Tips For Grounding And Reducing Anxiety

Join Carrlee for five practical tips for reducing anxiety & feeling more grounded. These tips are accessible for everyone & can be practiced anywhere, anytime. The more you practice these tips of interrupting anxiety, the more you are training your brain to shift into a higher vibration!

Transcript

Hello, Welcome. Today I wanted to share some tips about how to reduce anxiety by focusing on grounding. So typically when we experience anxiety our mind is either caught up in the future worrying about what's going to happen or caught up in the past with judgments and questioning ourselves and we're not very much focused in the present moment. So when we take time and intentionally come back to the present moment with some different tips it can help reduce that anxiety. So the first and biggest tip that I have for you is breathing. Breathing is often underestimated how powerful it is but even three big breaths stimulates our vagus nerve which activates our parasympathetic or our rest and digest nervous system. So even if things are a bit chaotic around you and you take in three big belly breaths that is enough to convey to the body I'm okay I'm gonna make it. So rather than putting us into that fight or flight response. So today I'm going to show you a breath technique called alternate nostril breathing and this is great for balancing the body because you're going to be breathing separately through the right and the left sides of the nose and when we do that helps to bring balance to our whole being, Our brain, Our body, Our mind and spirit. So that is the first technique that I'm going to show you now. So where we are just find it comfortable to see. You can let your eyes close and we're just going to cover our right nostril and begin to breathe in through the left. Cover the left, Exhale right. Breathe in right. Cover the right, Exhale left. Inhale left. Exhale right. Inhale right. Exhale left. Inhale left. Exhale right. Continue to breathe like this just for a few more moments just to get the feel of it. Continue breathing like this until you exhale onto the left side. You can release your hand, Open your eyes back up, Just take a moment to notice how you feel here. Even just a couple moments of that breathing can normally create some space in the mind. So if you're not able to do that breath, If you are out at dinner or something and you don't want to sit there and cover your nose, Another thing you can do is just belly breathing. So if you watch a baby when they breathe, When they inhale, Their belly expands and when they exhale, Their belly releases. So this is the way we're meant to breathe but a lot of times as adults we get stuck in that fight or flight response or breathing through our chest. It's as if something is chasing us that we're just we need to breathe through our chest for quickness. But if we spend all day breathing like that then our body never really gets to go into that rest and digest mode which ends up that we're overstressed, That our adrenals are working overtime, High levels of cortisol. So that is not great for the body. So what we can do is big belly breathing. So even if you are out at a restaurant or you're with a friend, You're in the car, You could just bring one hand to the belly and just start to push the belly out as you breathe. Like all the way up to the collarbones and then as you release, We'll release the chest and release the belly. Just do a few breaths like this. Put your hands on your body, See how that feels. And just let your hands release and just think about the belly pressing out as you inhale, Releasing as you exhale. So I encourage you to practice that. A great time to practice it is before bed or just anytime throughout the day. The more we can practice that in our downtime, The more useful it is when we need it in those quick heated moments. So I like to do that full belly breath and then all the way up to the chest and then all the way back down. But if you're just starting and doing just the belly breathing, You're going to do the belly breath. But if you're just starting and doing just the belly feels better, Totally fine. We can start there. So first tip is breathing. Second tip, Grounding essential oils. So any oil that comes from a tree such as black spruce or pine is going to be grounding because it's a tree, It's of the earth. So in our studio, We use local organic oils from Jessica from organic oils and I love her black spruce. It smells so good. People say it feels like you're out in the woods when you smell it. So you've been just taking three of those big full belly breaths with the essential oil. It's very grounding and calming. Your body knows that it's breathing scent that is calming and so that can help bring you back into the present moment. Another thing you can do is to carry a stone or crystal with you. So today I have black obsidian and this is a great, Any crystal that's black is a great grounding stone. But if you don't have a crystal, Even just literally picking up a rock from the ground and holding it in your hand or holding a piece of earth and just the weight of that stone is grounding for the body. So that's another tip. And then lastly is using your senses. So this is something that I teach to children, Which is also very helpful for adults as well. So using your five senses, So see, Taste, Smell, Hear, And feel. So we'll just go through those. Maybe not in that same order, But we'll start to name the things of our senses. So one thing that you see, And people do it differently. So sometimes you want to do five things that you see, Four things that you hear. You can do it like that, Or just name one for each sense. If you're feeling like you have some extra anxiety going on, Maybe name five for each of your senses. So today I'll just name one. So one thing that I can see are some yoga blocks, Blue yoga blocks. One thing that I can hear is my own voice and I can also hear some traffic going by. One thing that I can smell is some essential oil. One thing that I can taste is a coffee that I had earlier. And one thing that I can feel close against the body. Where we are, Just taking time to name five things of your senses. And you can use your hands to count. And just naming what you can notice with your senses helps bring you back into the present moment. Because you're here, You're focused in the now, You're not in the future, Even an hour from now, Or you're not in the past. You're right here in the moment using your senses. So a little review. Breathing. You can do alternate nostril breathing or just big belly breaths. Using grounding essential oils that come from trees. Using stones or crystals that are grounding for you. And then naming things that you can see and notice with your senses. And then lastly is that you can just go outside. Go outside, Be barefoot and stand on the ground. Stand on the grass, Stand on rocks, Stand on dirt, Mulch, Whatever medium is around you. Just go outside and let your feet be connected to the ground. That's one of the quickest and easiest ways that we can bring a sense of grounding to the body because the earth naturally emits negative ions that helps to purify our body. So those are your tips for today. I am sending you all love, Light and peace in this moment as you are watching this and I hope that you find these tips helpful. Thanks for being here.

Reviews

Very helpful and practical. Thank you!!