Grounding is an excellent way to bring yourself back into the present moment as well as reaping a lot of health benefits. However, if you have never attempted the practice before, it can be difficult to know which are the most effective grounding techniques as well as those that are easy for beginners.
Fortunately, there are several techniques you can use to ground yourself and they are far more simple than you might first imagine.
In this article, we are going to be looking at how to ground yourself as well as giving you 12 effective and straightforward grounding techniques that you can incorporate into your life every day.
What Is The Best Way To Ground Yourself?
In the main, there are two types of grounding; performing a grounding meditation or doing a grounding exercise such as walking barefoot on the earth. When you are connected to the earth, your body is able to take advantage of the electrical charge within it and this can help with things like inflammation, pain, blood flow, and mental health.
Doing a grounding meditation is also extremely effective as this can bring you back into the present moment. It is no secret that modern life throws a lot of things at us that can cause negative thoughts, stress, and an enormous number of problems for our health. However, there is enough evidence to show us that grounding meditation techniques work well and can help in several ways.
Grounding techniques aim to reduce anxiety and offer a genuine way of reconnecting with the self, which is something that many of us can easily lose during the stresses and strains of day to day life. We talked about being in the present and when we do any of these techniques for earthing, our mind is brought back to the present moment and we feel much more calm. In turn, the body will benefit from the lower levels of stress and anxiety.
It is widely considered that the best way to ground yourself is by making contact with the earth and whether you do this through walking barefoot on the ground or taking a swim in a natural body of water, you will notice the good that can come from doing this.
How Long Should You Ground Each Day?
Grounding, which is sometimes referred to as earthing should be done consistently. It is important that you try to spend some time each day earthing. How you do this is up to you and finding what feels good is important. For one person, going for a walk barefoot might work well whereas for another person, sitting on the earth and doing grounding exercises might be good.
Once you have found your favorite grounding exercise, you should aim to take the time to do it every day. You will get the most out of your practice if you remain consistent, the amount of time that you spend on grounding yourself is not as important as the frequency.
Many people find that they can do just one earthing session and notice the benefits. In contrast, there are many others who find that they must ground themselves every day for a long period of time, months even, before they feel like a change is being made. Everyone is different, so keep that in mind.
Most people would agree that 30 minutes of earthing a day is sufficient enough to begin to notice some changes in your life.
12 Grounding Techniques
There are many ways that you can ground yourself and how you do it will depend on what you like, many people will find that they have a favorite grounding technique. With that in mind, let’s explore 12 of the easiest and most effective grounding techniques that you can do today.
1 Mindful Walking
One of the most simple yet effective ways of grounding yourself comes in the form of walking barefoot on the earth. Now, there is a science behind this technique and one thing that is certain is that there is a definite connection between an improvement in your health and wellbeing and the electrical charge from the earth.
This is demonstrated in several ways throughout the body, for example, people have reported hugged reductions in things like pain and inflammation as well as lower blood pressure and improvements in their sleep patterns.
All of these things are extremely beneficial and the way in which this electrical charge works with both the nervous system and the cardiovascular system means that it is also advantageous for our mental health.
If you are looking to get back to the present, you might try walking along the earth with nothing on your feet. Not only will you notice the earthing effects but you will also be able to practice mindfulness. Practitioners claim that doing grounding exercises like this helps you to feel more calm and centered.
Furthermore, when you walk barefoot, you have the added advantage of hitting the reflexology points on the feet which can have a dramatic effect on the inside of the body.
2 Roll Around On The Earth
This may sound totally and utterly insane when you first consider the idea but rolling around on the earth is a very effective way to ground yourself; and of course, it is super-fun as well!
The practice of earthing is thousands of years old and it isn’t just humans that benefit from it. Think about animals, one of their natural instincts is to roll around on the ground. Could this be that they sense the healing power and energy of this activity? Whether or not that is true, doing grounding exercises like this one can feel incredible and will truly allow you to live in the current moment without having time to focus on those negative thoughts and emotions.
Of course, you must make sure that the ground you are rolling around on is safe and clean, for example, don’t use grass that has been heavily fertilized or a section of earth that has pointy debris.
3 Earthing Visualisation
This is a meditative practice that can be used to ground and center yourself; many people use this technique and it can help if you are feeling overwhelmed. The good thing about this is that you can do it for as long as you like and even after the main part of the visualization, you can continue to remain in a calm and meditative state for as long as you need to.
To begin with, you should find a place where you can sit comfortably and focus. A great way to do this is to find a spot on the ground and take a seat. You can also do this by standing up with your feet connected to the earth or sitting in a chair with the feet placed on the floor.
Close your eyes and feel your connection to the earth. Pay attention to how it feels beneath you and notice how it supports you. Next, place your focus onto the heart and feel the energy within it; with each beat, more and more energy is being produced.
Next, you should try to visualize inside of the earth; often it can help to imagine a radiant light right within its center. Now picture the energy from your heart traveling as a ray of light down into the middle of the planet. In turn, you will imagine another ray of energy coming out of the earth and back into your heart, therefore creating an infinite connection between you and it.
