The Importance of Getting Grounded
Getting Grounded & Rooting Down Like a Tree
“Be like a tree. Stay grounded. Connect with your roots. Turn over a new leaf. Bend before you break. Enjoy your unique natural beauty. Keep growing.”
– Joanne Raptis
Trees and I have a lot more in common than you’d think!
I stand in the garden, digging my roots into the earth. I feel the stability of my feet firmly planted on the ground as my upper body slightly sways. There is flexibility there with a deeply rooted attachment to the ground. I’m here. The earth and I are interconnected. She has everything to give, and with a little bit of energy and love, I’m able to give back. It’s all a cycle, really.
My roots extend downwards, seeking nutrition and elements for growth. On the outside, it looks as if nothing is going on, but regeneration and renewal are happening in every cell of my being. This is how things advance and I’m able to continue renewing my direction and make new plans.
Just as the rings inside a tree are the story of its life, so too are all the layers of my knowledge, experience and understanding. Some of the rings are thick, indicating lots of growth with lots of food for thought. Other rings are thinner, showing that things got overcrowded and starved me of light and nutrients. Most of the lines are evenly thick, due to the consistently favourable conditions of my life.
Am I a tree? I’m like a tree, that’s for sure.
Getting Away From Living in the Head
We tend to leave our body behind as we regularly spend a good part of the day in our head Sometimes we can get stuck there, as we attend to work, over-analyze things and play out the same thoughts over and over again. It’s possible to stay in the mind for the whole day (or longer!) without feeling present in the body.
When we are in our head, we are disconnected from the present moment. This can create an obstacle between us and the world, preventing us from seeing opportunities for connection.
It also stops us from observing the beauty in simple everyday things.
Getting grounded is a way to slow down, get present, and fully inhabit the body. When we’re grounded, creativity and wisdom flow freely and our reactions to people or outside events are more tempered.
We experience more perspective in life.
There are many ways to bring this body awareness into your everyday life: walking, yoga, meditation, sophrology, and creative projects. This kind of regular body awareness and getting grounded was the inspiration behind A Year of Creative Walking Tours.
People who used mind-body techniques to get grounded show increased levels of awareness and connection with their bodies. This can result in higher self-acceptance, boosted energy, decreased bodily pain, as well as improved mental and emotional wellness.
This is about slowing down, living in wonder and stabilizing our existence through getting grounded.
Some Grounding Activities For You to Try
Are you feeling like you could use a dose of getting grounded? If so, I have a couple of things for you to try:
Go out on your first Creative Walking Tour using the PDF & audio guides I put together for you.
Over the course of three days, you are invited to go on a contemplative walk and notice the world around you in a new way. There are audio guides and suggested creative activity reponses for each day.
Click the image or the button down below.
Check out the free Release + Relax Session Video with Interactive PDF that I created for you.
By combining gentle movement, breathing techniques and guided relaxation, you will be encouraged to feel sensations in different parts of your body. The result will be a sense of calm!
Click the image or the button down below.
