Making Time for Grounding
I am writing from a small cabin in the Colorado mountains. In the hottest part of summer for the past two years, I have spent a few days in this same place and have left knowing myself a little bit better and feeling grounded.
This year, for just a few days, my calendar is clear. There is nowhere I have had to be and nothing I have had to do. Nature surrounds me: big blue skies, sounds of water trickling in the stream and feeling the resilient strength of trees. Nature calms and informs me. I've listened to Dolly's "Light of a Clear Blue Morning" numerous times as I've reflected on her life. Music that inspires me.
I still have people I care about and want to be with. I still enjoy my work as a coach (and I don't think I will ever want to stop supporting others!). I still have responsibilities. But I am becoming more aware that I need time to recharge: to be creative, to think, and to "be" — away from the norm of everyday life.
I need time for grounding. Grounding is the practice of connecting with the present moment and with what is real and tangible around us. It brings our attention out of our heads and back into our bodies, our surroundings, and this current moment. At least, that's the way it works for me.
However, moments of grounding do not require a vacation, a quiet house, or an empty calendar. It can happen in the middle of an ordinary Tuesday.
One of my favorite everyday grounding practices takes less than 30 seconds. Here's how the tool can be used:
Notice where you may be holding stress in your body. If you can, close your eyes.
Scrunch up and wiggle your toes. Really notice them. Did you even know you had toes until this moment?
Now imagine placing your toes somewhere you love to be.
Feel that place.
Move your toes in that favorite place.
Then use all five senses: What do you see? Smell? Feel? Hear? Taste?
Open your eyes and notice how your body now feels. Is there a difference? What has changed?
After using this tool in sessions, I've watched clients smile. Their shoulders drop. Their breathing slows. Their perspective shifts. Clients have told me they have placed their toes on the sidewalk of a busy city, in sand at the beach, or tucked into their own beds.
All of this change happens in about 30 seconds.
You might try doing this exercise sitting in your car before picking up the kids, standing in line at the grocery store, between meetings at your desk, waiting for an appointment, or lying awake at night.
Grounding doesn't make the difficult thing disappear. It gives us distance from it. It interrupts our rumination and brings us back to ourselves. Sometimes that is where we remember what matters, where hope returns and where we find the courage to move forward.
If you'd like to practice this grounding tool together, work with other tools, gain other skills or simply explore what you need in this season of your life, let me know. We can start right where you are and determine what's possible from here.
What helps you feel grounded when life begins to feel like too much?
Where might you create a little space to notice, breathe, and choose what comes next?
In your corner,
Linda
PS: Perhaps you have missed my last few blogs. You can always catch up with them on my Substack page or on my website. I also encourage you to subscribe to my free Substack page. Thank you!
P.P.S: I’m always grateful to hear how this work continues to make a difference. A recent client shared:
"I have reached a lot of the goals I set out to achieve and Linda had prepared me with the tools to keep growing and working on myself and my goals. She was a fantastic coach!"
