Ways to Ground Yourself, And What it Means

You may have heard people speak of grounding before. This is essentially, being in your body. Seems like a no-brainer, we are always in our bodies – where else would you be?

There’s more to it than that. To ground in your body, is to be fully present with it. Feeling and tuning into the sensations of the physical body, and being connected to the earth through your body, is what grounding means.

Often when a physical feeling comes up in the body, we leave it for a google search to figure out what it is, or a pill to take it away. The most frequent way people leave their body is to worry about the future or dwell upon the past.

We are so much more than that voice we hear in our heads. We are the inhabitants of this body, our vessel of life. And to be truly whole, is to spend at least as much time tuning into our bodies, as we do our minds.

 This is how grounding can help.

Remember it this way – grounding brings your attention closer to the ground (lower, into the body), and out of your thoughts (up in your head).

Our bodies carry messages of discernment, and it is necessary for us to be able to receive those messages.

Ever have a little pain – a hint of something in your body, that you ignored? Likely, that sensation got bigger and more painful until you could no longer ignore it.

Ever had a gut feeling about a situation and allowed your thoughts to talk you out of it, only to later regret not tuning into that initial feeling?

Ever felt the need to take a rest, but resisted because there was too much to do? Likely, you ended up getting sick and had no choice but to rest.

In the interest of maintaining your health, and bringing peace and balance into your life, it is essential to practice grounding every single day.

Here are some ways you can do this.

Exercise. There’s a reason why Yoga is probably the number one exercise you can do to ground yourself. Yoga poses are designed to connect you with the sensations in your body. When you tune into your breath as you move, you are not thinking. Yoga takes you out of your thoughts and into your body.

Yet this can be done with any exercise. Whenever you are intentionally breathing as you move your body, you are helping to ground yourself.

Meditation. This is an excellent way to ground yourself, because in meditation we intentionally connect to the ground. The focus is on rooting down, being with one’s breath, and feeling the sensations in the body. Noticing the thoughts but not clinging to them.

Walking outdoors is excellent. Be in nature and breathe the outside air. Focus on your feet meeting the ground below you with each step. Hug a tree if you see one, or just place your hand on it, close your eyes and imagine your roots being like that of the tree.

Tending to nature is also grounding, with activities like digging in the dirt, trimming branches, or raking leaves.

Being barefooted. This is one I am currently working on, believe it or not. As a Yoga teacher I do spend time barefoot, but as a person with sensory issues, it hasn’t always been comfortable for me to be barefoot off the mat. I tend to get the “ick” if I feel like my feet aren’t clean. However, my body has been communicating to me that it is time to be barefoot more. It really is a great way to ground yourself, to move about barefooted.

Intentionally tune into your body daily. Listen to the little nudges that tell you to rest, stretch, drink more water, leave a situation that doesn’t feel right, etc.

The guidance the body can offer us is a gift. And the gift we can give ourselves, is to honor our bodies and nurture them through grounding practices like these, every single day.