The Earth is music for those who listen

The Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines grounding as the “training or instruction in the fundamentals of a field of knowledge”.  In holistic terms grounding refers to the spiritual action of centering our souls within our bodies, and establishing connections with Mother Earth, with the energy of this powerful habitat where we come from.  So if we connect the general definition of grounding to a holistic approach, we can conclude that grounding is organically, the knowledge of how to connect ourselves to our roots in order to gain her healing energy.   

Indeed civilization has brought us a modern world, but with that we have committed to a fast paced global community trying to supply the demands of a consumer society and technology.  William Blake said, “The path of excess leads to tower of wisdom”.  And now that I have walked this path, my goal is to find that tower, our tower which may hold a bit of wisdom for my girls. 

Excess dissolves the meaning of simplicity. Changing the sun for tanning beds for example. Why? The sun provides Vitamin D, warmth, and light. And just like him, our greatest Mother of all, [Gaia] provides vitamin G, as in ground. Within this magnificent vitamin we get water, food, floor, places to build, to play, and exotic environments where only life can happen.  

Earth is a battery that is continually being recharged by solar radiation, lightning, and heat from its molten core. This natural pulsations of energy flowing through the surface of the Earth keep the biological cycle of life running in rhythm, harmony, and balance.  So once a flower gets removed form the ground, it withers away in a couple of days, even having water and sun. That same scenario happens to us, needless to say we go most of our lives withering through rivers of illnesses, psychosomatic discomforts, which reflect in our relationship with ourselves and with those around us. 

Living in houses over concrete, in apartments and working in high rises, wearing rubber shows, being overly exposed to electromagnetic frequencies (EMFs) has made a wide gap between Earth and us. A gap that increases as progress take us into the future. So why not take a walk barefooted and start grounding ourselves? just one step at a time… and there are in fact more ways to ground ourselves, especially in times of stress, disconnection, those scary emotional places when you feel nothing, and everything is going wrong. Feeling much fear, anxiety are signs of being ungrounded. 

The first time I heard about grounding was in a yoga studio in Austin, TX in a workshop. After this two-hour talk on how to establish a more “grounded life”, I started to read and research more, especially now that we are learning how to be a family of 4 around the world, and more than the ordinary challenges fall in place.

In order to cultivate what we call in yoga as “Warrior Wellness”, which are daily routines for grounding and collection of energy, we must first become aware of what happens when we are ungrounded. Besides frustration, anger, sadness, and depression, we experience acute anxiety. This is an air quality feeling. This is the red flag that becomes the reality check that we need to come to Earth. It is imperative to establish connection to her energy, one which is the universal force that connects everything. It contracts and expands, it breaths, its alive.

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Daily Routines to Establish Grounding

Morning

Starting the day with a gratitude affirmation(s) and “I am…” statements. By declaring what you want and need, as you are grateful, you set a direction into how things will unfold through-out the day. I can assure you that the old saying “woke up on the wrong side of the bed” is not just an idiom. From my experience, when the day starts stressful, it seldom will get easier, happier. Things become more challenging as the morning continues and then it seems like you just can’t wait for the day to end. I ask myself, “was this day wasted?”. It feels like I am escaping the present moment by disregarding a mindful life. It is in fact challenging, but necessary to be grounded in order to create a positive PRESENT environment for us and our children. 

Following your gratitude and intentions, meditation and exercise is a perfect mix. I am real and I know we as parents have a million things to do before we leave the house. But 5 minutes of meditation, maybe 5 sun salutations will be a good addition. Mothers often ask in forums “when do you do anything or practice mindfulness when you have kids running around?”, well to me you just don’t, you do it when they are asleep. That is YOUR time. And as parents we make sacrifices, so this grounding-morning ritual requires waking up before they do. It is our choice. Once you establish this habit, you can increase the time of meditation and exercise. Because as the Chinese say, “one step at a time is good walking”. After this, the most important meal of the day: Breakfast, which should consist of green juices to support an alkaline environment in your body, and protein with fats to balance hormones. Sugars and coffee will create an acidic environment. Starting the day with warm water and a fresh squeezed lemon (1/2 a small lemon) will help detox the liver and activate your digestive juices.  Eating should be a spiritual act (as impossible as this sounds while your feed your toddlers), being aware of what you are eating, honoring your food which comes from the Mother Earth. These two mindful acts will consciously bring the nutrients into your awareness. 

MIdday 

Tune-in, aligning to your intentions, to your daily goals. Question yourself, are you being loving? are you being patient? Simple movements will allow this reflection. If you are in an office setting, sitting placing the head between the knees and the hands on top of the femur, as you take 5 deep-full breaths will recenter your thoughts. Otherwise, if your space allows it, an Adhomukha Svanasana (down dog) is an inversion just like the one on the chair, this will calm the brain, gently stimulating the nerves, and will reduce stiffness in the shoulder blades . Performing Uttanasana (forward bend) will get your blood flowing, it will also stretch the hamstrings from the long periods in a sitting position, and will relieve stress. If Salamba Sirsasana (head stand) is in your practice, then 10 breaths in this asana will be very beneficial to increase stamina and energy.  You can also fuel your energy with a smoothy, healthy fats such as avocado or a nut butter, plant-based proteins such as hummus or edemame, a whole fruit as a low sugar option, and tea or water.

Evening

Create a conscious conclusion for yourself (after the kids are asleep).  Clear your mind using a journal (3-5 minutes) writing anything challenging, a gratitude or a thought that stood out in the day. We think of this as a lighting process. Cultivate energy on your body by moisturizing with organic creams or oils such as coconut oil.  Add a dream oil like lavender or frankincense to your temples, feet, and the third eye. Sleeping between 7-8 hours is ideal for a full rest and rejuvenation process. Our bodies are our temples, lets start by creating space to cultivate a sacred one. 

Here are more routines and ways to establish more grounding from Mama Earth:

• Hikes and walks through nature (without electronic devices)
• Eating heavier meals early in the day, and light vegetarian meals in the evening
• Coconut oil hair-therapy- 1/4 a cup (or 1/1 cup for long hair) rubbed into your scalp and leaving it a whole day under a shower cap or plastic bag. Yes, weekends are ideal for this act. When you wash make sure to use plenty of shampoo and then rinse the shower with a bit of dish soap to avoid the greasiness. 

For more information on how to reduce exposure of EMFs here is a great article. 

And if you want to take this grounding experience the next level, here is an article that lists the Top 10 most spiritual places on Earth. 

This daily rituals can seem unreal in the life of a parent, and as humans we tend to procrastinate, make excuses. However, it only takes some minutes of our day to develop this practice. Just like brushing teeth, or taking a vitamin. We know it is beneficial to do it, it’s not a MUST, but we know it will help in the long run. Starting slowly and making the choice to make time for grounding is how we can cultivate this practice not just for ourselves, but modeling to our children. 

“in the slowness of our lives is where we are able to perceive its worth”