What comes to mind when you hear the term “grounding”?

• A punishment from your youth
• An electrical wire in physics 
• A flight not being able to take off
• Or maybe a less frazzled, scattered, stressed out state of being

In yoga, mindfulness, and coaching, the term grounding often refers to the last one – a grounding tool is something you can use to connect back to the present moment, and reduce the feelings of stress, such as feeling frazzled, scattered, unsteady, and unbalanced. Being grounded offers you a way to come back to your body and out of your head, and, well sometimes, connect with the earth and ground below you for a point of reference. 

Stress occurs when a stressor has triggered a response in your body and brain. This can often lead you to start focusing on the future outcomes, on things in the past that did not go well, and to lose your connection to the present moment, which leads to more feelings of stress and overwhelm. It continues the cycle of stress and keeps you stuck, and growing, in this pattern. 

It also pulls you out of your body – an intuitive place that is part of you and can help you to reduce tension and stress, and be more aware of when it occurs – and keeps you more in your head, where thoughts spiral and stress continues to build.

If you are feeling stressed and overwhelmed, here are a few practices, using, grounding tools, that will help you reduce your stress, by getting more present, out of your head, and into your body.

4 Grounding Tools for Managing Your Stress

Yoga Poses:

Yoga is a powerful tool for getting back into your body and the present moment. Grounding in a yoga practice focuses on feeling the connection to the earth, or ground, below you in any pose, whether it is your hands, your feet, your seat, or just one foot pressing down into the mat below you. 

The action of breathing and focusing on each pose helps you to get out of your head, focus on your body (and not falling), and keep you in the present moment, which helps to shift you out of the stressful though spiral that you may have found yourself in.

Poses that are good for grounding include standing poses such as Warrior I/II, Mountain Pose, and Triangle; balancing poses like Tree or Head to Knee or even Dancer; and seated poses such as a forward fold, Child’s Pose, or Savasana. 

Breath/Pranayama

Getting grounded through breathwork, or Pranayama, can help you to reduce the stress you feel, by sending a calming response to the Nervous System and brain. It also helps you to feel the body and breath in this moment, and to feel the ground below you, where you make contact. 

You can try bringin one hand to your belly and one to your heart, and take a deep breath (a count of 4 or 5 if possible for each inhale and exhale). As you breathe, notice the belly rise and fall, and the seat supported by the chair or mat below you. If your focus starts to wander, that is ok. Shift it back to the sensations of your breath and your body, even if you feel you do this over and over again. Try breathing this way for 3 to 5 minutes if possible.

Mental Check-In

It can be really easy to keep it all in your head – all the schedules, thoughts, stressors, worries – and not really see how you are doing with processing all of that stress. A mental check-in can help you to get grounded by giving you a moment to pause, see how you are doing in your mind AND body, and be more aware of what you need next.

Try stopping for a moute to get quiet, close your eyes and breathe. Notice your body and any tension you might feel, notice your feet on the ground, and then notice any thoughts or patterns that are there. 

Sensory Meditation or Journal

This grounding tool is one of my favorites. A “Sensory” check-in is a great way to get present and grounded, either through a meditation of a journaling practice. 

This tunes you back into the here and now, by noticing the space around you via your 5 senses. 

Try this, either making mental notes (meditation style) or writing them down.

• 5 things you see
• 4 things you hear
• 3 things you feel
• 2 things you smell
• 1 thing you taste

Getting grounded, in the balanced sense, is a powerful tool for combating stress and building resilience. 

Try these out to see which works best for you – it could change depending on the time of day, the need, and where you are. 

Want to practice these grounding tools together and figure out how they can work best in your day?

Which grounding tool works best for you? Share your experience with it in the comments below!

With Love and Light, 

Jessi