In the context of the modern world,
We are using the body while being disconnected from it.
How do we find the ground beneath us?
And what does it mean to have strong ground and to build this foundation as we move through the world?
We use the ground for stability and energy,
Learning its power and how to access it again and again.
It's how we register the real safety of embodied awareness.
Being grounded means that we feel safe and secure in our own skin and within our life.
It means that we have a stable foundation that allows us to deal with the ups and downs of life.
Staying grounded means coming to a full sense of our physical body,
Where it is,
The shape and volume it is,
Right now,
In time and space.
Our legs offer a direct route of accessing the ground through tuning into the sensations of contact between feet and the floor.
Noticing whether our legs are engaged or not,
It's an opportunity to be aware of what disengagement feels like,
Dissociation or avoidance of the world,
Or sensing into the contact a connection,
An agency that comes from inhabiting our legs.
The awareness of the movement between the two states of being is a key aspect of learning the route back into the present moment.
This gives agency and choice in how to respond to life's circumstances.
Each of us find the ground in our own rhythm,
In our own time.
Listening to our bodies over an instruction or an idea of what is right or wrong,
What looks good and what it is expected,
Is what allows us to connect to our own needs and act in line with our values,
Thus creating a space of inner trust.
Regular grounding as a practice creates an embodied awareness that leads to registering real safety in the whole mind-body.
Standing poses,
Where legs are intentionally engaged,
Needing to hold us upright,
Are supportive in feeling firmly planted,
Literally standing our ground,
Helping to foster an embodied sense of openness and presence.
Let's do a short guided practice now.
Using your visual sense,
Take a look at your legs,
Your feet,
Noticing the size and shape,
Registering that in this moment you have the agency that legs offer,
And here they are.
Gently push one foot into the floor,
Release and press into the other foot down.
And keep doing this for a couple of minutes,
Rocking from one sitting bone to another,
A gentle movement that mimics walking.
Now bring this to an end,
And I invite you to rotate the ankles both ways,
Point the toes and flex the feet,
Pushing back into the heels.
And now please stand up,
Find a posture where feet are about hip distance apart,
Hands relaxed down either side of the body.
As you do this,
Connect to the sensations of your breath,
In and out,
And what does it feel like to embody this stance?
Standing your ground,
Inhabiting the whole body.
The ground is always available,
Holding us up from below,
Gravity pulling us down.
Again and again,
Find it with your feet,
Use your mind,
Use your heart,
Use your body.
