What The H*ll is Grounding Anyway?
Grounding is a non-negotiable practice and an important aspect of our mental and physical health.
What Happens When We Ground?
Research exists that shows a measurable improvement in blood chemistry, pain, immune response, and inflammation after short periods of skin-to-earth contact. Even more amazing, just setting the intention to connect with the earth’s energies facilitates the same healing benefits!
As radical as it seems, grounding is simple science. We are bioelectrical beings that carry a positive charge. The earth carries a negative charge and when a connection is made with the earth, it can discharge the excess positive energy of our bodies. This facilitates a healing effect at a cellular level.
Grounding brings our awareness and energy back into the body and allows us to make a connection with the earth’s energies. When we feel anxious or overthink, the energy has often lifted in the body to sit around the chest, neck, and head. In order to rebalance the body, we mindfully drop our energy down into the lower body and reconnect to the energy of our root. Our root chakra, housed at the base of the spine, is the seat of our sense of safety, security, and stability and is the doorway to our connection with the earth.
How To Ground Effectively
The simplest form of grounding is to walk barefoot in the grass. For those of us that can’t embrace our inner hippy at the office (or would prefer not to stand barefoot in the snow if you live in Colorado like me), another accessible way to ground is to allow breath and intention to make the connection between the body and the earth.
Five Quick Steps To Get Grounded
Here’s a quick, simple practice to get you grounded in just a few minutes:
- First, take 3 deep breaths. Bring your awareness to your body.
- On the next INHALE, imagine filling your breath all the way down into your low abdomen and hips, and then EXHALE out of the base of the spine and the bottoms of the feet. See, sense, or feel the energy leaving your body and flowing down into the earth.
- Bring your awareness to the roots below your feet and extend them deep into the earth. Extend them through the soil, the water tables, through the bedrock, the magma, and all the way to the center of the earth’s core. Feel the connection as your roots merge with the core of the earth.
- On the next INHALE, imagine bringing any nutrients and supportive energy UP through those roots, all the way into your feet, legs, and torso.
- Using your inhale and exhale, continue to exchange energy with the earth until you feel calm and centered.
Save this simple technique and return to it whenever you need extra support.
Still Struggling?
If you are struggling to get or stay grounded, or this exercise felt uncomfortable to your system, book a session with me! We can work together to help clear away any blocks or patterns that may need to be moved to allow for a deeper connection with yourself and the earth.
