Hello and welcome to this meditation on being grounded.
This practice specifically will cultivate a sense of calmness and stability.
And there are two ways we will do this in this meditation.
On the calm side of things,
We will be watching the breath at the abdomen,
Which is sometimes utilized in Zen Buddhism,
For example,
As opposed to watching the breath at the nostril area,
Which is more emphasized in Theravada Buddhism,
For example.
When we watch the breath at the abdomen,
We will feel more calm and relaxed.
The second aspect of this practice will be focused on stability.
And we will be bringing our attention to our feet,
Which will be planted firmly on the ground in this practice.
Even in the word grounding or ground,
When we look at its root word in Old English,
Which is ground,
This means bottom,
Foundation,
Or surface of the earth.
And by focusing our attention to the point of contact where our feet presses against the earth beneath us,
And to the lower parts of our body in general,
We will start to feel more stable and rooted.
It is also for this reason that I recommend practicing barefoot,
Because you'll have more of this mind-body connection to your feet pressing against the earth beneath you.
So let's get started.
Start by finding a comfortable upright posture.
Bring your mind's eye or attention to the abdomen.
And simply notice your abdomen rise and fall as you inhale and exhale naturally.
And as you inhale,
You can aid your concentration by making a mental count of each exhale,
Counting from one to five on every exhale.
So as you inhale,
And then slowly exhale,
We'll count one in your mind as you exhale.
And then you'll inhale again,
And exhale and mentally count two until you reach the number five.
Once you've completed the round of five breaths,
Simply resume watching the breath at the abdomen,
Noticing your abdomen rise and fall as you inhale and exhale.
If your mind wanders,
Simply observe without any judgment and gently guide your attention back to the abdomen,
Noticing the rise and fall of your breath as you inhale and exhale.
Now take your attention,
Which is focused on the abdomen area,
And guide it down to the bottoms of your feet.
If you're having a challenging time feeling your feet,
You can either focus on the points in which your feet press against the ground underneath you,
Or you may ask yourself,
Without looking at my feet,
How do I know that I have feet?
And generally,
By asking this,
You'll be able to feel or sense your feet.
This may manifest as warm sensations or tingling sensations in the feet.
Bring more mindful attention to your feet now by focusing your attention on your feet.
Now begin to feel the balls of the left foot.
Start by feeling the bottoms of your left toes press against the ground beneath you.
Now begin to feel the balls of the left foot.
Start to feel the arch of your left foot.
Feel the heel of the left foot.
Now feel the entire left foot.
Bring your attention now to the right foot,
Focusing on the right toes against the floor beneath you.
Bring your attention to the balls of the right foot.
Bring your attention to the bottom of your right foot.
To the arch of the right foot.
Feel the heel of the right foot.
Feel your entire right foot.
Now feel the bottoms of both your feet,
The left foot and the right foot.
You can now also bring back focusing on the breath at the abdomen while focusing on your feet.
In this moment you have accessed two very powerful techniques of grounding yourself.
The first is by focusing on the breath at the abdomen and the second is to focus on your feet,
Which will provide you a sense of grounding and stability.
As we conclude this meditation,
Just know that at any time throughout your day you can always come back to this feeling of stability and calmness by reconnecting to your breath at the abdomen and focusing on your feet.
And you'll be rooted and grounded amidst all the different events in your life.
Thank you for practicing today.
