GROUND YOURSELF

“The higher a tree wants to rise, the lower its roots must go.” ~Matshona Dhliwayo

 

Let’s face it, we’re living in some chaotic times, and it’s rocking us all to the core. In times like this, we can get thrown off our routines and schedules, and our priorities can shift from good habits to survival. When we’re in fear-mode, anger-mode, anxiety-mode, we literally can’t think straight, and our good food and exercise choices go out the window. It’s incredibly important for all of us right now to stay grounded.

 

Here are eight solid ways to ground yourself:

 

1. Spend time in nature. There is nothing that models calm and grounding more than a big tree still standing solid through years of stormy weather, or a vast ocean that seems to go on forever, or the sound of a gently babbling creek. I spent a few days in Idyllwild last weekend, in a little cabin by a running stream, and I returned to Los Angeles feeling rejuvenated and grounded in a way I haven’t felt in a while. The pace of nature is slower, and it offers a wider, bigger perspective of time and space. Spend time in this healing energy to recalibrate to nature and get out of the heady, anxiety-producing adrenaline rush of society, technology, and the news.

 

2. Eat foods that grow in the ground. If you can imagine for a moment the experience of eating a hearty root vegetable stew, you can understand how we might tap into the energetics of the food we eat. Other grounding foods are lentils, and earthy spices, like turmeric and ginger, or teas like a chai rooibos which has earthy overtones. Good quality oils and fats can feel grounding as well, like ghee, unrefined coconut oil, olive oil, and avocados.

 

3. Deep breathing: When you breathe deeply, oxygen flows to your brain, signaling to your brain that you’re safe; the stress hormone, ‘cortisol,’ stops pumping and you can get out of ‘flight or fight’ mode, so you can think straight and make good decisions again. This is also why yoga is one of my favorite forms of exercise: it forces you to breathe deeply for at least a full hour, and is one of the more grounding things you can do for yourself.

 

4. Massage or body-work. Anything that gets you out of your head and into your body is helpful. Plus, it will also lower cortisol levels.

 

5. Exercise and sports: What I’ve always loved about competitive sports, is that it forces you to be in the moment; you might get hit in the face with a ball, or your team might lose, if you’re not one hundred percent present. You have no choice but to focus all your attention on the physical task at hand, which means you can’t experience the anxiety-producing thoughts that otherwise occur, and that, as Eckart Tolle says, is the ‘power of now.’ Exercise in general also burns cortisol and moves you into your body.

 

6. Meditation. This is one of the most helpful things you can do, and yet arguably the most difficult when the world is knocking you around. If you have a solid meditation practice in place, use it. Otherwise try a guided meditation or app, like Headspace, or the guided meditation series that Oprah and Deepak Chopra offer for free every couple months (you can also purchase their previous meditation series).

 

7. Connect with other humans. The internet, social media, the news: it’s a lot of stuff swirling in our heads. Get in contact with other people in real life and in real time to help you get present, and to help you stop ‘spinning out.’ Especially for women, gathering in groups of other women actually lowers cortisol levels.

 

8. Get out of your normal routine. If you’ve been stuck in fear, anxiety, and negative thinking, break the neural patterns that have been digging a rut in your head by doing something different, or going someplace outside of your normal routine, that will force new neural connections to be made.

 

I’m right here with you as we all try to stay grounded this month. Please reach out and let me know how I can support you, and please share any grounding resources that work for you!