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Grounded….an Adjective, a Noun, a Verb…Redefining for Real

Illustration of a child standing in mountain pose with hands at the heart

Can getting grounded bring me back to balanced working order, the way nature intended me to be?

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) defines GROUNDED as
mentally and emotionally stable: admirably sensible, realistic, and unpretentious

grounded [?gra?nd?d]
adj
sensible and down-to-earth; having one’s feet on the ground

I do aim to know where I belong in myself, the earth and in relation to others. I do want to be more mentally and emotionally (as well as physically and spirituality) stable.

I do not aim to be admirably sensible, realistic, and unpretentious.

Ground \Ground\ (ground), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Grounded; p. pr. & vb. n. Grounding.]

1. To lay, set, or run, on the ground.
2. To found; to fix or set, as on a foundation, reason, or principle; to furnish a ground for; to fix firmly.
Being rooted and grounded in love. –Eph. iii. 17.
3. To instruct in elements or first principles.
4. (Elec.) To connect with the ground so as to make the earth a part of an electrical circuit.

I do aim to lay, set or run on the ground. Bare footed on red clay ground in Georgia grounds me.

I do not aim to be fixed firmly into any strand of reason.

I do aim to be rooted and grounded in love and to connect with the ground as part of my electrical circuit.

Here’s one of my actions to ground:

Drawing of a child with spiky red hair, a yellow shirt and red pants in Just Breathe pose, sitting cross-legged with hands resting on the knees and eyes closed.

I tune in.

I align whatever parts of my body are on the Ground. I connect my legs, my nervous system to the earth.

I inspect for any necessary repairs.

I close my eyes, connect with my breath and remember….

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 can do the same with our bodies.

Like any receiver I need to plug it in before I can receive the various frequencies. Grounding is the process of plugging ourselves into the earth and the world.

Ground is home. It’s familiar, safe, and secure. It has a power of its own. Like Dorothy in the Wizard of OZ says, “There’s no place like home.”

Drawing of a child with spiky red hair, a yellow shirt and red shorts in Get Up Pose, squatting on the toes with knees wide and fingertips on the floor.

So I click my heels in  Get Up Pose ( from Kundalini’s Frog Pose) and keep them together and lifted while I practice 26, 54, or 108 of these until I feel ready to follow my own yellow brick road.

How do YOU Ground?

More to Explore

  • Shames, Shames, Go Away! And Don’t Come Back Another Day!

    Inspired by Yoga Sutra 2.16 Heyam dukham anagatam
    Avoidable is the suffering
    that has not yet to come~
    That feeling of shame
    That sticks like chewed gum.
    How do we get through places
    That are stuck deep inside?
    Where the holdings, the collections
    The patterns reside?
    The patterns of feeding
    Our suction cupped shames~
    With secrets and silence
    And judgements and blames.
    Attract the energy of movement~
    And comfort with movement~
    Comfort with change~
    Comfort with improvement.
    Create space between impulse
    And action that binds~
    The stuck feelings that resists
    Our meetings of minds.
    Space is the experience
    Of minds open and bright
    The Wisdom of Grace
    Is filled up with light.
    Grace is the knowing
    Our mistakes serve an aim~
    Instead of allowing
    Our mistakes to serve shame.
    So to prevent future suffering~
    And the feeding of shames~
    Create a steady practice
    Of breath work and aims.
    Here’s a mantra for you
    To embody and embed~
    Press thumb into each finger
    And say in your head~
    {I inhale to prepare~
    I exhale to share~
    I inhale to release blame~
    I exhale to transform shame~*}
    {Repeat 11 times}~
    Keep your sitting bones rooted.
    Slowly rotate your core ~
    Counterclockwise 3 rounds
    Your breath? Don’t ignore!
    Inhale going backwards,
    Exhale going forward .
    Your movements ride on your
    breath~
    It’s pretty straight forward.
    Pause and move clockwise.
    Repeat 11 times.
    Close eyes and listen.
    To your heart beat like chimes.
    Find someone you know,
    You love and you trust
    Show them your shames
    And watch your blames turn to dust.
    May we have what it takes
    To transform all our shames~
    To allow our mistakes
    To serve our Great Aim~

  • Moving on….

    Our children have an opinion and I feel it is important for them to be heard. In my classes I welcome discussion and I let my students know that their opinions matter. Yesterday’s classes were magically healing. My Thursday morning class at LEAD Homeschool in Avondale Estates started off the day with heart opening poses…

  • How To Focus In School

    I was diagnosed with ADHD in 1977. Everything about my struggles in school and life in general motivated me to become a school teacher and later create Grounded Kids yoga. Kids with ADHD often feel like something is inherently wrong with them and I was no different. Words like “immature,” “hyper active,” “attention seeker” and…

  • Stop Foot, Go Foot

    Dr. Suess’s “The FOOT Book” is a delightful tribute to the diverse and multifaceted world of feet. In honor of his fun and quirky rhymes, I have put my best foot forward here, in a whimsical approach to show how to work your feet. When you keep your feet in line, you will stay in line. Clearly listen to your feet and discover where they tend to go. Do they turn out or in? Are they crooked? Do you tend to have low back pain or knee pain? Often this can be traced to your feet.
    When you have clarity in your feet, your life will be sweet.
    As Abraham Lincoln said “Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.”