Getting Grounded

Riots, COVID, lonliness…. So much is happening in our world.  So much negativity.  I’ll admit, I really miss being with people.  I miss the freedom to move about, to travel, to play with my grand girls.  I am sad about the political climate in our country.  And on this gloomy winter day I miss the SUNSHINE!  
 
Luckily, I am part of a wonderful group of women who meet once a month to hike at a park somewhere in the Tri-State Area.  During COVID we social distance and wear masks, but we share time together in nature.  I find that being in nature helps me clear my mind and offers me a fresh perspective on life.  Nature grounds me.  And as my yoga students will tell you, I am a tree nut!  I love trees!!!  My favorite balance pose is tree pose.  My favorite tree is a pin oak.  They are so solid and strong with roots extending outward a great distance.  
 
In yoga we talk a lot about being grounded.  If I were to define being grounded I would say that it is feeling connected to the Earth.  It’s having quiet energy rather than flighty energy.  For example, when I was a sixth grade teacher I would feel the energy the students brought with them into the room.  It was palatable.  In order to calm them down to focus, I would ask them to place their books on the floor, put forearms on the table in front of them and close their eyes.  Simply by taking three deep breaths they calmed down…they got grounded.  I could actually feel the shift and they felt it too.  
 
I encourage you to check in with yourself to to see if you are feeling like the students…do you need to practice getting grounded?  Are you overwhelmed with isolation and COVID and politics?  Consider spending more time in nature…absorb the energy of nature, of the trees.  
​Breathe…and relax.