Grounding Exercises — Explained
Many people have heard of grounding exercises or have been given one or two to try out, without a real sense of how to find one that works for you. Below, there is a list of grounding exercises that are featured in the Regulation Strategies Overview post. Similar to breathing exercises, there are often some exercises that individuals prefer to others. I’d say differently than breathing exercises where individuals may vary the breathing depending on what’s going on or how they’re feeling, people usually find one or two that work for them and stick to those, no matter the situation. This is not to say that you must do this, but just as some reassurance if you’re only able to find one or two that you like. You’ll find some exercises in the other categories that are grounding in nature. If those work for you to help you feel grounded, great! The ones listed here are just more “classic” grounding exercises. The purpose of grounding exercises is to bring yourself back to the present moment. Usually, when you’re able to do that, whether it’s by connecting with your, breath, body, or environment, your nervous system will begin to regulate, which should bring you some relief or ease. It’s not a guarantee that they will always work, but they’re a nice tool to have in your back pocket.
Guided Meditation
Guided meditations are great because they take the pressure off of you to be in charge of the situation. You can leave it to an expert to help you get more connected with your body or breath. I prefer listening to guided meditations on apps, rather than Youtube, because you can shut your phone screen down and not worry if you fall asleep during it. There are a lot of meditation apps out there but my favorite ones (which also happen to be free!) are Mindfulness Coach (created by the VA) and Insight Timer. Mindfulness Coach has less options than Insight Timer, which has thousands, but the ones they do have are great. And Insight Timer gives you so many options so you can always find what you need. There is no set amount of time you “should” do a guided meditation. It will depend on how you’re feeling, what you’re looking for, and where you are/what you’re doing. Sometimes just a 5-minute meditation on a break at work or before you leave your car can be exactly what you need. Other times, you might be looking for a longer, extended period of rest and reconnection. Try different forms out at different time lengths to see what works for you.
5 Senses
This one is nice and simple and a lot of people are familiar with it! This is especially helpful when you want to reconnect with your environment, rather than your breath or body, if those connections are not possible or not desired at the time. This exercise has you go through 5 senses while counting down from 5. You’ll start by naming (to yourself or aloud) 5 things you can see. This is followed by 4 things you can touch (clothes, trinkets, feet on the floor), 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste.
Categories Game
The Categories Game is similar to 5 Senses in that you’ll be naming things again, either out loud or internally. This time though, you get to pick the category! And it can either be things in the room with you, or things you can come up with in your head. For example, everything green you can see, anything that starts with the letter B, soft things you’d like to touch, etc. Alternatively, you could try listing every dog breed you can think of, or every country you’d like to visit. You might like both versions or you might find, in your most difficult emotional moments, that one of the options stands out. Try both and see what you find!
Body Scan
Body scans are awesome and have various purposes and formats. I highly recommend you trying out a guided body scan on apps like Mindfulness Coach or Insight Timer, or even Youtube. There is something so grounding, at least for me, to have someone walk me through noticing each part of my body and then letting it go to move to the next part. This can be great when you’re feeling off, but not really sure why, or you want to get more connected to your body. Practicing doing self-led body scans is also a great tool to sharpen. This can be done quickly before you get out of bed or start your day, while driving or sitting in a meeting, or really any time! A beginning of the day body scan can give you information on how your body is feeling that day and what extra supports it might need to get through the day. Body scans while you’re doing mindless or stressful tasks can be great to cue you to relax some parts of your body. Maybe you start to notice that while driving, you’re squeezing the steering wheel harder than necessary and your shoulders are up to your ears, so you start practicing scanning and then releasing those things when possible. Or, you notice in meetings with a particular coworker, you clench your hands and tap your foot. This gives you great information! With that information, you can either (hopefully) spend less time with that person, or give yourself adequate care before/after seeing that person to help regulate yourself. Body scans can be especially helpful for those dealing with chronic pain. Spending time scanning the areas of your body that are in pain, as well as areas that feel good or more neutral can decrease fear that often comes with pain and maybe even decrease the pain itself.
Temperature Shift
You may have heard of the old, sticking your face in a bowl of ice water trick (try it, it works), but there are other options that can regulate your nervous system too! Submerging your head in cold water is one of the best and quickest ways to reset our nervous system and snap our brains out of intense emotions. Sometimes, though, that’s not accessible. Fear not! You can be creative! If you’re sweating due to panic or anxiety, are experiencing extreme emotions, or happen to be running warm or hot while not feeling great emotionally, a cold shift may be helpful. As stated, for those extreme emotions, submerging your head in cold water is always going to be best because it triggers our body’s mammalian dive reflex, and subsequently our parasympathetic nervous system, which gives our brain cues that things are safe and it can settle. When that’s not possible or needed, here are some other ideas: cold shower, cold plunge, stick your head in a freezer, hold ice cubes in your hands, place ice cubes on your wrists or behind your ears, chug a glass of ice water. If you have others, please let me know! Now moving onto heat — one of my favorites! I find that heat is most helpful for sadness, grief, overwhelm, and fatigue, but that may be different for you. Some people may feel calm in a sauna, hot yoga, or sunbathing situation — though that is not me! I, however, am obsessed with heating pads! I love putting an over-the-shoulder heating pad on while watching TV and laying on a heating pad in bed before bed or when I feel emotional. For me, it feels safe and calming, though, more intense experiences (like hot yoga) send my nervous system into a panic. As always, play around with these ideas, ideally before you absolutely need them, to see what’s best for you.
Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)
PMR is one of the ultimate nervous system hacks in my opinion! It’s one of the few exercises that works for anxiety, sadness, and anger. I highly recommend trying a guided PMR session (again, on the apps or Youtube) before trying it yourself. Not that it’s particularly difficult, but I find the intensity of its helpfulness goes up when I’m being guided compared to leading myself through it. To practice PMR, you’ll choose a body area to start with (usually at the top or bottom) and as you inhale, you’ll clench/contract that body part, and as you exhale, you release the tension. Common practices are curling the toes, flexing the feet, tightening thigh muscles, tightening abs, clenching fists, flexing biceps, shrugging shoulders, tucking chin, squishing face together, and raising eye brows. Usually these are all done on both sides of the body at the same time and often you’d go from the top of the body to the bottom or vice versa. It’s nice to try a guided version so you don’t have to decide which muscles to tense or for how long — the narrator will guide you. When you do it yourself, you can either go through your whole body, or pick one or two body parts (like shoulders while driving, or clenched fists at work).
“Earthing”
Earthing is as simple as it sounds. It involves getting your body contacted and grounded to the earth. The usual recommendation is to walk or stand outside (preferably in grass rather than concrete) in your bare feet and focus on your connection with the earth. Really, though, any connection with nature, especially when mindfully executed, is going to be helpful for your nervous system. So even if you don’t want to/can’t take your shoes off, or don’t have any grass nearby, going outside can still help your system make a positive shift. Bonus points for bird watching, feeling the breeze or sun on your skin, or smelling some flowers! The more senses you can engage, the better!
