3 Ways to Get Grounded from the Inside Out

With so much frenzied energy around us, cultivating our ability to ground let’s us move forward with more stability and wisdom.

When we have experience with connecting to the energy of the earth, when it’s part of our practice, it becomes easier to tap into as a tool when our mind starts to race, we feel disconnected, and caught up in worrying about things we can’t control. Here are three ways to strengthen your connection with the earth:

Intuition Medicine. Deborah Kremins (intuitionmed.com) teaches a sequence where you become intimately connected with your own personal grounding. She teaches settling into a quiet place in yourself, and “sense, feel, or see” your connection to the earth. Notice the quality of that connection, and ask for it to be at a level the most serves you in the moment. This lets you play with your sense of grounding, and experience it as a dynamic force that is always available to you.

Nutrition. Chef and Naturopath Kimberly Parsons writes in her book The Yoga Kitchen that to create grounding, it’s important to include root vegetables and plant-based proteins. She connects these foods to our ground chakra, known in sanskrit as muladhara, which means root. “This chakra anchors us to our bodies, our physical surroundings and to the earth, so in the same way a plant cannot survive without its roots, neither can the human psyche without its core grounding.” When we eat foods that have come from the earth, we nourish that connection, and as Parsons says, “grounding ourselves makes us feel safe, alive, centered and at one with our environment.” Of the many lovely grounding recipes, I found myself most drawn in by the Chocolate Beetroot Cake.

Kundalini. Karena Virginia & Dharm Khalsa teach in The Essential Kundalini Yoga that the energy of our first chakra is that which connects us to the physical world, and is related to the quality of our existence. When this chakra is activated and “flowing with prana, we feel worthy of our existence and happy to be alive.” Crow Pose is recommended to “cleanse and balance the root chakra”. To practice Crow Pose, stand with your legs three feet apart. Standing tall, balance your weight equally. Sink into a squat with your hands pressed together in front of your heart. Breathe deeply, with a full inhale and full exhale. When you are finished, roll onto your back and rest.

Giving attention to your grounding practice is similar to a farmer tilling the fields. It creates a richness within that allows strong and healthy growth.

Do you have a favorite grounding practice? Share it with our community in the comments below.