What is Grounding and Centering? How-Tos and Methods
Centering is about balancing and stabilizing the body and mind's energy along with narrowing your focus.
Grounding is bonding and exchanging energy with different elements, however to many practitioners traditionally that element is typically earth. As somebody however who worked/works with a multi-faceted deity for many years, many things can be multi-faceted a lot like grounding.
For example within DBT therapy grounding is bringing yourself into the here and now by honing in on the five senses. Connecting both yourself and your immediate surroundings within the present. For examples box breathing and pain relief exercises medically.
Grounding for me personally is stabilizing one's energy, by reclaiming it from the universe or by drawing from the elements around me. As someone with chronic fatigue I need to borrow energy for spellwork so I become less fatigued after and Earth is a great neutral resource and element.
Grounding and meditation typically go hand in hand here.
While personally Centering is about balancing the body, the mind and narrowing my focus within my intentions for the act of entering into a certain brainwave state so I can enter spellwork or manifestation.
In another post, we will go into brainwave states, altered states of consciousness and what they can do for your spellwork from a chaos magic perspective.
Now let's get into some centering and grounding methods.
Centering
Method 1 - Energetic Center Visualization:
Closing your eyes, visualize this glowing light. It can be any colour in your core. Now, your core can be anywhere along your body, from your heart center to your sacral, stomach, and third eye. Wherever feels the most right to you.
Visualize it growing brighter and becoming the center of your being. Gently pushing and pulling your energy.
As you breathe in, feel this light expand and fill your entire body. Filling you with peace and a sense of wholeness.
Method 2 - Breathwork with the elements:
You can do whatever feels more natural within your breathwork, like adding the element of spirit, for example.
Go to an area where you won't be disturbed for a while.
Getting in a comfortable position, usually sitting, is recommended because you could fall asleep. However, lying down is fine if you have a back injury like I do or sitting is uncomfortable.
Inhale through your nose for a long, steady breath to the count of four while keeping track of each number of elements Earth, Air, Fire, Water.
Hold that breath while repeating over Earth, Air, Fire, and Water.
Exhale through your mouth, long and steady to the beat of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water.
Hold your lungs empty on the count of four Earth, Air, Fire, Water.
Repeat however long you feel necessary after it instills feelings of calm and relaxation.
Method 3 - Moving the body
Another method is movement. Movement helps us center ourselves. Exercise, stretching, dancing, hiking, etc. Not only is it spiritually healthy, it is physically healthy. It brings us back into balance when we get our bodies moving.
If you struggle with disabilities, stretching to the best of your ability can be enough. If you are in a wheelchair, for example, you can do upper body stretches like desk stretching and artist stretches if you are able to move your upper body. However, if you are not able to do this as easily, that’s alright. You can use other methods, and you will not be left out.
Grounding
Method 1 - Earth Grounding
Some visualization is needed for this method, however, I personally have trouble with seeing with visualization so I find myself directing myself with inner thoughts to go along with it.
Go to an area where you won't be disturbed for a while.
Getting in a comfortable position usually sitting is recommended because you could fall asleep. However, if you have a back injury like I do or sitting just is not comfortable, laying down is fine.
Let yourself fall into a natural breathing pattern. In and out, calm as possible. You can incorporate regular box breathing here if needed.
You are going to want to visualize a cord coming from the center of your being. For some people, this is from the base of their tailbone, bellybutton or heart. This cord travelling down deep into the earth, either spreading out like roots or wrapping around the earth's core.
Now what I like to do is shed down this cord any sort of gross gunk-like energy to return to the earth to be recycled. Especially energy that's not mine.
I visualize/tell this energy to move down the cords and spread back into the earth to be recycled. If I am recycling my own energy I let that energy sit for a minute with the earth, invite it back up after it is renewed back into the core of my being. You never want to personally lose your own energy as it can leave you fatigued.
This is your option to also borrow some energy if needed. Always remember to thank the earth for its generosity. You can also leave an offering for it later if you choose.
Now once you have finished remember to retract that cord and you are done.
There are so many different ways you can ground. You can ground using terrestrial energy by expanding your roots to underground caves with crystals, pockets of air, water, and lava, all for elemental work. You can even go upwards into solar energies, connecting with the cosmos. The possibilities are endless.
Blessings!
