The White Candle Meditation APP

Today I am going to talk about the importance of grounding through meditation. What it is, why you should get, and stay grounded, and how to do it.

What is grounding?

Grounding is the process be it physical or visual where you anchor to something that enables you to feel still. It is important in all aspects of our lives, not just during times of stress or unrest. There are many benefits of getting and staying grounded during your waking state which I will discuss as we go through this post today.

Why is grounding important?

If you are able to maintain a sense of feeling grounded throughout your day, then this will allow you to see things for what they are, assist you in clearer decision making and less negative self talk.

I liken the feeling of being grounded to that of warm feeling of immense calm. That feeling where we allow the external pressures often faced in life to just simply fall away.

How will I know when  am not grounded?

When we are not grounded, life can seemingly get on top of us. We can feel rushed, flustered, unsettled, anxious, all of those feelings that we know are not good. It can almost feel as if we are in the eye of the storm so to speak and things are happening around us at a rapid pace.

There is a great video below by Oprah who talks about our calling in life, our path, and how we must listen for the queue when things don’t feel quite right. She captures the essence of what I am here to talk to you about in her unique way, this is a video I refer to from time to time and each time I get a different message from it.

Take a look 🙂

 

What is something I can do in a hurry to feel grounded again?

Often during times of stress or discomfort, the journey back to feeling centred again is not a quick one, but there are a few things you can do to help you on your way.

Let’s take a look:

Visualisation

A technique I like to try is visualisation. I go somewhere quiet, if I am at home I will go outside, when I was working full time in an office, I would go into a quiet meeting room or other space where possible. I would then visualise what it would feel like to literally be a tree, anchored to the Earth by its roots. During this process, and with any meditation type process, focussing on the breathing is so important.

When grounding with this method, imagine you are breathing in through the top of your head, then allowing the breath to travel down your body, and then out through your feet into the Earth.

Then, on the return breath, imagine you are breathing up from the Earth, through your feet, up your body and then back out through the top of your head and releasing this to the Universe.

This is such a beautiful breathing technique as it is a perfect example of how much of life works. What we take from the Earth or from the Universe, we give back. So when we are taking life force from the Universe, we are planting it back into the Earth. On the return breath, we are drawing the force of the Earth up through our bodies, then releasing this back to the Universe.

We are the both the giving and receiving variable in the centre of this process, it truly is a unique and special feeling, and symbolic of much in this life.

There is no right or wrong number of times to do this. Some will say 3 or 4, but my philosophy with any type of calming or grounding technique is that you will know when you know.

Try not to focus so much on the rules  as such when it comes to meditation and grounding, focus on what makes you feel centred and calm, and build on that.

We all know that feeling of being centred in our lives, do what you can to get back there, take your time, it is not a race.

There are so many videos online around visualisation for grounding, calming and reducing anxiety and stress levels, here is one I refer to from time to time, and it is absolute bliss!

You can thank me later 🙂

Hands over your naval/stomach

This is something that I learnt many years ago and would often use when working full time in an office environment.

1. In your chair, or lying down if you can, intertwine your hands however it feels comfortable.
2. Place the palms of your hands lightly over your stomach, and rest both touching thumbs together over your naval.
3. Pause here for a moment and get used to the position.
4. In this position, take three deep breaths with your eyes closed, in your own time, again, this is not a race.

The Breathing Square

This is a fantastic grounding and centring technique used by many healers, psychologist and other practitioners across the globe.

The breathing square consists of four parts.

1. Breathe in to the count of 4.
2. Hold to the count of 4.
3. Breathe out to the count of 4.
4. Hold to the count of 4.

Repeat this process until you feel you have reached a state of calm.

Again, there is no right or wrong number of times to do this. Many will recommend a number, but I am big on you getting to know your own body and your own rhythm and building on what is right for you.

There are so many videos online that can teach you more about this technique. Here is one I found just today:

I don’t meditate and don’t think I want to, what are some other tips for staying grounded?

I’ve talked in my previous pieces about how mediation is not necessarily what many people imagine it to be. It is not so much about gathering around with group of people chanting the OM for hours on end.

There are several things you can do to both get grounded, and stay grounded if you are not one for meditating.

• Walk in nature
• Exercise
• Cooking
• Music
• Drawing or writing
• Colouring

Basically, anything that you do without even thinking, things that you have perhaps done as a kid in your spare time. Any type of activity that allows you to be fully present and engaged while doing so and separates you from stressful situations is a healthy option.

By the way, if chanting the OM works for you, do it! I do it all the time in the car and I have learnt to love it! By no means am I a singer but I like to pretend I am warming my vocal chords for an award winning performance 🙂

Bringing it all together

Today I have covered a number of techniques that can assist you in getting grounded and staying grounded for as long as you can. Again, in my writing and teachings with Meditation, I cannot emphasise enough that it is about what you feel comfortable doing.

It is about you taking your own time to get back to that feeling of peace and tranquility that you know is there inside.

Often, beginners and even those like me who have been meditating for a while can get caught up in the ‘end goal’ of being calm, and in doing so, can heighten our state even more. If you find this happening to you, it to shall pass, just breathe.

I hope today’s piece has helped you in learning more about the process of grounding through meditation and how it can help you in your daily life.

Feel free to ask me any questions in the comments 🙂