‘Grounding’ – a term you’ve probably heard before in a yoga class, but what exactly does it mean and why is it important? Well you may be surprised to know that grounding is not only a technique used just within the yoga world. Mental health professionals also recommend tips and ways to cope when you’re feeling out of touch with yourself; all aimed at redirecting our energy from heading in an upward direction, to refocus it downwards. So let’s discuss exactly what grounding is and why it is an essential tool, especially at this crazy time of year!

You’ve probably noticed yourself, when things get busy and time seems to be going quicker, we tend to spend a lot of time in our heads, turning all of our focus on anxious thoughts, worrying about what’s coming up and stressing about multiple things at once. All of our energy is going upwards. To keep us mentally balanced, we need to be directing our energy down as well – this keeps us from burning out.

It seems to happen at this time of year especially, we feel overwhelmed and exhausted from all the upcoming events and planning ahead that needs to be done that we end up feeling over exhausted and can be neglectful of ourselves. If you find this happening within yourself, try to take a few moments out of your day to practice some grounding techniques. We’ve made a list of a few simple things you can try along with some grounding yoga poses to get your energy back in balance.

Simple ways you can feel grounded

  • Going for a walk in nature – feel the sand between your toes or grass under your soles
  • Get under water – Jump in the ocean, river or into the pool
  • Enjoy a hot beverage – Simply sit, sip your drink, mindfully and presently
  • Sit on the bare ground – literally, get grounded!

3 Yoga poses for grounding

  • Feet up the wall (Viparita Karani) – Bring your sit bones to the wall, slowly and gently extend your legs up and shut down the eyes.
  • Place a bolster or pillow underneath the hips for extra support
  • Child’s pose (Balasana) – From a table top position, bring the hips down towards the heels and extend the arms forward or bring them next to the legs. Rest the forehead on the mat and shut down the eyes.
  • Rest on to a bolster for extra comfort
  • Tree pose (Vrikshasana) – From a standing position, find a drishti (point of focus) and shift the weight on to one leg, bend the other knee and draw that heel to the standing ankle. Balance here or bring the sole of the lifted leg up to rest on the inner thigh of the standing leg. Be sure to avoid sinking in to the standing hip, keep drawing the head and chest upwards while grounding down through the standing leg. Bring the hands to hearts centre or extend arms up and try to stay balanced.
  • If you need a little extra help with balance, place a block or soft block under the lifted foot

Try these simple techniques the next time you’re starting to feel overwhelmed and remember – it’s so important that we take a moment for ourselves, to recenter our energy and maintain our inner balance.