Grounding is a huge problem in modern society. If you’re sceptical about this, walk through a public area and see how many people struggle to walk with ease and grace. Most people have problems with gait, or feet, or knees, or posture. The list goes on. Also, see if you can spot a few people talking to themselves. They are completely lost in thought—not present at all. So, this is an important post, but one that can quickly get too complicated.
I’ve been wanting to write something about grounding for a while now. But it’s difficult. Who am I writing for? Is the reader someone who has already done some grounding work? Or is the reader someone who is so completely lost in thought that they no longer have any connection to their legs?
Should I delve into my own theories about how repressed emotions influence health in various ways? Should I write about how being ungrounded leads to anxiety and vice versa? Where to start? What to leave out and what to include? I don’t want this post to be too complicated. It might be best to start with some practical things that anyone can implement.
Bring awareness to the feet
Something that anyone can do at any time when they find themselves overthinking is just to place awareness on the feet. Just continually bring awareness to the feet while making tea, sitting, waiting, whatever. This is especially beneficial when you find yourself going into thinking loops.
Facilitate energy through the legs
The second principle is this: Facilitate energy through the legs. This can be done in a number of ways. Many yoga poses facilitate energy through the legs. The principle of “energy through the legs” is very simple. If you’ve ever held, say, a side plank, you will have noticed that there comes a point that you start to shake. If we want to achieve energy through the legs we essentially want to encourage that shakiness.
As a test you can do a wall sit and wait for a slight shakiness. Take note of which areas feel weak. Is it the right knee? Maybe the left hip? It’s a good foundational principle to bring awareness to these things. Incidentally a wall sit will also strengthen joints. The point is actually to feel a sense of aliveness through the legs after the pose or hold.
This idea of a sense of aliveness through the legs is a very important principle to pay attention to. I’ve shared before that I’ve had to deal with sciatica for a number of years. This wasn’t just due to a nerve pinch in my low back but my entire sacrum and hip were compromised. This manifested as severe knee issues. All experts thought the issue was primarily a knee problem. It was a dream that showed me the truth of the matter. I rehabilitated this issue through stretches and strength training. One very important principle was to focus on stretches and movements that made my compromised leg feel “alive”. This included things like stretches, yoga poses, isometric holds and such. The point is to always keep the principle in mind: Energy through the legs. Aliveness through the legs.
Readers might also want to look into Alexander Lowen’s work. Bioenergetics has an entire section on grounding that discusses some postural positions which facilitate energy through the legs. One such position corresponds to a forward fold. Lowen’s work is great for anyone who wants to understand how trauma wounding affects the body.
Take a shoeless walk in the garden
A great way to ground is just to go for a barefoot walk in the garden. Not much else to say about this.
Resolve Trauma
Trauma leads to dissociation. It is very difficult to be in the body, to be fully aware and alive in the body when we have a history of trauma. The solution is to gradually return awareness to the body. Here’s a related post.
Trauma is the elephant in the room that often gets ignored. There is a reason for this: It is very difficult to address. Yet, it is the cause of nearly all self-destructive behaviours. It is at the root of stuckness. From my own experience resolving deep trauma requires deep emotional processing and somatic work. These two go hand in hand at times. Again, I will refer the reader to the work of Alexander Lowen.
Here are a few important ideas to keep in mind: Pay attention to muscular tensions and weaknesses. Ask yourself this: Might these injuries or ailments be the result of some physical trauma earlier in life? Keep asking yourself this question. Keep digging. When it comes to trauma, we often hide the truth from ourselves in an attempt to protect ourselves.
Final Thoughts
There is a lot that can be said on this topic. One can probably write an entire book, not only on grounding, but also on the negative effects of not being grounded. From what I’ve seen this might include:
- Not being able to execute physical tasks.
- Living inside the head.
- Various problems with gait, posture, and lower half of the body.
- A tendency to overthink that leads to anxiety.
- Nerve damage in the feet.
My hope is that this post aids a few people in their grounding work.