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

 

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

  • Roadmap to Lucidity

    Or
    The map to LUCIDITY
    Inspired by Yoga Sutra 1.33 which reads:

    maitri karuna mudita upeksanam sukha duhkha punya apunya
    visayanam bhavanatah cittaprasadanam

    The map to LUCIDITY?
    YES! Have you heard?
    Takes four states to get there~
    Not that absurd.

    The first is of FRIENDSHIP
    toward those who are happy.
    Even when you feel distant,
    resistance and slappy.

    The second is of COMPASSION
    toward those in distress.
    Tough when annoyed,
    imposed on and stressed.

    The third is of JOY
    toward those who are good
    through roadblocks of useless
    and misunderstood.

    The fourth is of EQUANIMITY
    toward those who are foul
    who are lacking in virtue,
    and react with a growl.

    Here in our mapping
    Four residents are mentioned.
    How we perceive them
    Is our fierce contention.

    Our attitudes we go for
    From composure to kind~
    Get us closer to LUCIDITY
    Where we STABILIZE our mind.

    Memorize these four~
    And observe in daily life.
    During times of quiet,
    Noise, and even strife.

    So buckle up~
    And prepare for a ride~
    To align your attitude,
    And try the untried.

    Close your eyes~
    Feel the state you are in~
    Soften your heart~
    your throat, and your skin.

    Drop your breath
    right into your heart~
    It’s made up of LOVE~
    And that’s where you start.

    Inhale with the thought~
    May I be friendly~
    Exhale with the thought~
    May I give friendship.
    .

    May I be COMPASSIONATE
    with your next inhale
    May I give COMPASSION
    with your next exhale.

    Inhale with the thought~
    May I have JOY~
    Exhale with the thought~
    May I give JOY.

    May I have EQUANIMITY
    with your inhale.
    May I give CALMNESS
    with your exhale.

    When someone comes to mind
    Offer these prayers
    No matter their issues,
    Their stains, or their stares.

    May you be LOVING~
    May you be LOVED ~
    May you be PEACEFUL~
    May you give PEACE~

    Your states of envy and mean
    Get smaller each time~
    Intolerance is removed
    You get closer to SUBLIME.

    Once your mind is CLEAR,
    And you’re CENTERED and FREE
    Skillfulness in ACTION
    Will be … Will be~

  • 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

  • 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…