Welcome to this grounding meditation,
A chance to find your calm centre in this fast-paced
and overstimulating world.
It's so common today to find ourselves feeling somewhat dysregulated,
Stressed,
Hurried,
Lost in all the urgent doing and thinking.
And eventually this can lead us to a sense of overwhelm,
Exhaustion,
Shutdown even.
However you're feeling today,
A grounding practice is a lovely way to guide yourself
back to a more regulated state.
When we ground ourselves,
We drop out of the thinking mind and into the sensing body,
Into
the present moment.
We can find a much needed sense of balance,
Stability and connection.
All of which helps enormously with nervous system regulation.
So coming to the practice now and settling into a posture that honours how your body
is feeling today.
This may be sitting or lying down,
Allowing the whole back of your body to rest against
the chair or the bed.
And if you're sitting,
Having both feet planted on the floor,
Then if you feel comfortable
to closing down your eyes,
Or you can lower and soften your gaze in order to tune inwards.
Drop down into your body,
Soften,
Settle.
And become aware of all the places where your body connects with surfaces below.
Sensing the support of the chair or the bed beneath you.
Noting where your body ends and the surface begins.
Feeling the weight of your body rooting down as the ground comes up to hold you.
Supporting you at your feet,
Backs of your legs,
Bottom and across your entire back.
Feeling the ground to support and soothe the whole back of your body.
And then wandering your awareness to the front of the body.
And inviting tension to release from your face to your feet.
So thinking about the brow softening,
All the little muscles around the eyes relaxing,
The jaws slackening,
Shoulders dropping down,
And belly softening.
Taking deep,
Balancing breaths into a soft,
Relaxed belly.
And then letting the breath go.
Just attending to the breath here in the belly.
Inflating and deflating the abdomen like a balloon.
And placing a hand here if you wish to feel into this movement.
And as you rest here,
Grounded and mindfully breathing,
Just take some time to check in
on yourself,
On your state,
How you're feeling today.
Perhaps you're feeling a little stressed,
Rushed,
Agitated,
And need to unwind to down
regulate.
Or maybe you feel a bit flat,
Lackluster,
Shut down even,
And need to energize to up
regulate.
And just keeping this observation in mind for later in your practice.
Now let's take some time to truly notice the places your body connects with surfaces below.
Attending first to the feet,
Perhaps planted on the floor,
Or resting gently on the bed.
Noticing all the parts of the foot that connect with the surface below.
And how that surface feels.
Perhaps it's cool and smooth,
Or maybe warm and soft.
Do you notice any pressure?
Is it firm pressure or gentle pressure?
Maybe somewhere in between.
What other sensations dwell here at these contact points?
Perhaps some tingles.
Noticing your awareness in these sensations.
Dwelling on how it feels to be grounded here at the feet,
Anchored,
And supported to stand
tall in the world.
And now gently guiding your awareness up along the backs of your legs.
Noticing sensations at the skin level.
Perhaps the touch of clothes or furnishings.
And deeper into the legs,
Sensing that steady support of the chair or the bed.
Just observing with interest any sensations here.
Perhaps some warmth,
Gentle pressure,
Tingles or vibrations.
And noting any differences in sensations between the two legs,
The left leg and the right leg.
This simple act of perceiving allows us to really connect with the body and to anchor
ourselves in the present moment.
Next becoming aware of the seat of the body,
Grounded by the chair or the bed.
Getting into this connection.
And observing sensations.
Maybe a temperature or a particular quality of sensation.
Silently noting anything you find.
Knowing that whatever you feel or don't feel is perfectly fine.
Just curiously exploring how it feels to be connected and grounded.
Now sweeping your attention up along your spine.
Feeling the support of the chair or the bed against the whole of your back.
Noting the places that make deeper contact with that surface.
And those that connect more lightly.
Silently attending to those points of connection.
What do you feel there?
And lingering on anything you find.
Continue to breathe.
And feel the breath in the back as the ribcage expands into the surface and contracts away.
Now zooming out to become aware of the whole body,
Supported,
Held,
Grounded and connected
to something much bigger than yourself.
Resting here,
Letting the ground whisper messages to your nervous system.
Signals of stability,
Security,
Support and safety.
Slowly savouring this moment of connection with the ground,
Your body and the present
moment.
As you rest here mindfully observing,
I invite you to reflect on how you might use the ground
to support you further today,
Depending on how you feel.
If you need to unwind and down-regulate,
You can visualise your body getting heavy
and melting,
Sinking,
Relaxing into the ground below.
But if you need to energise and up-regulate,
You can gently push into each of your contact
points to enjoy more connection,
Stimulation and support.
So either softening,
Sinking,
Merging into the ground or pushing in more deeply at your
feet,
Backs of your legs,
Bottom and back.
Now gently releasing whichever practice you chose and for the last part of our meditation
I invite you to picture yourself grounded in a favourite place,
Somewhere you feel calm
and balanced,
Yet vibrant.
Perhaps by the ocean,
Deep in the forest or up in the mountains.
Picture yourself sitting or lying in this place.
Sense the ground below you,
Perhaps the touch of warm sand,
Soft grass,
A sturdy rock.
Visualise the colours of this landscape,
The lines,
The shapes,
Any objects that draw you
in.
Enjoying being grounded here for a few more moments.
Now connecting with the breath once again and on your next out-breath gently releasing
this visualisation to begin your return to your day.
So now inviting little movements back into your body,
Perhaps wiggling your fingers and
toes,
Rolling your shoulders.
You might like to stretch your arms up overhead and lengthen from fingertips to toes.
And when you are ready opening your eyes.
Thank you for your practice today.
Please know that you can return to this meditation anytime you are feeling adrift or dysregulated.
Learning to listen to your body and understand what your nervous system needs is a gift.
You can then use a somatic practice like grounding to support your nervous system to help you
return to a more regulated state.
