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Anxious, distracted, disoriented, & scattered- that’s how I tend to feel when I need to ground myself.
When our external world becomes overwhelming, over-stimulating or just challenging- it is very easy to become disconnected and taken completely away from the present moment.
That’s what grounding is all about– coming back to the present moment and feeling a balance between internal and external worlds.
Learning how to ground yourself is one of the easiest and most potent ways to align with the present and surrender to the great unique power that you are. This creates room for the abundance we all seek to come into our reality.
What exactly does it mean to “ground yourself?”
To ground yourself is to gather your (possibly fragmented) energy and root it back into the present moment on earth. It is the ultimate calm and presence. It empowers us to stay with whatever arises in our life experience, and to focus on what we CAN control- the present.
When we are grounded, we are not lost in thoughts or emotions.
When we are grounded, we are not trapped in plans or overwhelmed by to-do lists.
When we are grounded, we are not seeking control of every little thing that crosses our mind.
Rather, we are at peace regardless of the circumstances we face.
We are confident that everything we need resides in the present moment.
By grounding, we can surrender and trust that where we are is exactly where we need to be and everything is working out for the best and highest good.
We then can become a channel, bringing in our divine purpose.
That being said-
It’s not always easy to stay present and keep ourselves grounded.
But it is a practice that we can work on, and a tool for living that we can incorporate daily.
I’ve put together some tips on how to ground yourself. When needed, you can come back to this post and try them out! I incorporate most of these on a daily basis- and again, it is a practice.
Most of these will only take you a few minutes! Keep reading and see if you can find a method that serves as the easiest way to ground yourself. Then, start incorporating it into your daily routine!
Tips for How to Ground Yourself
1. “Earthing” aka Get Your Bare Feet on the Earth
Using earthing as a tool to ground yourself is biologically one of the best ways to get centered into the present moment.
What is earthing?
It’s an effective grounding technique that’s incredibly easy… put your bare feet on the earth.
Simply head outside shoes off and get your bare feet on a nice patch of grass, sand, or dirt.
Take a deep breath and envision grounding roots at the bottom of your feet, heading downwards to the center of the earth. Continue taking conscious, focused breaths- allowing earth to support you.
30 minutes is ideal, but a good 10 deep breaths will do the trick quickly.
If you can’t get outside as often as needed, or want to bring the benefits of earthing to you while you’re in the office (or even while you’re sleeping!) consider an earthing mat.
These are a great way to balance negative/positive ions and connect you with the earth when you can’t be outside or while you’re sleeping. But really, nothing beats getting outside and touching your feet to the earth.
2. Breathing Exercise
Focusing on the breath and connecting with yourself through inhaling and exhaling is a wonderful way to get grounded. There are tons of breathing exercises out there that work wonders.
For starters, try this:
Breathe in for 8 seconds (count to 8 while inhaling)
Hold breath at the top for 4 seconds
Then, slowly breathe out for 8 seconds (count to 8 while exhaling)
This breathing square is also a nice visual to guide you on a short span of focused breathing.
Anyway you put it, bringing your attention to the breath is one of the best ways to ground yourself.
I think focused breathing often gets forgotten. I even forget sometimes what a powerful tool this is. Plus- it’s free, ALWAYS available, and essentially only takes a few seconds of your attention.
Really- the breath is essentially all we are, if you want to get philosophical. So connecting to it and giving it attention can really create a powerful shift in our energy. Imagine what a peaceful world we would have if we all just remembered to breathe.
Anytime you feel stressed, scattered or nervous- take a moment to practice several focused, deep breaths.
Conscious breathing calms our nervous system and soothes the mental state- ultimately leaving us more relaxed, connected, and grounded.
3. Eat Grounding Foods
Another great practice to utilize when learning how to ground yourself is eating hearty food and root vegetables.
For example- carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes & beets are some great grounding foods to eat. Anything with deep roots or that grows under the earth is usually pretty powerful for helping you ground your energy.
Any food that is comforting and provides a connection to the earth is definitely going to help you ground yourself.
For some that’s a burger, for others a medley of root vegetables- do what’s best for you!
Important to set your intention before eating by sharing a small prayer or affirmation such as “I am thankful for this nourishing and grounding food that helps me connect with the earth and brings me back to the present moment.”
Or-
“May this food settle my anxiety and help me to center my thoughts around this present moment.”
Another great thing to do before consuming your food is along the lines of setting an intention- infuse with reiki. This ultimately is telling the universe you intend for this meal to serve your greatest good. Imagine it bringing you high frequency, soothing vibrations. Here is a quick article on how to infuse and energize your food with reiki.
