Staying Grounded
Lately I’ve noticed quite a few people having problems staying grounded. Some of the signs include: having feelings of disconnection from your body, daydreaming excessively, feeling out of control, experiencing insomnia or being gripped by excessive anxiety.
So, I thought I would compile this brief list of practices that can help to bring us back down to earth, so to speak.
The main way that we stay grounded is through our root chakra and, the lessor known, earth seed chakra.
The earth seed chakra is our shared energy point with Mother Earth and can be visualized as an earth-brown energy sphere located roughly at the base of your feet. This chakra is what binds us to the planet. Every component of our physical body comes from the earth, thus, that energy is both part of us and part of the earth.
The root chakra facilitates the transfer of energy from the earth to the rest of our system. It can be visualized as a red energy point located at the base of the spine. Red is the lowest frequency of visible light (energy) and, thus, is closest to the frequency at which the earth's energy vibrates.
In order to stay grounded we must regularly balance and energize both of these chakras. The key to doing this is the same as with all energy work: Intent. However, since our physical body is the part of us that comes from the earth, manipulation of the body is also important. (The body is basically how we put our intent into physical form.)
The easiest way to ground yourself quickly is by physically connecting with the Earth:
Lie on the floor (sitting is also OK, but the more body contact the better), briefly focus on your heartbeat or breath (in order to center yourself) and then feel your body merge with the ground.
If you cannot easily get onto the ground, take off your shoes and firmly plant your feet on the floor. Imagine your feet becoming roots and pulling you down, deep, into the warm embrace of Gaia.
Do some gardening. Get your hands into the soil and really feel the energy and connection with nature.
Put on something that comes from the earth: metals, stones, minerals, etc. Focus on merging your energy with what you are wearing. Periodically recharge your objects by burying them in the earth for a day or so.
Surround yourself with grounding colors. Put on something red and/or brown and again feel the energy being absorbed into you.
Exercise. Anything that gets you focused on your body and out of your head
Sex. The root chakra is located directly at the reproductive organs. That's not a coincidence…
In order to help stay grounded even when we cannot do the above, we need to focus on balancing and energizing the grounding chakras.
Each time I meditate, I like to first go through a quick chakra balancing procedure (for grounding purposes, spend extra time on the first two chakras).
Begin by focusing on the earth chakra. Visualize an earth-colored sphere or gem of light. Imagine the sphere growing brighter and larger until it fills the whole room with that color.
Next, do the same with the root chakra. Imagine a red sphere glowing brightly and flooding the room with red.
Continue through the rest of the color spectrum: ROY G BIV (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet) and finish with the star seed chakra which is the mirror of the earth chakra (or our shared energy point with Spirit) and is the color of golden white light.
In order to align the chakras, imagine the spheres connected by a taught rope and pulled fully into alignment from bottom to top.
Finally, food can have a very big impact on our ability to stay grounded, as eating is directly bringing the earth's energy into our body. The following foods are exceptionally good at helping us ground:
Root vegetables: beets, potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, turmeric, ginger, etc.
Fermented and preserved foods: Yogurt, cheese, kombucha, pickled veggies, wine, beer, vinegar, bread, dried fruits, soy sauce.
Red foods: beets, tomatoes, berries, chiles, etc.
The Earth's Recyclers: Mushrooms, shellfish.
Minerals: salt, calcium, magnesium, potassium, etc.
(BTW, pickled red beets are like a super trifecta of grounding power.)
Hope this helps.
