Relieve Stress and Anxiety with Grounding

“Its easy to stay grounded. The ground is very close. And we walk on it every day.”

Keanu Reeves

Often, I am asked, what is grounding and how can I ground? In this post I will explain what I have found grounding to be in my journey and some grounding strategies to implement when you feel the need to ground!

All is one, and when it comes to humans and the planet this rings true just as any other. We are electromagnetic creatures by nature, our hearts produce an electromagnetic field that attracts / detracts frequencies and energies, and it is this field that links to all other fields. When we connect our fields to the earth this is grounding. This is what we call an aura, often thought off as an egg-shaped shell of energy sounding you- picking up on your body’s vibrations.  Where once we humans lived in harmony with nature and received the waves of the earth simply by living without a thought as we would lay, sit, and walk barefoot amount the ground- in our indoor, concrete filled, shoe wearing society we are often lacking this connection. It is in this quantum field that connects all things that when we lose connection, we can feel lost and vulnerable, and this can contribute to many physical issues such as inflammation and insomnia, just to name a few. It can also lead to unstable emotions and temperament and getting lost in fantasy. Where once we walked, ran, and slept on the ground- allowing for this natural nourishment from Gaia, we now seem to avoid the earth at all costs separating ourselves with rubber, cement and anything else we can think of. This separation is perhaps what those in power have designed for our cultural matrix, as it lessens the blow we might otherwise feel with environmental destruction and factory farming. How else would so few keep so many docile as our only home is destroyed and pillaged to feed consumerism? In this lifestyle of separation, we grow ill and often find ourselves taking chemically designed pills to try and make us feel better, when they often lead to many other illnesses. Contemplate about how you often feel after a day at the office vs. outside in a natural environment. Science is starting to catch up with what our ancestors knew for ages when it comes to grounding!

When we reconnect to the earth’s fields, we start to realign ourselves with one of the natural rhythms of the planet, something we no longer seem to care about in our “civilized” culture. No longer are our calendars synced with the cosmos, our sleep patterns with the sun and moon and our energy fields with our home. It is my belief after working with healing energies for some time, that these fields are a major part of healing modalities such as Reiki. You may especially feel a need to ground yourself after an intense meditation experience or spiritual awakening, but how can you easily ground in today’s day and age? Here is just a few ideas:

Go outside:

One of the best ways to ground yourself is to stand barefoot or lay down in the grass- doing this for even 10-15 minutes can bring you back in sync with the natural rhythm of the earth- camping for a longer period of time even more so, or even take a nice nap under a tree! Really any activity on the ground is grounding! =)

Grounding sheets / pads:

A newer option, there are grounding pads and grounding sheets that essentially do the same thing, by plugging into the grounding hole of your outlet (these are wired to a long rod in the earth). There are wrist pads for office desks and sheets for beds. I personally have a grounding half sheet.  I noticed a pretty immediate difference in my sleep quality, but even more so with my cat who is typically glued to the sheet like a magnet. SHE LOVES this thing; we often forget our animal brothers and sisters are more sensitive to waves and vibrations then we are! There are also grounding mat options for your desk at work, I have one of these as well and find it helpful when spending so much time in a corporate office environment where nature is often scarce.

Cover your Crown and /or run water over your head:

It helps to ground your energies back down instead of releasing upwards and any head covering can do, you might take a look at these head coverings.

Similarly taking a shower and running water over the crown can also have a very nice grounding effect. This really helped me after a major awakening at a spiritual retreat!

Crystals focused on the root chakra:

Crystals are also an ancient tool used for thousands of years by our ancestors, but long forgotten by our culture as a “new age gimmick”, however these take often tens of thousands of years to create within the earth’s crust and do indeed carry vibrational memories from mother Gaia. There are many crystals out there and an incredible amount of information on them. While crystal cleansing, storage, gridding, and programming are a bit out of scope for this post, I plan on writing about this at some point as well. Until then, a great place to start is this book.To use crystals, briefly, is fairly simple- wear a piece of jewelry, place it in your palm during meditation, under your pillow during sleep, or in your pocket are all great ideas. Through intention and touch / proximity you will start to build lasting partnerships with your newfound friends. A few of my favorites include for grounding include:

• Black Tourmaline – A chakra and aura cleanser and protects against negative energies and really helps with anxiety. It also helps to block electromagnetic radiation from electronics and has a shamanic feel to it.  Also great for gridding your home. I have these all over my apartment and grounding grid.
• Hematite – One of the best grounding stones around, it provides an almost immediate sense of ease from stress and clears negative energy.  I usually always have one of these grounding stones in my pocket and I also have a bracelet.
• Presali Bluestone– Helps with emotional stability and courage as well as spiritual healings. Both a root and solar plexus stone Persali holds special vibration, I really enjoy meditating with this on my heart center- I typically feel a pulsing from it! Its known as a Merlin energy and has a little different healing grounding effect.

Grounding Yoga Postures: There are many to choose from, here are a few of my favorite balancing poses. In these poses imagine roots coming out of your foot and into the ground and focus your gaze. Though this concentration and focus we re-attune to our bodies.

Dancers Pose (Natarajasana)

Tree (Vrksasana)

Extended Hand to Big Toe pose (Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana)

Root Chakra Meditation:

Sit on your cushion in easy pose (or preferred position/ a chair) with your back straight or better yet outside on some grass for some extra grounding! Place your hands in the Apana mudra by taking your ring and middle fingers to your thumbs, leaving your pointer and pinky straight. Take a deep inhale and feel the air flow into your lungs and body. Continue to breathe deeply in and out through both nostrils into your belly. Feel your toes and then your feet and continue moving up your legs. Imagine roots deep under you holding you in place, moving earth energy up into your being as you breath. Feel your body sitting straight, your legs folded in your pose and the cushion underneath you. Notice how you are being pulled down into the earth in a natural and loving way. A feeling of returning home to Gaia. Feel the energy from the core of the earth flow up through those roots into you and up your spine to your crown. A primal ancient energy that connects all living things. Use this to anchor you down to the earth and feel the grounding energy. You are a child of the earth and stars and you are coming home.

Now tune into your solar plexus area near your stomach- the energy is here flowing upward along your spine, the sushumna nadi. Ensure you are still sitting straight aligning your chakras and spine. With this straight posture the energy channel is running up from our grounding roots all the way up our spine to our crown touching each chakra. This energy is coming from the planet and the plant spirits- you feel one with nature the plants, birds, insects, animals. We all come from the same source. Now grab your ankles and as you inhale move your spine forward and as you exhale backwards. Do this for several breaths. Next start leaning forward and move your spine in a circular motion inhaling as you lean forward and exhaling as you lean backwards. Your base stays rooted to the earth. Now release all stress, anxiety, pain, and negative thoughts into the earth- it no longer serves you. Stay and continue breathing until you feel completely grounded.