4. EFT Tapping (Emotional Freedom Technique)
EFT tapping is a technique based on tapping the meridian points along the body with your hands.
Picture used with permission from Hridhaya Centre for WellbeingThese meridian points are distinguished by Traditional Chinese Medicine practice. You can learn more about the body’s meridians according to Traditional Chinese Medicine here. (These are some of the same points used in acupuncture and acupressure.)
In short, by tapping along these meridian points, you are sending positive signals to your brain and directing your energy to the present moment so you can become grounded.
Tapping also helps send signals to your brain to reduce stress and disconnection. (Let’s be real, we could all use a little stress reduction).
This is one of my favorites- it’s a powerful method to ground yourself and can be done quickly!
How to use EFT tapping to ground yourself
Tap each point shown on the image above at least 5-7 times before moving along to the next one. Repeat a few times for maximum benefit.
5. Journal
Journaling helps you to better understand yourself mentally and emotionally- which I believe leads to the ability to be grounded.
There’s a few different ways you can use journaling to ground yourself.
My personal favorite is free writing or automatic writing. Basically all this means is opening up your favorite journal or notebook, and just writing whatever is on your mind and comes out of the pen. No editing, no over thinking, no perfectionism, no goal- just write. It doesn’t even have to make sense. Think of it as unfiltered venting.
There is power in this technique because it allows you to let go of your thinking mind and get into a state of flow. This state of flow requires absolute presence. And absolute presence is essentially, grounding.
Automatic writing is also a great way to develop your intuitive or channeling abilities, but more on that later.
If you’re someone who prefers more structured writing, I totally get it. Here’s a downloadable prompt I made that you can use to journal with the focus on grounding yourself. Prompts are a great way to get started in your journaling practice too!
6. Affirmations
In a nutshell, affirmations are sentences or phrases you say to yourself to foster a positive mental attitude.
One of my favorite books, Becoming Supernatural by Joe Dispenza, explains the science behind affirmations and goes into proving how we can powerfully wire our conscious and subconscious minds to do essentially anything… of course including grounding and self-empowering.
Affirmations are such a quick and easy way to ground yourself. Not only that but they truly help shape the outcome of your day.
I try to make these a daily practice depending on what I need day to day, or moment to moment. Some days I say affirmations for positivity and productive mindset, some days I use affirmations for peace and calming, and most importantly, I use affirmations for grounding.
A few helpful grounding affirmations you can say to yourself are:
- I am present, connected and fully aware of myself and surroundings
- I have the power to be mindful and present in this moment
- I am grounded, connected and aware of my breath and mental state
- I am free to feel and release all emotions that do not serve me at this time
- I am rooted in this moment and deeply connected to the earth and its support
- I am free to release the burden of past and future worries, I am focused on my breath in this moment
- I am here in this moment for a reason
- I am grounded and peaceful
The list goes on and on, these are just a few suggestions 🙂
How to Use Affirmations
Thankfully, this is a pretty simple exercise. You can either state the affirmation aloud or quietly in your head (feel free to choose one from the bullet points above).
Repeat it a few times to really ground it in.
You can say them quietly to yourself in the mirror, aloud while you’re driving, before you finish getting ready, or silently in your head when you have an extra moment in between work.
Another great way to use affirmations, or at least be reminded of them, is to put sticky notes around where you will see them often. A couple of my favorite places to stick them are on my nightstand next to my bed, on the bathroom mirror/cabinet, on my computer or in my car.
7. Drink Water
When we’re dehydrated, its very easy to become fatigued and energetically bombarded.
Drinking water not only helps us physically, but spiritually & emotionally too. It is one of nature’s gifts that helps us to clear that which no longer serves us.
We need it to function effectively.
When we drink water, we replenish our physical body- providing the opportunity to become connected again. When you’re unsettled or disconnected, a drink of water can help you plug back in to the present and remember your humanness.
Set the intention over your water- “May this grounding water help me to clear any energy that is distracting me from the present moment. May it help calm, soothe and cool my emotional and spiritual state.”
Tip: Use the energy of the full moon to charge some of your drinking water. Simply set your glass container of water (with some type of covering to avoid contamination) outside under the moonlight. Leave it out overnight. Use the intention above to charge it with grounding energy so that you can drink it when needed. You can also place a grounding stone in the water to amplify its power. (Black Tourmaline, Shungite, Red Jasper, or Black Onyx are some of my favorites).
