Grounding Yourself
 

Sometimes it's called reeling ourselves in. Today I learned, at VA Hospital, that in stressful situations there is a excercise called grounding yourself. What you do is sit down in a chair, hold onto chair arms. The look at the floor. Notice what type of flooring it is. Now look around the room and count the pictures. No pictures? count the windows and window panes. Now look around count the plants. This is called grounding your body. Now, you need to ground your mind. Think of a pleasent place, the plants in doctors office, got me thinking of the Land, display in Epcot, WDW. Now thing of a smell associated with this place. Oranges for me, maybe salt from the ocean. Even before a stressful situation. He suggest I do this maybe 6 or 7 times a day.
The goal is to keep yourself grounded in the moment. Not thinking about future, nor about a past event. Today, right now. How many lights in the room. Take a moment and notice others in the room. How many different colors are they wearing. In a restraunt, how many tables, what foods do you smell. I told him that at times I feel adrift, dislocated. Wondering where I'm going, thinking about where I've been. Many times missing what people say, not remembering instructions. The more we do this, not only the easier it gets but, the more we long for the moment we feel grounded. I feel this will really help with meditation. Durning meditation, my mind dosen't wander, it bounces off the walls,floor and ceiling. Don W

Don - you're beautiful.

This post was great for me to read. I struggle with feeling grounded a lot. It reminds me, too, of the wise words a sister in recovery told me during my first days of detox. I was going out of my mind and practically crawling out of my skin. She said, Where are you feet? ( Huh? Feet?!? ) Ya, your feet. Where are you feet? Look at your feet! That's where you are right now."

Well, I (finally) got it and, lemme tell you, I think I walked around for months looking only at my feet! - lol But I got through those miserable days. And I still need the reminder when my head is spinning off in 8,000 different directions.

hugs -

phinny

Don, I loved this...
Thank you..
Hopefloats

This is a valuable exercise, Don! Thanks for sharing it.
I often teach meditation to my students. They have such stressful lives all too often. This is a good exerciset to teach them too. :)
Stay in the moment!
Shalom!

Thank you for sharing. I'll be trying this exercise later today.

I too need grounding once in a while, Don, and I like your methods. I can get overwhelmed when there are too many people or too much action going on around me, and drawing my focus in to something close to me and keeping it there is sure to help me regain my balance.

Hugs
Ann

thanks for the reminder Don!!
When i was in my first treatment center i was taught to take 60 seconds...a clock 60 seconds, put both feet on the ground. If i come upon a situation that i feel out of control i can take this 60 seconds to ground myself before i make a decision. that choice, that could change my life forever.
the first time we did this i couldn't believe how long that 60 seconds actually was, is.Try it!!
the more i try to live in the moment the more i realize how often i'm not. Practice makes correction!!:)
hugs, Wendy