Grounding Practice

A simple practice that integrates some subtle movements in time with the breath, to help you settle into the moment. This is particularly useful if you are stressed and finding it hard to concentrate.

Transcript

So this is a grounding and relaxing meditation.

And today we're going to incorporate a little bit of movement in the body and syncing that with the breath.

And this can just be helpful if things are particularly stressful,

If you're finding yourself being quite distracted,

Or if you've got lots of thoughts rushing around your head,

Lots of worries,

Just connecting the mind and the body can be really helpful in getting out of that head space and just coming back to the present moment.

So we'll make a start.

Just making sure you're comfortable getting into a mindfulness position that works for you.

So it could be cross legged,

It could be sat in a chair,

It could be lying on the floor.

The instructions that I'm going to give today will be for if you're sitting down or lying down,

Ideally.

So just making sure you're comfortable and just noticing that connection you have with the earth.

So if you're seated,

Feeling that connection of your feet on the ground.

And that sense that your chair is holding you,

Supporting you in this moment,

Allowing the body to rest.

And if you're lying on the ground,

Just feeling that connection,

How the weight is distributed across the floor.

And again,

That you're fully supported in this moment,

Safe and held.

And then just starting to check in with your breath.

Not trying to change anything,

But just noticing your breathing pattern as you inhale and exhale.

And we're going to start with a little bit of movement in the feet.

So what I'd like you to do is just start lifting your toes on the inhale and lowering them down again on the exhale.

So if you're seated,

You'll be lifting your toes gently off the floor in time with your inhale and then lowering them back to the ground as you breathe out.

If you're lying down,

You'll be flexing your toes upwards as you inhale and then lowering your toes so that your feet are parallel to the floor as you exhale.

And just doing this gently in time with your own breath.

You're not trying to change anything or force anything.

And seeing if you can make this movement in the feet quite fluid so it will be quite slow considered movement.

And just seeing if you can concentrate on the breath and the movement in the toes just for now.

Letting go of any other thoughts or worries.

Just allowing yourself to be in this moment.

Just simplifying things down.

Allowing yourself permission to be here.

And then we're going to swap and move the heels instead.

So if you're in a seat,

Starting to raise the heels off the floor as you inhale and then lowering them down again as you exhale.

If you're lying down,

You can rotate your toes from left to right.

So kind of rocking the feet to the left as you inhale and then rocking them to the right as you exhale.

And this will roll the heels along the floor and you can anchor yourself to this sensation in the feet to ground you in the present moment.

With this movement you could do it in one foot,

Both feet.

You could alternate.

You can play around with what works for you and it might change during different practices depending on how easy it is for you to concentrate.

You're the expert of what works for you so play around with it if you need to.

Just focusing the attention in the heels for now,

The movement in the feet.

And again if the mind wanders,

Which it will do probably lots of times during this practice,

Just be kind to yourself.

It's what brains do.

They do get distracted and wander off.

But just seeing if it's possible to notice where the mind has gone and then just gently guide it back to this moment,

To this practice.

Just allowing yourself this space to be,

Just to simplify things down just for a few moments.

And then we're going to move on to the hands.

So for the next part of the practice I'd like you to open and close your hands in time with your breath.

So again,

Doing this at your own pace in your own time.

So as you inhale,

Opening up your hand and spreading the fingers wide.

And then as you exhale,

Curling the fingers back up into a fist.

And just repeating this in a slow,

Fluid movement.

And you could move both hands together in unison.

You could just do this with one hand or you could alternate.

Whatever works for you.

Just guiding the attention back to this practice as many times as you need to.

And each time you notice where your thoughts have gone and you bring them back to the practice,

You're strengthening your concentration,

Strengthening your mindfulness practice.

So it's all good.

And this week,

I just had you pick the Northernvind.

And then on the next exhale,

I'd like you to give your hands a rest.

And we're going to move the attention to the breath in the stomach.

So just noticing how your stomach expands as you breathe in.

And then shrinks and contracts again as you breathe out.

And just allowing that flowing movement in the stomach.

Allowing space for that breath to fill the body.

.

It's quite common for people to tense their stomachs when they're a bit stressed or preoccupied.

So if you notice there's a bit of tension there,

Just breathing into it,

Just relaxing.

Just allowing that movement of the breath.

.

But we can hold tension in varied parts of the body.

So if ever you're practising in this way and concentrating on a certain body part feels overwhelming or uncomfortable,

Then please skip it.

You can either go back to the previous or you can move to another area that you know feels safe and relaxing.

.

Now I'd like you to move your attention up to the chest area.

So in the same way as you did with the stomach,

Just noticing your rib cage and how it grows and expands as you breathe in.

Making space between your ribs.

And then shrinks and contracts again as you exhale.

And you're just relaxing into this natural movement,

Not trying to force the breath.

.

And often our attention can go to the front of the body,

But also noticing the sides and the backs of the ribs as well.

You might feel them pushing against the back of the chair or the mat on the floor.

Just connecting with that flowing natural movement.

Your body breathing for you,

Nothing you need to do.

You can just be in this moment as you are.

.

And then finally moving the attention up to the nostrils and just seeing if you can notice the sensation of the cool air entering your nostrils as you breathe in.

And then the warmer air as you breathe out.

And this is quite a subtle sensation,

So don't worry if the mind wanders.

Just see if you can bring it back.

And perhaps also checking in with the jaw while your focus is around your face.

Again,

It's quite common for people to clench their jaws if they're stressed,

So maybe just give your jaw a little bit of a wiggle.

And then just make sure there's a little bit of space between the top row of teeth and the bottom row.

.

And then for the last few moments of the practice,

Just sitting or lying.

Just checking in generally with the breath.

And just seeing how you feel after that practice.

Perhaps noticing if one part was easier than the other.

And the beauty of these movements is that you can mix it up depending on what worked for you.

And you can do a really short practice if you haven't got much time.

You could just do the hands or just do the feet or just connect with the chest.

Or if you've got more time,

You could do a longer practice,

Allowing a few more minutes for each movement.

Or if you're feeling really resourced,

Perhaps you could just concentrate on the hands for 15 minutes or longer.

So hopefully that's given you a few tools to help you ground in the present moment.

And as we come to the end of the practice,

If you start to wiggle fingers and toes.

Perhaps start to rotate ankles and wrists.

And then when you're ready,

Taking a bigger stretch and then starting to open your eyes.