03 Jun Grounding is Great!

Many of my clients find grounding to be a vital and necessary skill. Many of my clients don’t know how to ground or even why they need to. Grounding is a word that is more commonly used these days in many circles but we do need to explore the rationale and reasoning behind this technique and why it is so important to teach, especially in this current climate of Covid-19.

One definition of grounding is that we have a basic overall awareness of a subject. School and education grounds us in many different subjects. We come away with an overall but basic understanding of English, Maths, Science etc.

I like this definition. It does actually help in explaining grounding to some of my clients but it doesn’t fully capture my understanding or use of the word!

Grounding can also be referred to as Earthing, being present, being mindful or connecting to the Earth. Grounding is about being aware of what is happening but also being aware of the pauses between action and activity. It is the stillness and maintaining that feeling as much as possible.

Grounding is about being connected but being free enough to move and flex and sway with the way of the world. Grounding does often come from being outdoors in the sunshine, gardening or doing something we love but it is NOT being so engrossed that we miss new stimuli or input and forget to enjoy the pause.

Many of my clients have a harder time than most in connecting with themselves. They can be described as flighty, in a world of their own, on the go, energetic and a whole array of other descriptors.

I work intuitively with my clients. When I tune into their energy, I feel spaced-out and disconnected. This tells me the client is ungrounded. It’s a lot like being in your head. We all get this. Get involved in a project, get chatting to someone and we think, rapid thoughts that float in and out like waves and these waves take us farther away from our physical body. This is ungrounded. We start to lose focus on the breath and breathing rate increases but becomes more shallow. We stop breathing into the full body and our energy floats upwards. Repeated episodes of losing our groundedness can open us up to anxiety, over-thinking, impulsivity and difficulties connecting to others. All things my clients will report to me. Tuning-in to them, I feel all these things. I realise they do not know how to ground themselves properly.

People often associate grounding with the Earth. Connect myself to the Earth and I will be grounded, right?

Yes, this is true but what part of you are you trying to connect to the Earth? Body, thoughts or energy? It starts with the physical body but is ultimately about bringing down your higher energy to give you the power you need to face your reality. We need to be aware of the three aspects of ourselves that need to be grounded in order to face our challenges more easily. This is the technique that I find most helpful and see some great success with.

Step One: Grounding My Body

Rock back on your heels will tell you if you are physically grounded or not. If you stand tall and shift your weight to your heels do you feel like you’re going to fall? Yes? You are not grounded but the simple act of repeating this and you will notice that you do now feel more grounded and solid in your body. When you rock back, you no longer feel like you will fall!

Step Two: Grounding My Thoughts

Standing nice and tall, take in thee deep breaths through the nose for a count of four and out through the mouth for a count of 6. Allow thoughts to come and go like waves. See them as a leaf floating on the waves and away from the head. Focus attention on the feet and move the attention up through your legs, belly and chest. Remember to breathe into any space you feel tension or find hard to hold in your attention. This will help prepare your body and mind for your grounding energy.

Step Three: Grounding My Energy

Take your awareness to the top of your head. Place your hand there. Imagine a light at the top of your head shining through your hand. Draw your hand down the front of your face, chest, tummy and hold your hand there in your tummy. Breathe into your hand and imagine you are filling a bubble around you. That bubble connects to the floor and the light runs down into the ground. It flows from the top to the bottom all the way through you. Take a breath and rock back on your heels. Notice how you feel?

Having a procedure to follow with physical tasks can really help my clients to feel and experience these sensations within their body. Sometimes I will help them by using my hands with theirs to learn the steps. Having a visual sequence to follow can also help. We also do this outside whilst gardening, we sit on the grass, in the mud or stand by or in water, whatever the client needs!

Grounding in this way regularly helps us feel stronger, our thoughts are calmer, our emotions less intense or erratic and ultimately we stand in our own power to face the day ahead.

Why not give it a go for yourself and drop us an email to let us know how it goes!