“Grounding” a Technique for Calm and Presence
“Grounding” a Technique for Calm and Presence
“Grounding” is a 10 minute recorded exercise that you can learn to do for yourself whenever you are experiencing your own version of fight-flight-freeze. This is an audio version of this exercise:
“Grounding” a Technique for Calm and Presence
You can also learn to do this. When you are clearly in a hyped up, vigilant, angry, anxious, racing or otherwise neurologically over-aroused state, take a moment to notice what physiological symptoms you are experiencing in that moment.
This might be heat that is rising, a racing feeling, tension in particular areas of your body, jumbled thoughts, sweaty palms, or anything else. You might even notice that you are so in your thoughts that you are not even aware of what is going on in your body.
As mentioned in my previous post under this category, the goal is for you to “red flag” these physiological sensations as a sign that you are in a neurologically overactivated state. After becoming aware of this state, put your finger on a mental “pause button” and take a long deep breath.
This long deep breath serves two purposes. It is relaxing to the nervous system, and it gives you a chance to step into a bigger awareness, and consciously decide how you want to respond to whatever is going on in the moment that has you over-activated.
We all have times when a few deep breaths are not enough however, and we need to take a time-out to calm ourselves. This is when the Grounding Exercise can be very helpful.
The trick to this exercise is to focus on and augment the kinesthetic experience of heaviness. In this exercise, it is important to focus on the experience of the weight of your body on the couch, chair or bed and to really allow yourself to feel the waves of relaxation as you let your muscles melt into a heavy, letting-go sensation.
Eventually the sensations of heaviness you experience in this exercise create a biofeedback loop triggering a release from the fight-flight mode. Heavy relaxed muscles are not neurologically associated with danger, hence the somatic shift towards relaxation. A spontaneous deep breath is the body’s sign that it has physiologically recognized that you are no longer in danger.
This short mindfulness exercise can be done while lying down, and even when standing and walking. Grounding yourself while walking involves bringing awareness to the sensation of being supported and held up by the Earth; the left side of your body as you step forward with the left foot, and the right side of your body as you step forward with the right foot.
You can even bring this awareness into your day when you are standing, just by shifting your awareness to the sensation of your legs, and your whole body being held up and supported by the Earth.
At night, when you are lying in your bed, try shifting your awareness to your body being held up by the bed, moving slowly and mindfully from your feet to your calves, to your buttocks, your back, and the back of your skull.
The key is to slow down, and concentrate your awareness on the sensations you are experiencing in the body part you are focusing on.
This exercise helps you to experience a palpable sensation of heaviness and relaxation that you can deepen with practice. Neurologically, it is a very satisfying and nurturing experience, perhaps akin to how a baby feels being held securely in loving arms.
Be patient with yourself as you are learning to access this deeply relaxed and present state. If you are used to living in a vigilant state of heightened neurological arousal, a 30% reduction in your fight/flight mode is clearly great progress. This is progress you can build on over time.
This Grounding Exercise is a platform for bringing more body awareness, balance, and mindfulness into your life. As such, it has many additional benefits, including:
-You will find that time slows down when you are “grounded”.
-You can enjoy moments with your children more fully and deeply because it is easier to be more deeply present.
-You will develop more of a conscious awareness of and connection with what is going on in your body. This allows you to notice when your fight-flight symptoms are triggered, and to take care of yourself before you are fully engaged in the survival mode.
This “grounded” state is restorative physiologically as well as emotionally. It can become a sweet moment that supports you during your busy day.
The “Grounding Exercise” is for you to use whenever you feel the need for more calm and clarity in the moment. Please feel free to play with the imagery and wording in this exercise, mentally adding to it according to what works best for you.