4 ways to Stay Grounded During a Pandemic

4 ways to Stay Grounded During a Pandemic

I know these are strange times and I want to help you with some easy tools to stay grounded whenever you feel afraid or anxious. 

The truth is that in all this talk of uncertainty in the world, we forget that life is always uncertain. Change is the only thing we can rely on, and that can be a beautiful thing. Why?

Because it means life is evolving and expanding. We, humans, are adaptable. We may not be in total control of this virus , we may not be in total control of the stability of the economy, but we are in control of our reaction to those things.

We have the power to decide whether fear takes over or not. We have the power to let it become part of our everyday lives, or not.

As I’ve said before, this global health pandemic can actually be a positive thing. It can give us a little (or a rather big) nudge towards remembering our inner power and connecting to it.

There’s been quite a few memes and quotes going around about staying inside and going inside. Literally – to your homes and your minds. Go within, seek the power, and security you crave inside your own being. For that is where you will always find it.

A need for security and safety is a basic human need. With these four mindful practices, I want to guide you towards the present moment and replace your fear with faith. Your insecurity with strength and your anxiety with trust and love.

1. Ground yourself and connect to the Earth

The Root Chakra is located at the base of your spine and is associated with feelings of security, stability, and being fearless, as well as your basic needs of shelter, food, and safety. At the moment, many people are reacting to the kind of energy that this Root Chakra governs. Our fears around safety, security, and basic needs being met are being activated energetically as we go through these global events.

That’s why it’s important to balance this Chakra. When it is out of harmony, it causes the rest of the chakras to go off balance too. It can also trigger our fight or flight response, and any prolonged amount of time we spend that in the fight or flight state is harmful. It compromises our mental, emotional, and physical health, weakening our immune systems, and generally causing us to feel off-balanced. We come from a place of fear rather than enlightenment.

PRACTICE: Balancing your Root Chakra at least once a day if not twice (morning and evening). I suggest sitting  quietly and allowing the silence and stillness to ground you, connecting you to the earth. If possible do this outside, on grass, or close to a tree. 

When you sit for just a few moments, imagining your Root Chakra energy flowing freely, grounding you to the earth with its strong and calming energy and bringing your energetic body back into coherence.

If you have any red crystals, hold them as you do this balancing practice. Crystals such as red jasper and tourmaline are balancing. You can also burn woody incense such as sandalwood or patchouli.

2. Send a Healing Prayer to the Earth

Whenever you feel overwhelmed, practice sending love and peaceful, healing energy to the entire planet. By doing so, it focuses your mind  towards positivity and caring for others. It gives you a wider sense of perspective and makes you feel useful. Energy is catching too you know! Spread a feeling of kindness and positivity and uplift others with your vibration.

You can sit quietly and just focus on sending love and healing to all parts of the Earth that need it. If it’s easier for you, imagine the animals and children first, see them receiving the love and healing they need. If you understand vibrational energy, you know that it can be received through time and space. Your prayers matter. 

3. Express Yourself and Release Fear

I highly recommend finding a positive outlet for your feelings during this time. With so much on the news, messages, social media etc., you could be absorbing too much negative information. Whenever you come across some disturbing news or something that makes you feel anxious, don’t just hold it in or push it away, release it in one of the following ways:

Writing in a journal. Expressing yourself in words  can be so healing and helps to remove the weight of negative information. Once you get it down on paper , you get to make sense of it. I find this releases some of the power bad news and fearful events can have over our mind and spirit.

Painting, expressing yourself in art. Express yourself through painting , molding in clay, sketching, whatever you like, can help release pent-up feelings and negative energy through expression.

Dancing  or playing an instrument . Having a quick high energy dance break is a great way to release tension, let off steam, and change your mood. If you play an instrument, get lost in some music practice. Anything that helps you to shift your energy towards a higher vibration is recommended.

4. Connect With Your Breath

When we are in a fight or flight state our breathing is often shallow and short. Many of us remain in this state a lot of the time and our sympathetic nervous system is activated constantly.

Connecting with your breath is so important for grounding. Next time you feel anxious or caught up in a spiral of worrisome thoughts, focus on the way that you are breathing. Take some conscious, slow, deep breaths in through the nose , down to your abdomen and then feel it flowing out as you exhale. Focus on your exhale being a little longer than the inhale. This will stimulate the rest and digest response (as opposed to the fight or flight response).

It does not take long for your breath to bring you back to a sense of calm. When you feel yourself calming down, you will be able to view your fear more rationally, and you will have connected to that stillness within. Your spirit. That part of you that knows you are always taken care of. That connection is often enough to bring you back to a sense of faith in yourself and your ability to stand in your own power.

It is natural to feel fear and anxiety, especially during this time, like I said before life is characterized by its uncertain nature. Don’t judge yourself for these feelings, simply allow yourself to go through those emotions and then use one of the tools above, work towards balancing and grounding yourself.

Do you have any other grounding techniques that you enjoy and find successful? Share them with us below!