4 Grounding Products
There are several grounding products that can be used to achieve the same effects as a simple walk without your shoes. These products work through the use of a metal rod which is placed in the ground and a wire that runs into your home.
You will then connect your products to the wire and the energy from within our planet will travel along the wire and into your body. You can combine this with a meditative practice which is the perfect complement to these exercises.
What’s very reassuring is that there have been some research studies into these products and the results are very promising.
5 Tree Pose
When we think of tree pose, our first thoughts might be with yoga, in which there is an asana where the practitioner stands on one foot and raises their arms in the air. This is a great pose but the type of tree pose that we are referring to has a much stronger base and allows you to hold the pose for much longer periods of time, therefore having much more of a grounding effect.
To do this, you should put your feet shoulder-width apart on the grass, sand, or anywhere else and find a straight posture that feels comfortable. The last thing you want is to feel as though you need to break your focus in the middle of the exercise.
Now close the eyes and put all of your weight into your feet, you can use your mind to visualize roots growing out of the soles of your feet and going deep down into the ground, connecting you to it infinitely.
6 Have A Cold Shower
One of the great things about a grounding practice is that you can bring yourself right into the present simply by being grounded and centered. It is easy to get lost in your thoughts and allow anxiety to take over. But this can be quickly remedied when you use one of the easiest techniques there is.
Having a cold shower has two main benefits. Primarily, you are bringing the mind right back to the current moment as the cold water will ignite your senses and keep you grounded. Secondly, this process connects you with the natural resource that is water.
Many people have said that while going for a walk in the grass or across some rocks is a great way to get earthed, you can also become grounded by getting into a natural body of water. OK, the shower isn’t exactly a natural body of water but the water has come from a natural source and is the next best thing.
7 Focus On Your Breath
Breathing is the focus of many mindfulness practices and it is not surprising as it can make you feel instantly grounded and is something that all of us do.
Some people simply like to place a focus on the breath and observe it as it flows in and out of the body, whereas other people’s favorite techniques involve breathing in for 7 seconds, holding the breath for 4 seconds, and breathing out for 8 seconds. There are also many other breathing exercises that you can do to get grounded and a quick internet search will yield many results for these.
8 Pay Attention To The Feet
Your feet are your main connection to the earth so when you feel as though things are getting on top of you, you can stop and take a moment to focus on where they are and what they are doing.
In a similar way to standing like a tree, you will be noticing how this part of the body has a constant connection with nature as you walk. You will feel a sense of support and even better, you will see how any negative thoughts seem to easily fade away as you remain in the moment.
9 Stretching
Stretching is not only ideal for grounding yourself and connecting with the earth but it is also extremely useful for the body. The stretches you do can be as varied as you wish or you might just choose two or three that you like and work with those.
You should aim to spend a few minutes of your time doing these stretches and feel how the different parts of the body connect with the earth during the practice. Some people do a detailed yoga routine but if this isn’t something that you feel works for you then you can move away from this and try something else.
It is important to pay attention to how your body feels and focus on any specific sensations as this will keep your mind in the current moment and help you to remain grounded.
10 Activate Your Senses
The senses are a powerful tool when it comes to grounding and simply allowing them to be and noticing them is one of the simplest and most effective ways of getting grounded if you find yourself in a challenging situation.
For example, if you suddenly feel an overwhelming sense of dread during an exam or a feeling of panic right before an important meeting, focusing on your senses can bring you back down to earth.
This can be done by choosing one sense and thinking about what you feel; if you chose your sense of smell, you might breathe in through the nose and pick up on the subtle aromas around you. Alternatively, you could try the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 technique which involves using all of the senses; see five things, hear four things, feel three textures, pick up on two tastes, and finally, sense one taste. By the time you have finished, you will be back in the present and feeling much more calm.
11 Move The Body
Exercise has so many benefits but when we are looking at refocusing the mind, we use exercise as a way to bring attention back to the body and away from any harrowing thoughts.
This is something that you can do at any time, whether you are at home or at work, in the park or on the bus. Exercise doesn’t need to involve a marathon, although if that is what you like – go for it. Get your heart racing and feel how exhilarating it is to be in the moment.
If you want to do something a little less strenuous then that’s fine too, it is all about reconnecting with the body and letting yourself feel rather than think.
12 Leave Your Emotions Behind Through Meditation
Another meditative practice that you can use for grounding comes in the form of getting rid of your painful emotions. This can be simply done by closing the eyes and imagining these emotions as tangible objects – you might picture pieces of paper or fabric, for example.
In your mind’s eye, you can then picture these emotions being balled up and you can place them into a container and put on the lid. You might then imagine yourself turning and walking away from them and heading to somewhere much more pleasant like the beach or into the home of someone you love.
You emotions will remain and it is important that you tackle them but it is also important not to let them take over your life.
Conclusion
There are two main types of grounding, the first involves creating a physical connection to the earth in order to take advantage of its energy which in turn, will help both your physical and mental health. Secondly, you can practice grounding to bring you into the moment and this will lessen feelings of anxiety and being overwhelmed.
There are a lot of ways that you can do this, most of which are extremely simple and require very little effort on your part. Furthermore, most of these things can be done from the comfort of your own home so you can get grounded immediately, whenever you feel the need.
