Grounding Exercises
Are you feeling all over the place and flighty lately? You are not alone. So many of my students, clients, and friends including myself have been suffering from anxiety and feeling scattered. Learning to ground is one of the best things in my adult toolbox. I teach is to my kids and my kid students, my adult students, my adult kids and their friends. It’s all very important.
There are many different and fun ways we can incorporate grounding into our day. Grounding can be as simple or elaborate as we want it or need it to be. Some days are worse than others so we can go with a simple breath exercise, or we can forest bathe and go camping. Grounding can reduce stress, lower blood pressure, improve sleep and bring balance to the mind and body.
Here are a few grounding exercises I personally enjoy doing!
1> Go for a mindful walk. Take a slow walk around the yard, neighborhood, a park or town. Take notice of the sights, smells, sounds and feelings you experience. Silently walk and just observe. Be in the moment with your surroundings.
2>Play in the dirt!!! I personally can’t get enough of this one. I love to garden, even if it’s tending to my inside garden aka house plants. Weeding my flower beds and moving the soil is relaxing. The dirt is absorbing all my negatives and replacing it with fresh positives.
3>Take a bath or go for a swim. Add some salts or oils to a bath and just sink on in. Allow the water to swirl around you and warm and relax you. Let go of the tensions and toxins you are holding in and let it go down the drain.
4>Aroma therapy. Some scents can be very grounding. here is a list of aromas that are known for their grounding properties. Birch, Clary sage, Lavender, Myrrh, Patchouli and Sandalwood. You can burn candles, diffuse oils, heat dried herbs etc.
5>Grounding Stone Meditations. I teach this one to my kids class a lot. Hold a stone and focus on it. feel the texture and notice the colors. Is it smooth or rough? What shape is it? Is it cold to the touch? Where did is come from? Then we hold it in both hands and as we close our eyes and breathe, we put all our worries in the stone. Once we are done, we either burry the stone or cleanse the stones. Here are a few stones used for grounding. Amber, Tiger’s Eye, Bloodstone, Black Tourmaline, Citrine and Hematite. I also love river rocks when doing the meditation with younger kids so they can bury them or throw them in the water.
I hope some of these are useful to you. Please as always feel free to reach out to me with any suggestions or let me know if you try any of these!
Much Love
Sandi
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