8. Drink Tea
If water doesn’t quite do it for you, another easy way to ground yourself is having a cup of herbal tea.
One of my favorite grounding teas is a Ginger Turmeric blend.
Not only is it tasty, but the essence of two root plants together make a wonderful remedy to soothe, calm and ground into the present moment.
Any non caffeinated herbal tea will help, as long as you set the intention of grounding before you enjoy it.
Buddha Teas have tons of high vibration teas that can assist in grounding your energy.
The Root Chakra Tea, Third Eye Tea, and the Calm Buddha Blend are all also great options for a grounding remedy!
Pique Tea also has super high quality options, but they cost a bit more! You can use code “bloom” for 5% off.
9. Essential Oils
Using essential oils is an incredible tool for SO many things, especially grounding yourself.
I love to use earthy oils for this purpose. Just a small amount on the back of the neck, bottom of the feet, or right on the wrists is super helpful for connecting to the present.
My favorite grounding oils are:
- Frankincense
- Vetiver
- Myrrh
- Lavender
- Patchouli
- Black Spruce
- Cypress
I love to use Mountain Rose Herbs, Doterra, or Plant Therapy essential oil brands. I’ve found these to be the best and highest quality.
10. Herbal Tinctures
Similar to essential oils or herbal tea- herb tinctures (or extracts) that can be ingested are helpful for grounding into the physical body.
One of my absolute favorites is Organic Olivia’s Peace Juice. (I use almost all of her herbal products on a regular basis).
Peace Juice has: (quoted from Organic Olivia Website)
“Kava Root – shown to be highly effective with good tolerability for nervousness, stress, low mood and poor sleep. Kava Root is instantly calming and comforting.”
“Passionflower – one of the few herbs that truly nourishes the adrenals after months (or a lifetime!) of stress and anxiety. Helps shutdown a racing mind and is perfect for those who feel frazzled in a chaotic environment.”
“Motherwort – classified as a nervine herb, Motherwort is often said to have a “calming energy like a big hug from mom.” Helps ground you back into your body and improves mental clarity while helping to release worries that feel “pent up” in the body.”
“Gentian Root – a bitter that helps ground you and bring you “back to Earth,” especially helpful for those who tend to mentally check out when overly stressed.”
“Wood Betony – a restorative tonic that re-establishes the structure and function of the nervous system and GI tract while helping to calm the body and mind.”
“Schisandra Berry – a unique ingredient that is famous for its quality to make you feel happy, relaxed, free, and easygoing.”
As always, please check with your doctor to make sure that herbal formulas are ok for you and won’t interfere with any current medical treatment. Herbs are medicine and should be treated as such! To be clear, I am not offering medical advice here. Simply sharing what has worked for me.
If you can only choose one herbal tincture- go for Peace Juice. Honestly, it’s incredibly gentle yet effective. It’s my go to when I need some anxiety relief or some grounding.
12. NuLeaf Naturals
If you need extra support with calming and grounding- I find this to be super helpful. You only need a small amount to benefit from it.
I take it before bed sometimes when I need help soothing anxiety or any restlessness. (Again, this is not medical advice, just sharing what works for me. Always do your own research!)
13. Bach Flower Remedy
Bach’s Rescue Remedy is a combination of 5 natural flower essences that help to promote well being and calm for stress relief- super helpful if you need some support in grounding yourself.
Flower essences are similar to herbal tinctures in the way that you ingest them. They work internally and spiritually to help relieve any anxiety or stress that is causing you to become disconnected from the present moment.
They’re fairly accessible too- worth a try!
14. Root-Visual Grounding Meditation
Meditation is a powerful tool for grounding your energy. Visualizing roots and intentionally grounding your energy downward into the earth is effective beyond measure.
This is a favorite of mine and something I do daily. All you have to do is close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, then turn inward. Follow the steps below.
- Bring your attention to your root chakra. See it glowing red in color at the base of your spine.
- Either imagine roots or a grounding cord coming out of from your root chakra.
- Allow the roots or cord to reach down into the earth- through its crust, through its layers, and finally arriving at its glowing center.
- Envision your roots plugging in to the earth’s core, or wrapping around it.
- Notice how it feels to be connected at this level.
- Allow light from several feet above your head enter into your energetic system through your crown chakra.
- Notice as the light travels downward through each chakra, and down through your roots into the earth.
- Take note of how peaceful and powerful it feels to be grounded to the earth below you, and open to the divine above you.
