Fresh green leaves are beginning to fill tree branches, early blooming flowers are bursting forth, and the seeds of new growth are soon to emerge from the ground. It's apparent that life is taking root.
Rooting provides stability and supplies sustenance. Rooting can serve as storage for future needs. Rooting creates a web of converging diversity.
Plants root into the earth. Although we are mobile, we still have a need to be rooted - to be grounded. Being grounded provides an anchor in the storm.
So, what does it mean for a human to be grounded? When we're grounded, we feel comfortable in our body. Our energy feels balanced. We feel well-planted, stable throughout the range of emotions we may experience. When we're grounded, we are most confident and capable.
HEALTH SUFFERS WITH DAMAGED ROOTS
Just as a plant with damaged or insufficient roots will suffer, the same is true with you and me. When we become fragmented, our health suffers. We lose clarity, and can unwittingly become stuck in an uncomfortable pattern to compensate. Physical discomfort can be a warning of this disconnect, and will amplify until we get the message.
We are endowed with an ability to think AND to feel our way through life. Our perceptions, reactions and choices in life all influence the degree to which we are either integrated or fragmented as an individual.
We begin by feeling our way through life. But life can be painful, and we learn to withdraw, shifting awareness away from rather than into physical sensations. We may find the desired refuge and distraction in our head. And as we develop academically, this affiliation with our head as a way of interacting is further reinforced. Yet ideally, we draw upon the convergence of our complete perceptual capacities to navigate life rather than choosing to exclusively use one or the other interpretation.
You might sense that you oscillate in and out of being grounded, sometimes aware of your body, but mostly thinking, thinking, thinking. So many encounters can hijack our attention. Just now, did you have any awareness of your body as you were reading? What parts are you aware of right now? Are there spaces where you cannot connect?
Think about activities that bring you so fully into your head that you seem to lose sense of your body. Can you recall an ache or pain that your body sends your way in those circumstances? This might be your body's call for inclusion, your system's call for grounding.
Being grounded supports overall well being. We primarily ground by having an intact connection throughout the body. Body-centered therapy is my favorite choice for exploring this capacity, yet there are many worthwhile options.
Sports, dancing, bodywork, conscious breathing, yoga, meditation, craftwork and gardening are examples. Even FEELING the experience of walking down the hall inspires a shift from thinking to feeling. Do you experience a calm/settled effect with any of these practices?
Being aware of the balance and shifts, getting a feel for moving into and away from is helpful in coordinating the unification of your system. Being grounded offers firm footing for a happy spring - so vibrantly beautiful!
Kirkland resident Julie Glassmoyer is an certified reflexologist who employs wellness practices to help overcome stress. Applied to the feet, reflexology is a stress-relieving technique that improves nerve, circulatory and energetic function. Breathing practice classes are available at Overlake/BCC, Bellevue and Kirkland parks departments and the Columbia Athletic Club in Juanita. Information: www.thesynergywellnesscenter.com or 445-7949.
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