Anxiety whether chronic or situational has a tendency to plague us all. Anxieties can cause our minds to run and our bodies to respond. Grounding is the ability to bring our awareness to the present.
Anxieties keep us in our heads, grounding brings us to our bodies. Where we can’t think ourselves to healing or logic ourselves to a stable ground again.
Our anxieties are a place where we can’t think straight. Where it feels like we’re in a tornado and we don’t know where it’s going to dump us out.
Grounding is an unparalleled technique. For me, something as simple as walking outside barefoot and having the sunshine on my face brings me to the present moment.
This is what I tell myself when I need to bring myself presently:
“mmmm the warm sun on my face feels good. How does it feel different from the part that isn’t in the sun? Does my face feel different than the skin under my shirt? It does! How so? What words would you give the different sensations you’re experiencing?
Now bring your attention to your feet. The rocks feel pokey. There’s one rock that feels a little bit sharper than the other. While the feeling on the rest of my feet feels uncomfortable, it’s not painful. How would I describe the discomfort? Bumpy? No. Uneven? Definitely. Inconsistent is another good one.”
Instead of having my brain ask myself in the circles of my anxieties and frustrations, I bring my racing brain to the present moment. Inquiring about what is happening in the here and now. I take my brain from anxiety, to present, to please.
When I work to ground myself in the present moment, I am able to really connect with my body. While I’m still thinking and processing various questions, my thoughts aren’t stuck in my head. They are applied to my body.
Have you tried any type of grounding before? Maybe for you it’s something that I mentioned above. Or maybe standing outside in the dirt doesn’t sound as enjoyable to me as it does to you. I put together a quick guide to review my top 10 grounding techniques to help bring you into the present moment.
