How to feel more grounded

I don't know about you, but sometimes I can feel suuuper off balance. I don't just mean when I'm attempting a particularly intense yoga pose, I'm talking about feeling mentally and spiritually off balance. The times when my mind is running a million miles per hour and I can't seem to silence the constant stream of thoughts parading through it.

I've noticed this frequently happens when I'm trying to keep up with the - somewhat overstimulating - content that is relentlessly fed to us from every direction. It can become overwhelming, almost impossible to focus, leaving me feeling generally disconnected from myself, others, and the earth as a whole. Truthfully, we humans were not built to consume so much.

Grounding is a technique I often use to help quieten my mind and soothe my soul during moments like this, I also use it before and after reading the tarot, performing spells, and providing treatments. In this guide, I will talk you though how to feel more grounded within yourself, I really hope it can help you too 💚

What is grounding?

Grounding has been known to open and stabilise the root chakra (Muladhara) that is located at the base of our spine. The root chakra is centred around survival, stability, and safety. If it is blocked, we may feel anxious, fatigued, unsafe, and generally disconnected. Grounding is the process of taking time to consciously connect with mother earth and her healing energy. It's a combination of deep breathing and visualisation techniques to help us feel more stable and at home within our bodies.

Step One - Find a quiet place

If you are fortunate enough to have access to a natural space, then I highly recommend trying this outside, either sat at the base of a nice tree or on the grass. If working with a tree, please be sure to ask its permission first, you'll know the tree wants to work with you when you feel a warm, fuzzy, or tingly feeling in your body.

Unfortunately picturesque woodland isn't readily available to all of us, so luckily it's not an essential ingredient to practice this technique. Any quiet space will do, free of interruptions, where you can be guaranteed a few moments of peace - I've been known to ground on the toilet on occasion!

Take a seat, lie down, or stand if you wish in your chosen location, close your eyes, and give yourself permission to take this moment for yourself. No phones, no to do list, no responsibilities, just you connecting with yourself and the earth.

Step Two - Tune in to your breath

A quintessential part of any meditative practice is breath. We want to really notice how it feels, how it moves through us, how our body responds to the inhale and exhale. I like to deepen my breath in this moment, because slowing down our breath is scientifically proven to help us feel more relaxed. I once read that it's impossible to feel anxious if you're breathing outwards, so whenever I'm feeling panicky I like to prioritise a nice, long out breath. This feels like a magical internal cleanse, taking in all that yummy oxygen, and pushing out any stagnant energy, to make way for more goodness.

The trick here is not to stress about controlling the breath. I remember when I first began meditating, I found myself becoming more stressed because I was so intent on 'doing it right' that I missed the entire point of the practice. I prefer taking deep breaths in through my nose, expanding my tummy (not chest) nice and wide before breathing out slowly through my mouth and taking my tummy in. You might breathe differently in this moment, and that's okay! What's most important is that you notice it, feel grateful for it, and sit with the sensations it sends throughout your body. Allow this practice to help you feel just that little bit calmer before you move on to the next step.

Step Three - Visualisation

Now for the fun part: becoming one with the earth. This is where you begin to imagine roots breaking free from whichever part of you is connected to something. Even if you're laying in your bed upstairs, I want you to imagine these roots breaking through you, through the bed, the floor and downstairs. Your roots are going to travel down through the very foundations of your home and deep into the earth, whilst remaining connected to you where you lay, sit or stand.

For me this is often where my delightfully neurodiverse brain struggles most, because I get distracted. If you struggle with this too, it's okay. Your brain is beautiful, full of thoughts and ideas, you don't need to punish yourself for not being able to stay focused or sit dead still, because that's very hard to do! If you find your mind wandering, just notice the thought, accept it, gently let it go, and try to bring yourself back to your roots or your breath. This exercise doesn't have to be perfect, the point is that you are taking time for yourself, and that's amazing.

Step Four - Connection

Even if it takes you some time to get there, once your roots have made contact with the earth beneath you, I want you to really feel into that connection. Imagine your roots digging deep into that soil, as if they plan to live there permanently. In this moment, your mind has connected your physical body to the earth, you are safe, stable, and grounded.

As you exist here, at one with the earth, you can now tune back into your breath. During the inhale you can imagine nutrients - whether it be divine light, water, minerals, or a combination of these things - travelling up your roots, all the way to your resting body. I want you to imagine this nutrients flowing through you, stimulating all parts of your body, before you send love and gratitude back into the earth, through your roots, in your outward breath.

This practice is a beautiful energy exchange, a divine dance between yourself and the earth, giving and receiving in equal measure. When you really think about it, everything in life requires balance in order to feel harmonious, so giving back your love and gratitude to the thing that supports and sustains you is crucial if you want to receive more abundance.

Step Five - Growth

After this beautiful ritual of giving to and receiving from the earth, you can feel yourself beginning to grow. You can visualise branches sprouting from your head, shoulders, and chest, reaching out far and wide. If you're indoors you can imagine these branches breaking through the ceiling and roof, out into the fresh air, rising high above the clouds if you want them to. In this moment, you are a tree; you are rooted firmly in the soil below, your branches stretching beautifully above you, your body is the trunk that connects the two, solid and unshakable. You can stay here for as long as you like, you can continue growing, or simply being, the choice is up to you.

When you feel stable and/or have the urge to get up and move, you can imagine your branches and roots recoiling back into you. Take a moment to thank the earth and yourself for this experience, really feel that gratitude fill you up, and notice how you feel after the exercise. You can then slowly open your eyes, gently wiggling your hands and feet, maybe having a nice stretch and a cup of tea before getting on with your day.

In Conclusion

Grounding is an essential part of my magical, spiritual, and healing practices, because it helps me to feel calm and centred, so that I am able to invest my time and energy into helping beautiful people like you. It only takes a few minutes, but always leaves me feeling more connected and at peace with the world around me, and that is a priceless feeling. Remember my love, you are worthy, you deserve good things, you don't need to earn rest, and you are always supported by the earth.

Love & blessings always,

Chloe 💚