THE IMPORTANCE OF GROUNDING
Have you ever felt like you’re an elastic band being over-stretched?
Maybe that fuzzy head space and you feel you are working as fast as you can only to feel you are achieving less?
What about driving in your car and getting to your destination and not remembering how you got there or what roads you went down?
We can get so caught up in the busyness of life that we gather momentum saying yes to more and more for others and less for ourselves, overt ime this can lead to burnout, stress, depleted immune system, depression and even anxiety.
This week I found myself saying yes to everything and leaving little time for self care, resulting in a frazzled head space. My sleep wasn’t great as I was dreaming about Yoga class plans and Catering Menus all in the mix, my back was aching, healthy eating went out the window and I was heading back into my Chef days of a high caffeine diet, and breathing only in my chest. Not great and the reality hit after I got home from my best friends party and fell in a heap, I was tired and felt drained. Sitting there I realised it was longer than a week I had been going on this mouse wheel of stress and it had definitely been gaining momentum without me realising it. My Father in law was also staying with us and he was helping out in the kitchen as we were preparing finger food for my dear friends party, he commented “Gee you really have to remind yourself to breathe” very cool observation on his behalf as he realised he had shortened his breath and was in a state of stress trying to keep up with my never ending list of jobs for him to do….. hmm what can I say, I was in Chef mode aka slightly stressed state and then some.
The answer for me was to get amongst nature, walk in the bush without cars, people, houses and just feel the breeze on my skin, the sun on my face, smell all the scents of nature and listen to the kookaburras gaggle (probably laughing at me with my arms out and eyes closed) and then I began to come back to me, to breathe, to feel.
From a Yogic perspective, to “Ground” is to be rooted to the energy of the earth, to be connected in the here and now. When we are not grounded the subtle body is not balanced, resulting in the physical body not being balanced. This in turn increases our stress levels, difficulty in concentration, time management etc. Grounding for me is when we are one with the breath, our mind is calm, focused and in control. We are motivated, happy, feel secure, we are in the present moment, the here, the now and a beautiful quote that sums this up for me is:
“The past is already gone, the future is not yet here.
There is only one moment for you to live,
and that is the present moment”
- Buddha
The next question is, how do we ground?
Start your day with a 5 min meditation without turning on your devices
Go for a walk in nature
Try to stay connected to your breath throughout the day
Yoga/Meditation/Yin all help to create present moment awareness
Pranayama breathing techniques
These are just a few suggestions there are many more. Find what makes sense for you and your body, this may change from time to time as well depending on how you are feeling
From my Heart to Yours
Bron xx