GROUNDING 

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Being grounded means being fully present. When we’re grounded, we are fully present in our physical body (not our heads). We feel safe, and can easily connect with Mother Earth and her rhythms. In order to ground, we need to have an open root chakra.

Following are some techniques for grounding. You may find that a combination of different techniques works for you, or you may use these as starting points for developing your own grounding technique.  Remember, your energy system is your own, and no one knows it better than you.

SLOW DESCENT

I suggest this for when your energy is primarily in your head, or you feel very disconnected from your body. This may feel like an inability to concentrate, a feeling of fear not related to what’s happening in the current moment, a feeling of being overwhelmed, like you’re over-thinking or like you can’t stop your brain from racing.  Being in this ungrounded state can cause headaches, eye strain and feelings of anxiety.  

 

Begin by taking a few deep breaths, bringing your attention to your physical body. Bend your knees slightly. Feel where your feet are contacting the floor.  

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Take a deep breath and see if you can locate where your energy is.  Is it primarily in your head?  Is it above your head?  Have you gone somewhere out into the stratosphere?  Wherever your energy may be, breathe slowly, and with each out breathe, imagine your energy sinking down.  Keep breathing, drawing your energy back into your body, through the top of your head.

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Once your energy is in your head, see if you can feel this part of your body.  Imagine sitting inside your head.  What does the inside of your head feel like?  You may get a sense of motion, of color, of tension or even emptiness. There is no right feeling. You may feel nothing at all. Just take note, trying to be as physically present as possible with this part of your body.

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After spending a few moments here, take another deep breath and bring your attention downward, drawing more of yourself and your energy into your skull, your brain, your eyes and ears. Again, simply feel into each part of your body. Does it feel open? Is it quiet or active? Can you see the inside of your eyelids? Can you feel the inside of your skull?  How does it feel to be present with your ears?

After a few breaths, continue this process of slowly bringing your attention lower and lower....from your head to your neck and your shoulders. Stop at each point and breath and feel. Keep imagining that your energy is moving downward.  Breathe and feel your chest, arms, back and hands. Don’t rush. Feel each part individually. If it seems difficult to feel a particular area, move that part of your body slowly, paying attention to the sensation of muscle movement (for example, roll your shoulders or clench your fingers and then release them, feeling each muscle bend and flex).  How does it feel to be present with each part of your body?

Keep your attention slowly descending....into your abdomen, your waist, buttocks and hips, upper legs, knees, lower legs, ankles and eventually feet. Be sure to take at least a few breaths with each part of your body. If you feel tension anywhere, stay with the tension, but don't try to make it go away.  Just breathe and be present with whatever is there.  Imagine this is a part of yourself you haven't met yet, like a friend you're meeting for the first time.  Be curious. 

 

As your energy is being drawn further and further into your body, you may notice a point that seems impossible to get past (for many people, the hips or knees are challenging). It’s OK.  Again, just notice what's happening in your body.  Breathe into it and allow it to be just as it is. The next time you practice, you may notice you get a little further, or the spot feels more expanded and open. Take as much time with this process as you need. There is no rush.

Use the affirmation “I am safe. It is safe for me to be here now. It is safe for me to live my life and to be fully present."

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Once you've breathed into every part of your body and can feel your feet, take another deep breath and see if you can feel your whole body at once. Take note of what’s changed since you started this process. Do you feel calmer? Warmer? Colder?  Less scattered or fearful? Again, just take note. There is no correct feeling. Just be present with yourself, wherever you are, in this particular moment.

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GRAVITY IS YOUR FRIEND

A quick and simple technique that works really well is embracing the power of gravity. Begin by taking a few deep breaths. Close your eyes and feel the gravitational pull of the earth upon your body. Imagine that this force is gently surrounding and holding you.  Feel how it holds you firmly on the ground, where you are safe.

If you like, you can imagine opening the top of your head so that energy can flow in from the heavens. With one big out-breath, allow gravity to pull this beautiful, golden-white energy all the way through your body, from the top of your head to your feet. There is no force required – just a surrendering to the pull and power of the Earth. This technique works well if you need to quickly get back to a centered, grounded state. You can do it almost anytime,
anywhere.

ROOT VISUALIZATION

Visualize yourself as a seed or as a tree, with roots spreading down from the bottom of your feet or from your root chakra at the base of your spine into the Earth. Let your roots go down as deeply as feels comfortable. Feel the soil, and the gentle pulsing energy of the Earth.  What does the Earth feel like?  Perhaps you can feel minerals, sand, clay or rock.  Allow your roots to keep spreading wide and deep.  Imagine your roots wrapping around large boulders that will hold you steady.  Imagine your roots travelling along underground streams that will sustain you.  Feel the stability of the Earth and of your roots.  You are safe, strong and steady.

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CORD CONNECTING

Imagine a cord of white light extending from your root chakra at the base of your spine straight down into the magnetic iron core of the Earth. Use the affirmation “I ground myself into Mother Earth (or into the heart of Earth) now.”  This can also be done from the heart by allowing yourself to feel love for the Earth.  Spend a moment appreciating all that the Earth does for you.  The Earth provides you with food and water, with natural beauty and the friendship of plants, insects, birds and other animals.  By allowing yourself to feel love and appreciation, you connect energetically with the object of your love.  Allow a second cord of light to drop from your heart down your spine and into the Earth, connecting with the center of the Earth. Allow the love you feel for the Earth to flow down that cord. Feel how slowly the Earth moves. See if you can match your speed to hers. Feel her slow, steady, unconditional love radiating back up to you through your root and heart cords.

ROOT CHAKRA TECHNIQUE

If grounding feels like a challenge, it’s likely that your root chakra is not open. The root chakra vibrates with the color red, and you can begin to open it by breathing in the color red.  You can do this in your mind or you can look at something red and imagine breathing the color in.  Breathe right into your root chakra, as if your root chakra were drawing the energy directly in. When you breathe out, you may feel that a different color is coming out or you may feel nothing at all. Keep breathing in and breathing out. Just bringing your attention to your root chakra with the positive intention of grounding sets a process in motion, allowing your higher aspects and your guides to assist you in healing and opening this chakra.

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Whatever technique you use, always try to stay as physically present as possible. Be aware of your breath and your physical body, particularly where you're contacting the ground. This will keep you out of your head and grounded in your physical body.

With any of these techniques, be aware of what feelings or thoughts arise for you. If you feel any fear or anxiety when trying to ground, stay with it. These are the emotions that are blocking the opening of your energy body, and you can clear them by simply staying present with them. When we run away from our negative emotions or experiences (through denial, by abandoning ourselves in the process, or by running from the emotion itself), the energy of that emotion gets "stuck." When you commit to staying with your experience, to allowing it to pass through you, even if it's uncomfortable, you free yourself and begin to heal forgotten, wounded aspects of yourself.

Grounding takes practice. Most people have learned how to function in an ungrounded state. Rushing forward and living in your head are highly supported in most modern societies, so slowing down and becoming centered in your body takes effort and clear intention. If you spend a few minutes practicing each day, you will begin to sense what a grounded state feels like. In time, you may start to spontaneously notice when you’re not grounded. You can then use whichever technique works for you to help you return to a centered, balanced state. This heals you, the Earth and anyone you come in contact with.