Grounding is an essential practice for anyone in the spiritual community. In this article I’ll explain what it’s all about and share a few techniques to help you get out of your head and into your body.
What is grounding and how is it helpful?
“Being grounded” is a term used to define what it feels like to be present in your body. To be free of any energetic influences from other people or the outside world and to be able to truly feel: “What is it that I want to do next?”.
Some people go through life naturally grounded, while others (like myself) tend to live life with their head up in the clouds. I truly struggle to ground, which – as you can imagine- is a bit of a problem when you are also very easily affected by other people’s energy. If I don’t take the time to ground myself, I tend to get overwhelmed. I forget what it is that I want to do, what my goals are and how I honestly feel about something.
Staying grounded is essential as I don’t want to spend time being troubled by other people’s fears or worries, or being bogged down by their limited beliefs. It helps me stay true to myself and be present in this moment.
Ways to ground yourself
Meditation
There are many different meditations out there (guided or not) that will help you to ground yourself. You can find them on YouTube (like this one from Rebecca Campbell), or for example in the Insight Timer app. Typically, when you meditate, you are already aiming for a certain inner calm that allows you to get in touch with your spirit. Your soul. Your higher self. Whatever name you use for it. Through meditation you get in touch with your true self, without anybody else interfering with their thoughts, energies, limiting beliefs or fears.
If you are a bit like me, a visualisation during meditation will really help. I’ve been taught, by my life coach Charlotte, to visualise a cord running down my tailbone and into the earth. The cord can be of any material, any size, any color. Sometimes, it’s easy to visualise the cord all the way down to the center of the earth. Other days, it’s hard to even visualise the cord at all. Once I have established the cord, I proceed to write my full name in it, as well as the current date. This helps to ground you in the present moment. Once that’s done, I visualise all negative energy, energy that is not mine or doesn’t serve me anymore leaving my body and aura via my grounding cord.
Above the crown of my head, I visualise a sun (my sun), shining bright. In that sun, I write my full name and again the current date. When I’m done, I let the sunlight fill up my body and aura (and sometimes even the room/house I’m in) until I feel fully present.
Nature
One of the easiest ways to calm your mind and get more present in your body: by enjoying the soft, grounding energies of nature! Take a hike in a nearby park, forest or stroll along the beach. Any form of nature will be able to help ground you.
In Japan, people go even further by going on meditative walks in nature called “Shinrin-yoku” or “forest bathing”. These are very slow walks during which you carefully observe every detail of the forest with fresh eyes. Like you’re seeing it for the first time. Getting lost in the beauty of nature, your mind will become still and you are able to connect with yourself and ground yourself – being more present in your body.
Walking barefoot
Another easy method to ground yourself, is by walking barefoot (without any shoes or socks on). Maybe not ideal for fall or winter, but I’ve walked around barefoot almost all of summer. Especially when you walk on grass or bare earth, it really helps to let go of unwanted energies and ground yourself in your body.
Movement
You might not think that something “active” can help you ground, but there are reasons why some people feel the urge to go to the gym or run a few miles to “clear their head”. Excersize – or should I say movement? – really does help in that department.
But just so we’re clear, you don’t have to get all sweaty to feel grounded through movement! You could do some yoga poses to get into the present moment. Yin yoga especially (when you hold poses for extended periods of time) really helps to feel your body and sink deeper into it.
But, a walk around the block could already be very beneficial to clear your head and drop into your body. No need to go all out right away, just build it up slowly (if you like).
Massage
This sounds like a dream, right? Grounding through a massage! I regularly go to a massage therapist, because I know it helps me to relax, get out of my head and into my body. Next time you lay on a massage table, try to stay very present in your body. During the massage, try following the movements of the massage therapist – let it help guide your attention. You should feel both relaxed and grounded by the end of the massage.
Grounding stones
And of course there are gemstones and crystals that can aid you in grounding! Though I firmly believe that you pick a stone based on the connection you feel to it (not what a book or website says you should use); here is a short list of stones that have been known to help with grounding:
- black tourmaline
- smokey quartz
- onyx
- petrified wood
- hematite
- shungite
