Uncomplicating Grounding

Updated: Dec 14, 2019

Grounding is a practice that can be used by anyone who wishes to be more present, reduce stress, and attain better clarity. If you've read any introductory book on magic, or participated in yoga meditation, you've probably heard about grounding before. But what is grounding?

Grounding is the practice of realigning your consciousness and your body in the present space that you are in for clarity and peace.

It's easy to forget that we are creatures of the earth, just like our furry, scaled, and feathered companions that we share it with. Modern life separates us from natural rhythms and frequencies of our nature. It's chaotic, filled with distractions, stressors, and walls (literal or figurative) between ourselves and our environmental home. Being ungrounded can increase feelings of anxiousness and lack of control.

So how do we fix it?

Grounding using Earthing

The easiest way to achieve grounding through earthing is to reconnect energetically with the earth. The earth naturally creates negatively charged ions (which is the charge of our cells when they are at rest), so it's no surprise when scientists measure elevated negative ions in people when they spend time at the beach, in spring thunderstorms, and with nature in general (Mann, 2003). Because of the way that the human body uses electricity, our cells will adopt a similar charge to our surroundings.

Earthing Practices:

- Go outside and place your bare feet or hands on the ground or grass.

- Stand/sit/bathe in conductive water such as saltwater, mineralized water, rain, river water, or a shower.

- touch trees, plants, or other living things in nature (whatever is safe for touch).

- Dig in the dirt or sand. Build sand castles, garden, dig your toes into the earth. Relearn to play outside.

Grounding using Centering

We can't always drop everything to run off to the woods, so we must find alternative methods for grounding in-the-moment that doesn't disrupt our daily life. Additionally, those who struggle with different levels of mental illness may need immediate methods of becoming grounded.

Beginner instructions on grounding and centering often include visualization of growing roots from your sacral bone into the earth. I prefer an approach that is more kinetic and favored by therapists which I'll link here.

My two favorite techniques listed are 5-4-3-2-1 and Body Awareness techniques on that pdf page. The 5-4-3-2-1 technique utilizes the 5 senses in succession to become completely aware of your current surroundings to take the focus off of other thoughts, feelings, and sensations. Both are also used by therapists to stop or calm trauma symptoms such as anxiety, PTSD, or panic attacks.

When should you Ground and Center?

Honestly, whenever you feel up in the air, anxious, or just steeped in chaos, grounding and centering can help. Other important times to ground and center are:

before any magical working
before meditation
when having a panic attack
when feeling anxious
before setting intentions for your day
when you feel like you're being overly reactionary
when you're struggling with life not feeling real
before starting your day
after magical workings
after astral traveling
after finishing spiritual ritual or ceremony

The great thing about grounding is that you cannot do it too much. There is no limit to how much you should ground and center. Grounding/Centering is also the prerequisite to Shielding which I'll cover in my next post.

Elisa

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References:

Mann, Denise. (June 2, 2003). Negative Ions Create Positive Vibes. Web MD.

Retreived from https://www.webmd.com/balance/features/negative-ions-create-positive-vibes#1

Therapist Aid LLC. (2018). Grounding Techniques. Therapist Aid LLC.

Retreived from https://www.therapistaid.com/worksheets/grounding-techniques.pdf