I like to envision a connection similar to what I saw in the movie Avatar- when they would connect with everything by bonding the end of their tail with the whatever it was they were trying to connect with.
Kind of like this. Common don’t laugh, it’s a good comparison! This is what it should feel like when we are grounded and connected to the earth.
Even if that sounds odd, it’s truly what we need to remember when we are seeking to feel grounded or connected with life.
Bonus: If you have something specific weighing on you or causing you to become ungrounded, utilize this connection to release it. Imagine that heavy energy releasing through your grounding roots and disintegrating into the earth’s core. Let it be replaced by healing light.
15. Work With Grounding Stones
Crystals are an incredible tool for grounding. My personal favorite at this moment is Shungite.
I have a small shungite pyramid that I originally bought for EMF protection, however the second I held it, I sensed its powerful grounding abilities.
Remember, you must set your intention when working with crystals. Simply purchasing one and expecting it to work won’t do.
Cleanse your stone (with smoke, water, salt, moonlight, sunlight, reiki, or however you prefer), then hold it in your hands and close your eyes.
Envision a stream of white light coming down from above and dripping through each energetic center of your being. Once connected to and filled by this light energy, ask the stone to connect with you.
From here, set your intention. Ask the stone (through quiet prayer or out loud) to assist you in grounding your energy and helping you to remain present and connected to the now.
Thank the stone for working with you, then carry it with you or place it near your work space, bed or wherever feels most useful.
Stones such as jasper, black onyx, black tourmaline and shungite are all great tools to use for grounding.
16. Body Scan
Doing a body scan will help you connect to your breath and to the physical… bringing you back to the present moment so that you may regain your grounding.
As you breathe in, imagine the breath traveling to each part of the body.
Start by focusing on your head then work your way down.
As you breathe in and out, focus and check in on the following:
- Top of Head
- Face
- Ears
- Neck
- Throat
- Shoulders
- Arms
- Hands
- Chest
- Heart
- Stomach
- Hips
- Thighs
- Knees
- Calves
- Ankles
- Feet
- Toes
- Bottoms of the feet
After your scan, take another deep breath and imagine the grounding roots we discussed earlier.
This should bring you a sense of calm and connection.
17. Go for a Walk
Getting outside into the fresh air is a wonderful way to ground and re-center yourself.
Maybe just a quick stroll around the block, or maybe you take the dog with you a do a few miles.
Whatever fits best- just do it.
Walking breaks up stagnant energy and connects us to the breath and to nature. Both of which are important for grounding!
18. Dance
Funnest for last… dance! Dancing is a wonderful way to ground yourself. It helps us to shift our energy and get out of the head and into the body!
Being in the body is necessary to be present and grounded… so, get your favorite playlist ready and just move.
Alone or with friends, in front of the mirror or eyes closed… just move your body and get grounded. Keep going until you finally disconnect from the analytical mind and allow your body to take over.
A few frequently asked questions:
What is the best way to ground yourself?
Really, there is no best way… it’s all up to you and what you prefer in the moment.
Sometimes the best way for me is to dance, other times its to quietly do some breathwork as I check in for a body scan.
It’s all up to you and the specific moment you’re experiencing. Sometimes a combination of tools is what works for you.
Its trial and error until you get to the point where its effortless to ground. Remember it’s a practice and has nothing to do with perfection!
Hopefully a few of the suggestions listed in this post will help you find your favorite way (or two) to ground yourself.
What are grounding techniques?
Grounding techniques, like listed in this post, are just ways you can utilize tools to ground yourself and come back to the present moment. They are used to collect your energy and center back into reality.
There are many different techniques you can use- trying and experimenting are the best ways to find out which techniques work best for you.
How do empaths ground themselves?
Similar to “what is the best way to ground yourself” above… this depends greatly on the individual. Many empaths share that getting outside into nature, getting barefoot on the earth, and focusing on the breath help them to feel grounded after moments of bombardment or disconnection from self.
If you’re an empath, experiment with the techniques above and find what works best for you. This could change day to day so be open to expanding your tool box!
How can I ground myself fast?
In theory, grounding yourself does not have to take long. Sometimes a dab of some grounding essential oil (see above), a cup of herbal tea, or holding your favorite stone can do the trick quickly. Another personal favorite that works quickly for me when I’m on the go is Peace Juice, an herbal blend intentionally created to help sensitives ground themselves and reduce anxiety.
Hopefully this article was helpful to you! I’d love to hear about your favorite grounding tool, weather on this list or not! My toolbox is always open 😉 Let me know.
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