groundedCOMIC

Grounded Defined

Through our programs, we endeavor to “ground” kids, teens, and adults via yoga, laughter, and elevation.  But what exactly does it mean to be grounded?  By formal definition courtesy of the Merriam-Webster on-line dictionary….

grounded [ˈgraʊndɪd]

adj

sensible and down-to-earth; having one’s feet on the ground: mentally and emotionally stable : admirably sensible, realistic, and unpretentious

By empowering kids and teens with the positive aspects of yoga (mind-body awareness, searching for the good in all things, moving with their breath, etc) we aim to heighten or elevate their sense of who they are so they can become more stable physically, mentally, and emotionally.  Being grounded brings us back to balanced working order, the way nature intended us to be. When grounded, we know where we belong in ourselves, the earth and in relation to others. We offer you a supported opportunity to ground yourself so that you may teach others how to cultivate this quality.

Depending on the context, grounded has come to mean different things….

From an architectural or building perspective, grounded is defined as:

1. To lay, set, or run, on the ground.

In construction, a house is only as strong as the foundation upon which it is built. The leveling of the plot, followed by the laying of wooden forms along the ground for which concrete footings can be laid, are the first indications that a house is being built. Likewise, the first principle with all of our Grounded programs is to set the foundation. Even before we open to Grace we take the time to align whatever parts of our body is on the ground. Connect your legs, your nervous system to the earth. If we do not do this, we will be without roots and lack the stability necessary for true growth.

From a philosophical perspective, grounded is defined as:

2. To found; to fix or set, as on a foundation, reason, or principle; to furnish a ground for; to fix firmly.

” …. that you being rooted and grounded in love. ” — Ephesians 3:17

That’s what we work on.  Get Grounded in love.  Get Grounded in a particular skill.   Embody your deep talents.  Hold your Ground in a difficult situation. When you are disrespectful, scattered and careless you are UN-Grounded.  You lose your center, fly off the handle, get swept off your feet, or daydream in a fantasy world. Your attention wonders. You need to get grounded, breathe deeply and take the time to look inside your self. The more grounded we are, the more we respond to life from within rather than react to external events.  We know we are part of a larger, natural world. We sense our connections with others.

From aviation perspective, grounded is defined as:

3. Prohibit or prevent (a pilot or an aircraft) from flying.

We Ground planes in order to protect the flying public, to allow for inspections to occur, to have time to make any necessary repairs and to maintain the planes in safe, working order. We do the same with our bodies and minds.

And lastly, from an electrical perspective, grounded is defined as:

4. (Elec.) To connect with the ground so as to make the earth a part of an electrical circuit.

Like any receiver, we need to plug it in before we can safely receive the various frequencies. Grounding is the process of plugging ourselves into the Earth and the world.  Grounding kids and teens is similar to grounding outlets. If your outlet doesn’t have three prongs like this, it’s not grounded. Your child needs to have three “prongs” connected; his voice, his heart, and his feet.

Though there are multiple meanings for the word “grounded”, they all in one way or another are in alignment and relative to the goals of our Grounded program.  Ground is home. It’s familiar, safe, and secure. It has a power of it’s own. Like Dorothy in the Wizard of OZ says, “There’s no place like home.”  She was grounded in her quest to get back to Kansas. She rescues herself and her companions instead of waiting around for a prince.   So click your heels and Ground yourself in love and compassion. Getting Grounded is the gateway to freedom. Look down where your feet meet your path.  Follow your own yellow brick road. And on your journey, always Ground your shoulder blades into your heart.

www.toothpastefordinner.com

More to Explore

  • Our Grounded Teen Poet

    Jordan Schuster (13 year old Grounded Teen) found yoga when she started middle school. She has continued her study of yoga over the years completing her Grounded Teacher Training and obtaining her Green Bandana. She is dedicated to her Grounded Teen and Adult yoga classes. She helped write the “Grounded in the Courtroom” video and…

  • Inspired by the Velveteen Rabbit…How Teachers Become Real.

    horse

    The Skin Horse had lived longer in the nursery than any of the others. He was so old that his brown coat was bald in patches and showed the seams underneath, and most of the hairs in his tail had been pulled out to string bead necklaces. He was wise, for he had seen a long succession of mechanical toys arrive to boast and swagger, and by-and-by break their mainsprings and pass away, and he knew that they were only toys, and would never turn into anything else. For nursery magic is very strange and wonderful, and only those playthings that are old and wise and experienced like the Skin Horse understand all about it.

    “What is REAL?” asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. “Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?”

    “Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. “It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.”

    “Does it hurt?” asked the Rabbit.

    “Sometimes,” said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. “When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.”

    “Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,” he asked, “or bit by bit?”

    “It doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”

    “I suppose you are real?” said the Rabbit. And then he wished he had not said it, for he thought the Skin Horse might be sensitive.

    But the Skin Horse only smiled

    –  From the Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams  –

  • Namaste

    Namaste

    Said my young friend who wants a connection:
    “I wave. I shake hands, with no objection.
    No pain, no remorse, no one intervening
    a choice I make without much thought or meaning~”

    “…Is there a gesture that honors each other?
    That celebrates greeting sisters and brothers?
    Can you show me HOW to express happiness
    with social and spiritual significance?”

    YES, my dear friend, I can show you a mudra~
    a gesture of sorts, for kings, friends and sudras.
    Place hands together from fingers to wrists~
    like a knife, cut through difference that may exist.

    This immediately gets you to the shared ground~
    of ALL people, of all cultures, of all sound.
    It’s a recognition, a united force~
    that honors equality of all from the Source.

    Close your eyes and tune into your own inner light;
    your divine spark that forever burns bright.
    That’s the key, my dear friend, you must see your OWN
    in order to recognize others’ light shown.

    BLEND your five fingers of action on the left~
    with five fingers of knowledge on the right~
    to achieve the symbol of perfection
    the union of opposites; interconnection.
    FInd the Connection of your brain and your heart;
    your sun and your moon; your stop and your start.
    Marry together reason and emotion~
    unite thoughts and feelings, stillness and motion.

    Join positive and negative; hot and cold~
    theory with practice, silver with gold~
    Wisdom with Method, intellect with instinct~
    talent with genius, and feelings with think!

    Exhalation and inhalation, ,brain and heart~
    Align in harmony, right from the start!
    There is indeed no sphere of our existence
    untouched by the symbolic significance~

    of Namaste~

    Namaste

  • Belmont Abbey College RA’s Get Grounded

    IMG_8508.JPG.scaled1000The week before college life officially started at Belmont Abbey College, the Student Life department held one of its biggest and most important trainings of the year for its Resident Assistants. “RA’s” are some of the most influential student employees on campus. They represent the college in helping new students settle into resident hall life, assist in planning social events, lead discussions, report maintenance concerns, serve as a resource to campus information, lend a listening ear and comforting shoulder to cry on, perform room checks, work in the hall office and much more.

    Needless to say, the RA position entails a great deal of responsibility, but these students are ready and capable of giving even more light and love back to those they serve. With all of the trainings, seminars and long check-lists to prepare the resident halls for new student orientation, the RA’s wanted one more important thing to prepare them for this celebratory new year of college. . . to get GROUNDED!