An Everyday Grounding Practice You Can Do Anywhere

Adapted from The Living Clearly Method

Like perspective and breathing, grounding can be practiced anywhere, at any moment in your life. You may be rolling around on the carpet with your toddler, walking down the street, standing in line, driving your car (driving is an excellent laboratory for experimentation with the Living Clearly Principles because we are often challenged when behind the wheel!), in a meeting with a huge client, negotiating a raise with your boss, or in a difficult conversation with your partner. Whatever the circumstance, it is guaranteed that a good part of your body will be in contact with the surface that is holding it up, which means you can practice grounding.

Try it now. Wherever you are this very moment—on the subway, in bed, leaning on a counter or against a wall—is the perfect place to practice grounding. Feel your body wherever it is making contact with the surface that's holding it up.

If you are in bed, feel the bed holding you firmly and completely. You are safe and held. If you are sitting, notice your sit bones as they rest against the chair or your seat on the train, bus, or car. Feel your foundation strong and stable. If you are standing, sense your feet in your socks and your socks in your shoes and feel those shoes upon the ground. Imagine the depth of the earth that is supporting you. Like a tall oak tree, your roots go deep and your branches go high. You are strong, stable, capable, and wise.

When we ground, we become deeply at home in ourselves. We start to believe that we actually belong here and that what we have to offer is legitimate and wonderful because we feel supported. A regular grounding practice—you can ground all day if you want to!—helps you feel calm and safe, and from there, you can connect to the part of yourself that is clear and wise, the part that would give commonsense advice to an anxious friend.