Welcome to the somatic practice of deep grounding.
You'll find this practice works best if you're sitting in an upright position,
Either on the ground or a firm chair.
Take a moment to settle,
Allowing your body to arrive here.
See if you can make some space by gently letting go of whatever tasks you've just been engaged in and remembering that whatever you have to do next can wait.
See if you can savour this little bit of time for you to be here and now.
Notice your body naturally and effortlessly start to settle just as a result of stopping and paying attention.
And see if you can just observe this settling and unwinding.
Take your time here,
There's no rush.
Bring your awareness now to the state of your body and nervous system in this moment.
What's grabbing your attention the most?
Do you feel stress and tension in your body?
If so,
Where are you noticing this tension?
Perhaps it's in your neck and shoulders,
Your chest,
Stomach,
Jaw or elsewhere.
What are the qualities of this tension?
Is it tight,
Constricted,
Buzzing,
Moving or something else?
Just notice what's there and rest your attention on whatever you're noticing.
There's no need to try and push it away or get rid of it in any way.
Just allow it and notice it.
When we are busy and moving through the world with speed,
All our energy tends to accumulate in the top half of the body around the chest,
Shoulders and head.
This energy is like coffee granules at the top of a coffee plunger.
As you gently push on the top of the plunger,
The coffee slowly moves to the bottom of the pot.
With this image in mind,
Can you invite this tension to slowly disperse,
Spreading out,
Moving down?
What do you notice as you do this?
Just allowing everything to settle.
Perhaps you notice a little bit more space in your system,
A little bit more room to breathe,
A quietening.
Bring your attention now to your hips and your pelvis.
Notice the weight as you sit on the chair.
In particular,
Notice the two bony points beneath your buttocks on each side,
Your sit bones.
Gently move around side to side on these bones and make sure you can clearly feel their presence.
Now focus all your attention on these bones.
Energy follows attention,
So really put your attention and focus on these bones,
Imagining what they might look like,
Which muscles and ligaments might be attached to these bones.
Imagine,
If you can,
What the centre of the bones look like,
Putting your attention and focus into the bone marrow.
Naturally,
Thoughts may arise.
As this happens,
Just keep bringing your attention back to the sit bones again and again,
Driving your attention right into the centre and resting here.
Now just briefly check in with the upper part of the body,
Noticing if you're still holding any stress or tension.
Whatever the level of intensity the tension may be,
See if you can match this intensity with the amount of focus you place on the sit bones.
Remember the stronger the stress and tension that's present,
The stronger you can drive your attention into these bones.
Continue resting your attention here for as long and intensely as you need.
See if you can notice what's happening in your body as you do this.
Is there more space,
More settling?
Perhaps there's an increased sense of being tethered to the ground,
A heaviness or a presence.
At this point,
You can continue to focus here for as long as your body needs,
As long as you need to feel adequately grounded.
Perhaps you can thank your body for responding and finding more ground.
