Moving Meditation || Get Grounded

Seasonal shifts are optimal times for getting yourself grounded. Spending too much time in your head can disconnect you from your immediate surroundings, community, and even from your intuition.

Grounding, sometimes called “earthing,” is reconnecting to the Earth's therapeutic energy. The practice, while simple, is exceptionally restorative and will provide you with (newfound) clarity.
 
How Do You Ground? || Take off your shoes and step barefoot onto nearby grass, sand, dirt, or concrete. The idea is to consciously rejoin with what is often overlooked—the earth. Another method of grounding is a walking meditation. Start by choosing a stretch of earth where you walk back and forth, easily unobstructed for a set period of time.
 
*** If your only option is to step barefoot onto concrete, use common sense and look for any safety hazards (e.g., glass) first.
 
Focus || You can focus, like a laser, on a specific point, or on nothing. Use the time to let yourself feel the earth supporting you and let the ground feel your weight. You can let your thoughts flow, or use the time to try to figure out how to plant your herb garden, for instance. You could also use a mantra from whatever lineage you feel most comfortable, or simply concentrate on connecting with your intuition.
 
Pace || In our everyday lives we’re drawn in so many directions. We often do it to ourselves—having 42 tabs open on our computers, walking while texting, etc. With grounding or a walking meditation, the idea is to go for a stroll without destination, goal, or time limit. Just walk. Walk until you want to stop.
 
Benefits of Grounding and Walking Meditation || 

• Reducing inflammation

• Improving sleep

• Increasing energy

• Lowering stress and promoting calmness

• Normalizing biological rhythms including circadian rhythm

• Relieving muscle tension and headache

• Reducing jet lag

• Supporting adrenal health

Additional Resources || 

A Guide to Walking Meditation by Thich Nhat Hanh

Instructions for Walking Meditation adapted from a talk by Gil Fronsdal, December 1st, 2003 from the Insight Meditation Society

How to Get Healthy While You Sleep a great article by Wellness Mama

Earthing: The Most Important Health Discovery Ever? By Clinton Ober

Photo by Death to the Stock