Why Grounding Matters and How to Do It!
Grounding is a foundational practice in the Intuition Medicine® model. In the same way a grounding wire gives an electrical device a safe way to discharge excess electricity, grounding our body’s energy stabilizes us and provides a safe pathway for aberrant energies to release from our field. We may pick up energies that belong to other people or to our environment, and so it is important for us to have a safe way to release what is not ours. It is also important for our physical and emotional health to have a strong connection between our body and the earth. Just as infants need a steady connection to the adult(s) nurturing them, our bodies and emotions need a steady connection to Mother Earth to feel safe and to thrive.
Grounding provides a clear pathway for our spirit to enter our body and be in partnership with our mind and emotions. When we are energetically grounded, we have more conscious awareness of our inner world, and we have increased capacity to observe our emotions and needs. We often feel more psychologically calm when we are grounded. This is because the natural pulse of earth energy is slower than the other energies around us, so our bodies are soothed by the connection.
When we feel emotions such fear or anger, our energy tends to rise up and (sometimes even) out of our body. When this happens, it makes us more vulnerable to outside forces—nature does not like a vacuum, so if our energy leaves us, other energies will come into our body to take its place. We may start absorbing the energy around us and then get even more emotional and confused. Having a grounding practice helps our energy return to our body, our center in these times.
Grounding also supports our emotions by giving them a channel to release when needed, and by bringing more of our consciousness to them. Emotions are meant to move through us. When we experience chronic stress or anxiety, or when we suppress certain emotions, they instead get stuck. When our consciousness is not present with our emotions, we may find ourselves ruminating or worrying rather than understanding the information our emotions have for us and what we may learn from them. Grounding therefore supports emotions in moving through us and teaching us.
In Intuition Medicine®, grounding is most often done with visualization and intention. This can be as simple as intending that our energy is grounding to the center of the earth and/or visualizing a connection between our tailbone and the center of the earth. I recommend to all of my clients that this be a regular meditation practice, multiple times per day if possible! But grounding in a quiet state is not always possible, especially if we are experiencing a lot of intense emotion or worry. Kids especially may have trouble with the whole idea of grounding through meditation, because they’d much rather be physically active, and they naturally have shorter attention spans. So, for kids and people of all ages who may have trouble sitting still in meditation, I recommend grounding through movement. The principle is simple, in that the focus is on moving our energy downward into the earth. Some of my favorite ways to do this are walking barefoot in nature, stomping, moving my arms from high above my head quickly downward, or jumping up and down. Balancing exercises are also good, such as standing on one foot while looking down at the ground. If you can hold an intention to send any energy that is not yours into the earth as you move, this will add to the effectiveness of the exercises.
If you aren’t sure where to start with grounding through movement, my Instagram and YouTube accounts have multiple examples of grounding exercises. I also practice Qi Gong daily, and if this interests you too, all you need is to search for “grounding Qi Gong” on YouTube and you will find lots of options! My personal favorite is Marisa Cranfill’s YOQI video on grounding, shot in Joshua Tree National Forest. Let me know how it goes!
Carolina is an active and proud member of the Sensitive Empowerment Community! Learn more about this wonderful group through Julie Bjelland’s website at https://www.fatfreecartpro.com/ecom/gb.php?cl=342244&c=ib&aff=383793. There are numerous free and paid resources designed to support Highly Sensitive People on this site!
