Spiritual or energetic grounding describes coming back to ourselves through rooting in the present moment.
Just as a tree spreads its roots in the ground to draw the energies necessary for its development and stabilise its structure, grounding allows us to build our inner safety and stability.
We picture a grounded person as a solid, balanced and sensible figure. The more deeply rooted they are, the less likely they are to be shaken by storms.
In addition to this sense of stability, the earth is negatively charged, emitting negative ions and electrons, which allows human beings to discharge the excess energy that may have built up within them when they come into direct contact with it.
This phenomenon helps to alleviate pain, reduce cortisol levels (stress), balance the energies within the body and thus increase the capacity for self-healing.
Yet the process of grounding can appear challenging to sensitive minds that are easily absorbed in the whirlwind of their thoughts or simply subject to being over-stimulated.
Grounding reflects that sense of unshakeable balance, that deep settlement in the body, here, now. But how do we not bend when our emotions trigger raging storms?
To be fully present implies a certain capacity to contemplate what is going on within us, to feel deeply, to fully accept what is along with who we are.
When we feel everything, all the time and very strongly, it is difficult to contemplate this permanent intensity. So sometimes, we repress a strong emotion, we escape into our heads to try to understand, we hide those parts of us with which we have not yet made peace...
And little by little, we end up searching among the branches, for what only appears in the roots.
However when we choose to face our fears by taking courage to be vulnerable so we can explore our depths, that's when we manage to build majestic trees.
Changes, transitions, shocks, challenges, wounds... many elements are likely to shake our grounding, which thus requires regular and conscious practice to build solid foundations.
How to practice grounding?
1 - Get back into your body
Put your hands under cold water, feel your feet treading the grass refreshed by the morning dew... Take the time to appreciate what you feel, what is happening inside you, slow down, observe...
Exercise or do regular activities to strengthen the relationship with your body such as yoga, breathing exercises, do a morning bodyscan...
Attend to your body's needs and learn to listen to the signals it constantly sends you (e.g. fatigue, aches, opening/closing of the body when you meet someone or enter a room...).
2 - Balance your root chakra
The root chakra is associated with our feelings of safety and security, both physical and metaphorical. This includes your basic needs such as food, water and shelter, as well as your emotional needs.
It is also the source of your survival instinct, also known as the fight or flight response.
When it is out of balance you may develop some of the following symptoms:
Mental lethargy and a feeling of emptiness, insecurity, incapacity of inner stillness, arthritis, poor general health, lacking vital energy, anxiety, self-doubt (when it is blocked) but also greed, materialism (when it is overactive)...
Here are some tips to help you balancing it in your day to day :
- Essential oils: sandalwood, cedarwood, patchouli...
- Dancing
- Eating red food or earthy vegetables
- Walking barefoot
- Gardening
- Connect with the colour red
- Wear red jasper, ruby, garnet...
3 - Dare to be vulnerable while having self-compassion
As you dare to be vulnerable in the moment by facing what you are feeling, be gentle with yourself. It is important to remember that the energies of the Earth carry no judgement.
Once you have overcome the initial resistance, returning to grounding will allow you to feel more balanced and centered. Conversely, what you accumulate within you can only continue to grow bigger.
4 - Embrace the calm and slow pace of nature
The lights of billboards, car noises, the movement of crowds... do not facilitate our ability to practice grounding, especially when we are highly sensitive beings or have a certain psychic over-excitability.
Make sure you allow moments of reconnection to the calm and slowness of nature to regulate your energies.
Do you want support in this process? Nobody said you had to do it alone! Book your free 30 minute appointment to discuss it.
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