Oasis Chaplain Christy Overton explores some of the simple ways we can ground ourselves during times of overwhelm, stress or fatigue.
I recently came across an article on the ‘Neurological Pathways Supported by grounding’. It fascinated me to learn how beneficial it can be for our mental and physical wellbeing to create opportunities in our days or weeks to focus on slowing down our activities, going outside, take deep breaths or even simply holding a smooth stone in your hand. intuition-physician.com
According to this research Koniver suggests (2023) ‘By connecting with the earth, we shift the brain from high strung beta waves to calming alpha wave patterns, decrease inflammation to help improve mood, even help provide greater clarity to our lives’ (p. 3).
Grounding is a practice that helps us be able to connect with our environment. Simply by just going outside, doing deep breathing, or even touching something in our environment, whether it’s just some grass, dirt, a tree, even a pole or concrete, brings our awareness into the present and can settle our nervous system. It can also be beneficial to take your shoes and socks off, so you have more of a connection point to the earth. With our nervous system back in regulation it helps us be able to think more clearly and reduce our stress levels.
My thoughts
Sometimes when life gets busy, I can become overwhelmed with what’s happening and what I need to do, and things can get a little crazy. This is when I feel like cultivating some of these practices could help bring me back into balance. Even if I get caught up in my week, it seems so easy just to take a couple of minutes to stop what I am doing, go outside, take some deep breaths or even just spend time noticing the things in my environment that I can see, hear, touch, smell and taste.
Some examples of grounding practices
- walking barefoot
- making a hot drink
- find an activity that engages your hands
- use a grounding object such as a smooth stone or a comforting item that you can hold
- any other things that help you feel calm
So, if you find that you are feeling overwhelmed, tired, or stressed, some of the grounding techniques below could help bring some relief and restoration.
Some additional practices that help us to ground https://www.tothegrowlery.com
