Welcome to this short mindfulness track on being grounded.
So being grounded means being aware of your body and being aware of your existence in the present moment.
There's no worries about tomorrow,
There's no ruminating about yesterday,
There's no thinking even about today and how that timeline plays out.
There is simply this now,
This eternal present moment and making an effort to stay grounded throughout the day can help us to be fully attentive to what we're doing,
To be present for those around us and to interrupt automatic patterns of behaviour and thinking.
And this exercise is going to very literally deal with being grounded as in having your feet on the ground.
So there's no special place you need to be,
Standing where you are,
Sitting down,
It doesn't really matter.
But bring attention now to your feet.
It might help you also to take a conscious breath in through the nose and out through the mouth as you then bring your awareness to your feet.
Note how your feet are resting.
Do you have the same weight spread equally between two feet?
Are you on the ball of your foot,
On the side of your foot or is more weight on your heel?
Take a moment to mentally scan your foot,
Starting at the heel,
Moving to the sole of your foot and past the arch,
The ball of your foot,
Your toes and onto the top surface of your foot.
And again,
Take a few deep conscious breaths now as you focus your attention on your feet.
Note sensations of pressure,
Temperature,
Movement of air,
Constriction through your shoes or your socks.
Suppose you're barefooted on a carpet or on a hard tiled surface.
Pay attention to those physical sensations.
Let your breathing return to its natural rate but be aware that with each exhalation your feet relax and soften.
You might do this exercise only for 30 seconds or so but it will ground you to this present moment.
Take some time now to think about how you might remind yourself to repeat this exercise throughout your day.
Will you put notes in places where you can see them?
Will you set a reminder on your phone?
Will you identify other grounding moments?
For example,
Each time you stand up or each time you climb a set of stairs or each time you sit down.
Consider for a moment how you might remind yourself regularly throughout the day to focus your attention on your feet and become grounded in that present moment.
And with a last conscious deep breath in through the nose and out through the mouth I invite you to step forward into your day.
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