Grounded

Being grounded is an energetic term meaning to feel and be centred. It’s about giving your body a sense of steadiness, unflappability and a strong base. Being grounded is a state I manage to maintain a good amount of the time, but it is also something I actively have to work at – through practises like yoga and meditation.

Growing up and throughout my twenties I wasn’t very grounded. I would rush around desperately trying to get everything done but the to do list never seemed to get smaller. I was clumsy, often stubbing my toe as I ran into things and often dropping things. I was having ‘one of those days’ every day, my moods would be affected by the moods and energy of others and despite being very organised – always have been, I could be quite scattered in my approach. I thought this was just the way I was, but it’s only with hindsight I realise that I wasn’t grounded.

One of the amazing benefits of growing older is more life experience and self knowledge. I didn’t realise back then that I was an empath – I viewed my sensitivity as a weakness, a hindrance. I felt misunderstood often, and would get upset (but learned how not not show it because showing my emotions would lead to even more lack of understanding for my feelings and thus put me even farther away from the people I was trying to connect to)! Had I been grounded, I could have coped better with both my own emotions and those of others swirling around me which often had the impact of draining me of energy. I often heard the phrase “Calm down!” I wasn’t hysterical, but I have such a lust for life that I bursted with enthusiasm as I loved to connect to people and have fun – I didn’t know how to ‘contain myself’ and again, often felt like I was a problem to those who wanted to maintain order (teachers, bosses etc). I’ve heard the word “shush” more times than I care to remember and once even The Sunday Times described me as like an ‘Andrex puppy with boundless enthusiasm’ when I was on a TV show and they were preparing the weeks’ listings!

These days I have none of this. My energy is calm and centred for the most part and I believe that it is because I am grounded. Firmly rooted. What has helped is movement – being active. Getting out of my head and into my body. Movement is medicine.

For me movement could be running (I put my headphones on and crank up the beats!), spinning or my particular favourite – dance aerobics. Twice a week I do that class, and I can’t be anywhere other than in my body as I concentrate on the steps and just flow – twirling and spinning around the dance floor. It’s better than a night out! I also love yoga but I go barefoot for that. As it is important to me to look good at the gym as well as have functional and performance supporting clothes and footwear, I change my workout gear often, adding in brights and stylish pieces as I spot them, and my latest addition are these Nike Lunarglide 8 trainers (pictured).

In order to have the ground firmly beneath your feet, it is important to choose well fitting footwear that you can move freely in but will support you. It is also important to take some time to be still each day, and if you can – walking in nature helps to give you a feeling of oneness and grounding. You can view the range of trainers from Millet Sports at this link.

When you are not grounded you are emotionally vulnerable. You are not present in the ‘now’ of your life. You could be off in your head, daydreaming or just emotionally detached – a step removed from ‘everyone else’. I make being grounded a priority for me now. Ensuring that my energy is firmly planted in my body, so that I can be both more productive in my activities but also feel a sense of peace and control as I go about my day. I take a holistic approach to guide my mind and body to connect and this also helps me tap into and trust my own intuition. Stillness facilitates that.

If like me, you are affected deeply by your emotions, don’t worry too much about trying to mould yourself into what you think you ‘should’ be or the way you ‘should’ act. Ask yourself each day – ‘how do you want to feel?’ and allow yourself to be guided by that.

Do you have any activities that help to make you feel grounded? Do share in the comments, I’d love to hear what other people do to help their mind-body connection.

This post contains PR samples.