If you’ve known me for a while, you know I’m a huge fan of grounding. I honestly believe it is the most crucial tool or skill in your arsenal. Because everything else is built from there: your self-care, your health, your intuition, your productivity and ability to focus. Just to name a few.
So what is grounding?
As I described it in my book Radiant:
When you spend a lot of time behind a computer, in meetings, or talking on the phone, a lot of your energy goes to your head. When you are fully centered and grounded, your energy is spread evenly throughout your physical body. When you are not, a disproportionate amount of energy is present above your shoulders.
Let’s say your head is 10% of the size of your physical body. In order for the energy to be spread evenly, your brain is entitled to 10% of your energy, maybe a little more. Of course your brain needs a lot of power to function, but I am referring to your energetic energy.
The average person will have 70% of their energy present in their head, leaving only 30% for the rest of their body. This makes most people top-heavy. When you are “in your head,” you will notice it is hard to shut down your thoughts. Likely you only use the upper half of your chest when breathing.
Take a moment to see where your breath is focused right now. Place a hand on your lower belly and one on your upper chest. Which hand moves the most when you inhale and exhale?
TIP: Ideally only your lower hand moves. Grounding will help you lower and deepen your breathing.
These are signs you are not fully grounded:
- You often have cold feet.
- You have trouble falling asleep.
- Your thoughts go a mile a minute.
- Difficulty to focus and concentrate.
- Your energy is all over the place.
- It is hard for you to sit down and do nothing.
- You have difficulty hearing your intuition.
There are more tell-tale signs and you can find the entire list (the full chapter 😉) in Radiant.
If any of these signs sound familiar, it means you are not spreading your energy evenly throughout your body. Grounding is the first thing I teach all my private clients. It is the number one foundational practice and the key to energy management.
When you’re not grounded, you won’t notice the more subtle signs of your body; telling you that you’re tired or pushing past healthy boundaries. Chances are you’re using false energy (adrenaline) to get through the day. And that’s something you’ll have to pay for later.
When you’re in your head, you won’t be able to reliably tap into your intuition either. You risk listening to your fears, dreams and ‘shoulds’ instead.
Grounding is also the fastest, most reliable way to increase your focus and concentration. With benefits like that you’d think everybody would be grounding themselves left, right and center.
TRUTH: Most people do not center themselves thoroughly enough or often enough.
Grounding is not something you can do once and be done with. It requires permanent attention. You cannot shower on Monday for the rest of the week, either. Or drink lots of water today and not need any tomorrow. Grounding has to become a daily practice. I recommend you start by grounding in the morning and every evening.
There are several ways to ground but one of the easiest is doing a specific grounding exercise. You can use one of the many complimentary grounding activations I share on Insight Timer (the world’s largest free meditation app).
When you want to take good care of yourself and grow and evolve, this is where it starts. Grounding is the basis on which you build a healthy life full of energy, so make sure you know how to ground before moving on to something else.
My next blog will take everything I just said a step further. I always try to share my own learnings and this is one of them. So keep an eye out for that next blog 😉.
Have a day full of energy and inspiration!
PS If you’re wondering whether you’re using false energy and are overexerting your body, then my Energy Balance Scan is perfect for you. It will tell you within minutes what your energy and stress level is like.
