Two Somatic Practices for Right Now- Grounding & Energetic Shielding

As I’ve considered numerous subjects for this month’s blog, I find my heart and mind all over the place. How can I write about something that has value for many at this moment in time?

Where are people’s hearts, heads, bodies?

There’s so much going on right now, eh? I have so much to say, and yet, can’t seem to center in. So…..I’ll take you into my process…

I want to offer you, gentle reader, what I am giving myself. To take a moment. To breathe and ground.

Literally. Stop. Take a minute. Feel your feet on the ground. Take a breath, and check in with what’s on and under the surface. Feel your skin and the tone of your muscles. Notice your eyes and the tension you might be carrying. What stands out as important from your body’s point of view? What are your guts telling you?

The grounding technique I’ve just shared with you is a first step, a base line, in beginning any day’s journey. I encourage you to work with this practice every day as a way to feel yourself in the world. To come back to you. It is simple and very powerful. And it only takes about a minute!

With more mixing and mingling these days- more socializing, and finding ourselves in settings with more people around- taking the time to center and ground feels crucial. Coming back to ourselves, our own sensations and sense of what feels okay and good in the moment.

Knowing that we have choices as we walk through our day, how we choose to engage and interact, is in our own power. Once you have taken the time to feel yourself in space, on this planet, grounded in your own body, you might now choose to engage a gentle energetic shield. An energetic shield that will offer you choices as to how much you wish to open or close to others around you.

Build your shield in your imagination. Of any material that suits you. My shield feels gentle and pink and glows with light. It is soft and powerful. I reside within it when I am out in spaces where I might wish to feel more protected. I have choice as to how porous this shield is in any moment. For my own energy’s preservation. I can let others in, or not. A little, or a lot.

What does your shield look and feel like?

I have finally admitted to myself that I’m an empath. A person who actually feels other people’s feelings. I realize that if I am not aware, I can lose myself in another person’s experience. I can lose my own sense of my self.

This kind of energetic shield reminds me to choose how open or closed I wish to be with others. It reminds me to stay grounded in my own body and my own choices and experience. It reminds me that I have choices, and I can get very detailed about those choices.

We are all wired for connection. We are all naturally wired to feel other’s feelings and experiences. Some of us are more sensitive to this than others. I encourage you to notice how often you lose yourself in other people’s realities, or needs or words or actions.

You may find that you may greatly benefit from these grounding and energetic shielding practices. They can offer a sense of vitality, safety, courage, and empowerment through choice. It will support you in your ability to be in group settings. We are all finding our way in the world anew right now. In the spirit of a reset, begin with your most balanced, empowered foot forward. Let me know if and how these practices serve you!

I offer them in my work as a coach, bodyworker and yoga teacher. Please reach out if you have any questions!