Welcome to the second session of the Smart Body Green Mindfulness Program.
This session is all about learning how to ground and center yourself in the midst of turbulent emotions.
Grounding and centering can also help you during a healing crisis.
Learning how to do this can really help you focus your mind on what you need to do to heal.
The healing journey can be difficult,
No matter what stage of the healing process you are in.
With it comes turbulent emotions,
Those strong emotions that we tend to be a little uncomfortable with.
Learning with strong emotions in a non-reactive way can be challenging.
It is obviously much easier to deal with happy emotions like excitement,
Love,
Or joy.
It is not fun experiencing those negative emotions like bitterness,
Anger,
Or emotional pain.
We tend to try and escape from stronger negative emotions by pushing the emotions away or trying to ignore them.
Unfortunately,
The longer you ignore these strong emotions or try and repress them,
The more powerful they become.
Grounding is a powerful technique because it helps you connect with the earth.
When you ground yourself either by walking outside and physically connecting to the earth or through visualization,
You replenish your energy.
Grounding can also make you feel safe and secure.
Not being grounded can make you feel scattered and distracted.
This may also cause you to ruminate or focus on negative things.
Grounding yourself can help you center your energy and bring you into a state of peace and calm,
Which is very helpful during the healing process.
Let's try it now.
Find a comfortable position.
If you are sitting,
Sit with your back straight.
Gently close your eyes.
Focus on your breath.
Feel into this place in time,
Into this moment.
Pay attention to the rise and fall of your abdomen as you breathe in and out.
Keep breathing in and out and releasing any anxiety you may feel.
Try and follow the flow of the breath as you breathe gently.
Notice how seamless the process of breathing is.
Breathing the breath slowly and fully.
Grounding helps you root yourself into the present moment.
It is a process that helps your physical body connect to the life-sustaining energy that comes from the earth.
It's a simple technique,
But a powerful one.
With that next deep breath,
Bring your attention to the base of your spine as you breathe deeply and fully.
Imagine you have roots or thick cords coming out of your feet.
Imagine your feet planted firmly on the ground.
Feel some sense of connection to the earth.
With each breath,
Imagine extending these roots deep down into the earth.
See these cords or roots coming out of the bottoms of your feet and moving down through the floor and into the earth.
Imagine these roots growing and growing.
Imagine them moving down through the grass and down into the rich,
Dark soil.
With each deep breath,
Try and open up your energy and your body to the energy coming from the earth.
Notice how secure this makes you feel.
Drink in this powerful,
Strong energy.
Let any negative energy travel down into the earth.
Use this time to gently observe.
Notice your emotions.
Notice how things calm and go.
Notice how everything is impermanent.
If you feel any anxiety,
Let that anxiety travel down through those roots and into the earth.
Let the earth's energy transmute this energy into something positive.
And if you feel restless,
Just sit with that feeling for a while.
Notice how it feels to ride the rapids of emotions.
When you feel that you've had enough,
Gently let the feeling go and let the earth transmute it.
Now gently observe and see if you notice any other strong emotions or feelings.
If you do,
Gently acknowledge them and let it go.
If you don't notice anything,
That's okay.
Sit in the peace and the quiet.
Keep connecting with the powerful energy of the earth.
Practice observing the stream of emotions without getting lost in them.
If you experience anxiety,
Sit with the anxiety and see if you can tell where it is coming from.
If you experience anger,
Sit with it and acknowledge it.
You could even speak to it by saying something like,
Okay,
I feel angry,
But I can let that feeling go.
Or something like,
I acknowledge my anger and it's okay.
Just notice whatever comes and goes.
Notice how everything is always changing.
Everything comes and goes.
Nothing stays around forever.
If you simply choose to acknowledge its presence and give it some space,
Take one more moment to sit with your feelings,
Whatever they may be.
Let any negative feelings wash away into the earth.
Let the earth's energy replenish your energy.
Now bring yourself back to a place of peace and serenity.
And as you approach the end of the practice,
Stretch your body and open the eyes.
Welcome back.
I hope you enjoyed grounding and centering your energy.
In the next session,
We'll be doing a quick body scan.
Thanks for joining me today.
