action
Being grounded means connecting with the Earth, the physical realm. We can get trapped in our heads, worrying and overthinking without taking any action, which pulls us away from grounding.
What do you want in life? Take even a small step towards manifesting it to make it real.
Transform your thoughts into spoken words, and then translate them into actions; this is the creative process that converts ideas into matter. This is grounding and anchoring.
When we only think and talk without action, the creative process remains incomplete — energy gets stagnated and we feel frustrated.
Now, the most important thing to do this consciously is to know what you want — and keep your intention. Stay aligned.
Thus, consciously create your life: allow energy to flow seamlessly through you and manifest itself. There’s nothing more grounding than that.
7 Days of Mindfulness
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