Need to find all of my posts in one place? Check out the Masterpost
Updated 3/12/24
37 notes
·
View notes
Tips & Tools for Releasing Stored Trauma in Your Body
🌻Somatic Experiencing: Developed by Dr. Peter Levine, Somatic Experiencing can release trauma locked in the body. This method is the result of a combination of stress physiology, psychology, neuroscience, medical biophysics and indigenous healing practices. (Videos on youtube)
🌻Mindfulness and Movements: going for a walk, bike ride, Boxing, Martial arts, yoga (or trauma-informed yoga), or dancing. People who get into martial arts or boxing are often those who were traumatized in the past. They’re carrying a lot of anger and fighting is a great release for them. Exercise helps your body burn off adrenaline, release endorphins, calm your nervous system, and relieve stress.
Release Trapped Emotions:
🍀How to release anger from the body - somatic healing tool
🍀Somatic Exercises for ANGER: Release Anger in Under 5 Minutes
🍀Youtube Playlist: Trauma Healing, Somatic Therapy, Self Havening, Nervous system regulation
🌻 Havening Technique is a somatosensory self-comforting therapy to change the brain to de-traumatize the memory and remove its negative effects from our psyche and body. It has a calming effect on the Amygdala and the Limbic system. 🌼Exercise: Havening Technique for Rapid Stress & Anxiety Relief 🌼Exercise: Self-Havening with nature ambience to let go of painful feelings 🌼Video: Using Havening Techniques to rapidly erase a traumatic memory (Certified Practitioner guides them through a healing session)
🌻Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a psychotherapy technique often used to treat anxiety and PTSD. It incorporates rhythmic eye movements while recalling traumatic experiences. This combo changes how the memory is stored in the brain and allow you to process the trauma fully.
🌻Sound & Vibrational Healing: Sound healing has become all the rage in the health and wellness world. It involves using the power of vibration – from tuning forks, singing bowls, or gongs – to relax the mind and body.
🌻Breathwork is an intentional method of breathing that helps your body relax by bypassing your conscious mind. Trauma can overstimulate the body’s sympathetic nervous system (aka your body’s ‘fight-or-flight’ response). Breathwork settles it down.
Informative videos & Experts on Attachment style healing:
🌼Dr Kim Sage, licensed psychologist
🌼Dr. Nicole LePera (theholisticpsychologist)
🌼Briana MacWilliam
🌼Candace van Dell
🌼Heidi Priebe
Other informative Videos on Trauma:
🌻Small traumas in a "normal" family and attachment: Gabor Maté - The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture
🌻Uncovering Triggers and Pattern for Healing: Dr Gabor Maté
🌻Understanding trapped emotions in the body and footage of how wild animals release trauma
Article: How Trauma Is Stored in the Body (+ How to Release It)
Article: 20 self-care practices for complex trauma survivors
98 notes
·
View notes
Hey there, lovely folk 👋
Welcome back to Mindful Mondays!
Whether you’re decompressing from festive stress or meditating your way through the winter days, we’re here for you. And the good news is we are creeping every-closer towards the new year, which means a new start, and that bit closer to warm, sunny weather. We can’t wait. ☀️
And if that feels like a long long time, we’ve got something to help you make the best of these winter days: introducing, Breathwork to Connect to Nature Meditation! 🏞️ Nothing helps body and soul reset like time spent in the beauty and wonder of nature, and here on Tumblr Live, we are bringing it straight to you with this calming meditation. Whether it’s complimenting your winter days, or helping you make it through, there’s nothing to lose and everything to gain.
And we’ve got the perfect guide, too. Meet Liana! She is a rainforest vine that is rooted in the Earth and uses trees to climb to the light, and she wants to help you to do the same. Liana acts as a vine for divine energy to work through her to align others with a higher vibrational state. As an energy worker, she is a certified White Light Reiki Expert Practitioner and VortexHealing® Practitioner. Liana utilizes gentle breath work, vocal toning, cacao, and mindfulness meditation in her practice to silence the mind and induce a transcendent state. She knows her stuff, too: she regularly leads energy healing events in NYC and sees clients out of her home office in Brooklyn. This incredible work has been work has been featured in Essence Magazine, Sheen Magazine, Yahoo Lifestyle, and Black Girl in OM. In 2017, she was listed by Essence Magazine as one of the “Self-Care Sistahs That Helped Redefine Wellness.” And she’s here to help you find a little spot of wellness and a little spot of sunshine.
We’d love it if you could join us for just ten minutes of quiet breathing here on Tumblr Live, where we are bringing nature to you.
🧘 WATCH: Nature Breathwork with Liana from HealHaus, 1/16, 10am EST 🧘
#holidayblueswithtumblr
225 notes
·
View notes