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:

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. Life Dorothy in the Wizard of OZ says, “There’s no place like home.”

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

How do YOU Ground?

More to Explore

  • The Book of Marlie

    Thank you Eight year old Marlie for presenting me with this yoga book you wrote and taught to classes in your school. I appreciate your interesting chapters~  Yoga that keeps me calm Yoga that keeps me Grounded Yoga with more than two people Yoga with two people Yoga that keeps me happy  and your very helpful notes~ Remember you will not get it the first time Breathe slowly Remember to lean  your beautifully detailed art~ and your permission to share your work on our blog~  I am grateful that you have been a grounded student for three years and you continue to serve your school with yoga.  With love, Cheryl Crawford

  • Certified to Teach Kids Yoga in Middle School

    Last night felt surreal.  I was standing in my kitchen with Lee, Amy & Cheryl when they handed me a single piece of cardstock with the words ‘Certified Grounded Teacher.’ I felt my throat clench and my heart skip a beat.  Though I have been teaching Grounded Yoga for over a year, it was this small piece of recognition that let me know that I am now officially recognized as part of one of the greatest movements of my lifetime.

    Once I received my 200hr teacher training in 2012, I had begun leading my daughter’s classes at school once a week and eventually took over the Tween class at my studio.  I pulled resources from all around- other teachers, online sites, books, games…everything I could find to help create a well-rounded class.  It was a year of growth and some things worked and some failed miserably.  What I did know was that I loved teaching children- their honesty in their bodies and mouths and they way it was starting to create a shift in their perspective. My dear friend and teacher, Lee introduced me to Grounded in early 2013 when she came home lit UP from Level 1 training.  I watched her do Go To Your Room and that’s literally ALL it took!  I knew that something special was going on with Grounded…something that hadn’t been done before…something that was about to change how the world looks at kid’s yoga.  We put a plan together to “sell” our yoga program to our school as a full-time yoga curriculum.  And it WORKED!  I decided to take the Level 1 training just after school started so we could teach the same material and use each other to bounce ideas and begin to try to understand the huge undertaking we’d just landed.

  • Sweeping Breath- Dr. Seuss Style (Siva Sutra 1.2 jnānam bandhaḥ)

    sweep-the-spineBondage and ignorance and limitation!
    Oh my!
    We contract like a sneeze~
    You want to know why?
    These are the roots of our issues,
    You see~
    Unworthiness, insecurity, feeling un-free.

    These deep darkened roots,
    known as Anava Mala,
    cloak our awareness
    like pollen all upon ‘ya.

    This pollen of unworthiness
    Helps us forget~
    How miraculous we are~
    We recoil ~we regret.

    We regret and we doubt.
    We feel separate and small.
    Our pimples and frizzes
    Keep us enthralled.

    How, do we, how do we
    How DO we re-remember?
    Our goodness, our freedom
    From here to September?

    Good question, my dear!
    So at your request~
    I’ll teach you the tools
    To elevate your quest!

    Your breath is the broom
    that sweeps away pollen,
    Shines light on the ignorance
    Which is hidden and smallen.

    Sit tall, close your eyes,
    Tune into your spine.
    Inhale your breath
    Down the left side line

    Sweep your breath out~
    On the same side,
    From bottom to top~
    Deep inside.

    Sweep your breath in,
    Down the right side this time.
    Get real close and real low~
    To release dust and grime.

    Sweep your breath out~
    From bottom to top.
    Keep sweeping your spine~
    No reason to stop!

    No reason to stop~
    Till you feel lighter and free!
    Relieved of unworthy
    Pollen and debris.

    The pollen of ignorance~
    And debris of limitation~
    Can be swept to the surface
    For expansive illumination.

    Each time we remember,
    We grow and expand~
    We become more real!
    And that is quite grand!.

  • Grounded In Fluffiness

    Three years ago…a five year old Grounded Kid said her favorite pose was “Flat Like a Pancake” it was actually not an official pose, but rather a transition from Gratitude and Snake.  To honor the wisdom and innocence of this child, we decided to make “Flat Like a Pancake” a pose that’s part of the Grounded Elevator Series.  Read on to see how to griddle some pancakes the Grounded way.

  • Unlieable

    Ben-Lee-photoUnlieable – To be filled with ones own truth, to the extent that no lies can enter ones being, either form within or without

    Meet Ben. While working on an exercise to illustrate what we stand for, Ben introduced me to a new word… unlieable.

    When I asked Ben what this word meant, he said, with complete assurance, that to be unlieable is to not lie…. Duh

  • 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…