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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

  • Going Grounded (not postal) at the Post Office

    We teach kids and teens how to find humor in every day life and how awareness leads to amusement in even the most mundane places. This event took place this morning and it’s what I taught in my Grounded class this afternoon. I shared the story, taught the poses and we had an awesome, authentic experience. The kids were inspired to write down their own personal stories and the poses that prepared them to handle real life with ease. They loved using the pose stickers to illustrate their writing. Find all the details about these poses and more in our box of 84 Grounded Elevator Series Pose Cards. Enjoy!

  • OM is a Magic Word

    We chant OM in order to ground our energy in the present moment. When teaching kids who are brand new to yoga, I am determined to invite them into the wondrous world of all that is yoga without pushing them into a place of spooky sounds, weird ways and stuff completely unrelated to anything they’ve ever known. This mantra is a mode of transportation from where we were in our individual lives moments ago to where we are now – together in yoga

  • Snow White and the Seven Chakras

    (Inspired by Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra Chapter II, v. 42
    samtosad anuttamah sukhalabhah)
    From contentment,
    Highest happiness is obtained
    Snow White’s Seven Dwarfs
    Are invited to explain….
    Consider us each a chakra
    An energy gate of sorts
    That we open, clean and balance
    For optimal support.
    Work on passing through
    The seven chakras {or gates}
    In order to visit the underworld
    And ascend to blissful states.
    Let’s begin in MOUNTAIN with SLEEPY,
    Awaken abundant roots.
    Stand with both feet straight
    Ground heavy in your boots.
    Each time you inhale,
    Think, I HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE HERE.
    Each time you exhale,
    Root your feet a little deeper.
    Reach up high with outstretched hands
    FORWARD FOLD and touch the ground.
    Prepare to balance GRUMPY
    Who needs some healthy bounds.
    Whenever you breathe in,
    Think, I HAVE THE RIGHT TO FEEL.
    Each time you breathe out,
    Circle your hips like a water wheel.
    Step your right foot back
    Into a STRAIGHT LEG LUNGE
    Here we balance DOPEY
    Soak up power, like a sponge.
    Each time you take breath in,
    Think, I HAVE THE RIGHT TO ACT.
    Each time you release breath out,
    Stretch your belly with great tact.
    Step your left foot back
    Press hips up into DOWNWARD DOG
    Open up to HAPPY
    Melt your heart free from smog.
    Receive your in breath and
    Think, I HAVE THE RIGHT TO LOVE.
    Give your breath out
    Feel Unworthiness? Get RID of!
    Shift forward into PLANK
    So BASHFUL can get clear.
    Soften your throat back
    And open up your ears.
    Each time you breathe in
    Think, I HAVE THE RIGHT TO SPEAK WORDS.
    Each time you breathe out
    Say, I HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE HEARD.
    Lower knees, chest and chin
    GRATITUDE for SNEEZY’s insight and vision.
    Draw back of eyes toward back of head
    To focus on decisions.
    Each breath in
    Think, I HAVE THE RIGHT TO SEE.
    Each breath out
    Cross your eyes to a degree.
    Stretch your crown forward and up
    To balance DOC in SNAKE
    Straighten legs behind you,
    Connect to what’s awake.
    Each time you breathe in
    Think, I HAVE THE RIGHT TO KNOW
    Each time you breathe out
    Stretch from head to toe.
    Lower back down
    Prepare to pose in reverse
    Remember your rights
    Remember to immerse.
    SNAKE back to GRATITUDE
    Breathe into your poses
    Up PLANK to DOWN DOG
    Your rights are like roses.
    STRAIGHT LEG LUNGE to FORWARD FOLD
    And back up to MOUNTAIN
    Keep moving and grooving
    Till your rights flow like fountains.
    When we know our rights,
    And pass through chakra gates~
    We develop a sense of contentment
    And more deeply relate.
    Happiness is indeed obtainable.
    When we follow the path of contentment
    Accept the ups and the downs
    of our very own presentment.
    May we be content with GRUMPY work
    Or no work at all~
    DOPEY or HAPPY states
    BASHFUL or baseball.
    May we be content when SLEEPY
    Or wide awake~
    SNEEZY or Doc
    It’s our right~For Goodness Sake!