Picture this: I’m walking into a party where I don’t know anyone. I’m panicking and anxious. I feel my energy leaving my body. Someone asks me a question — my name, I think? “Huh?” I ask, panicked. I can’t think of a response. I feel lightheaded and overwhelmed. “What’s going on?” I wonder. “And why do I feel so weird?” 

The answer: I’m ungrounded. And it feels stressful. 

Has this ever happened to you? 

Coming Back to Earth 

Learning to ground myself and the benefits of grounding was one of the first skills I needed to learn when I started my spiritual journey. Before, I constantly felt anxious, disconnected from my body, overwhelmed, and lost in social interactions. I often felt like I was floating through life, not fully anchored to anything. Certainly not connected to my body, or even to this planet! It was a challenging way to try and navigate the world.   

Luckily for me, I found the Boulder Psychic Institute and learned about grounding. 

So what is grounding? 

Simply put, grounding is the practice of connecting with the energy of the Earth. And by connecting with the Earth, we can connect with our bodies. It’s really that simple. 

You’ve probably heard the advice that putting your bare feet on the Earth is the best way to ground. This is definitely a great practice; we all know how good it feels to have our toes in the sand at the beach. But what about when we have to go back inside?

Then the recommendations get more complicated. There are grounding mats and a whole rainbow of crystals to buy that promise to keep you grounded. Eating plenty of root vegetables or wearing the color red. These can all be useful tools (and I’ve tried them myself), but what if there were an easier way to be grounded no matter where you are or what you’re doing? 

This is where energy work comes in! 

One of the fundamental principles we live by at the BPI is “As Above, So Below.” This means that by working with our spiritual energy (the above space), we can create lasting change in our physical reality (the below space). 

Through a grounding meditation practice, you can create an energetic “grounding cord” that will connect you to the Earth and have the same effect as if you were relaxing with your feet in the sand all day. And one of the best benefits of grounding is you can take this grounding cord with you wherever you go. It’s portable, simple, easy, and does not rely on anything external – all you need is you! 

How Grounding Works

How does grounding work, and how does it bring you into your body? Let’s dive into some spiritual mechanics to fully understand the benefits of grounding.

All electrical circuits have a ground so that energy surges won’t blow out the system. The ground is what keeps the system safe and functional. The same is true for the human body.

A grounding cord connects you to the Earth and acts as an energetic “lightning rod” to release any energy you don’t need. It’s like going to the bathroom, but on a spiritual level. You will release energetic toxins from your body and get a gentle healing all day long. When you’re grounded, energy flows much smoother through your body.

It will also help you to let go of any negative emotions, stress, or the memory of that weird dream you had last night. It is especially helpful when someone whomps you with a big surge of angry energy. That energy will go down your grounding cord, keeping you from blowing out your system. Have you ever felt “fried” after an intense interaction? Well, it’s because your body sustained a blast of energy and had nowhere for it to dissipate. 

And how does a grounding cord help you be more embodied?

The grounding cord works through Earth’s gravitational pull — gently pulling out energies your body does not need. This pull also sucks you (as a spirit) into your body. When you’re in your body, you’re in the best position to feel what’s happening inside, listen to your body’s messages, and take better care of it. We call this being conscious or being present in your body, making it much easier to sail through life.

A Simple Grounding Meditation to Unlock the Benefits of Grounding

Grounding yourself is fun and easy, and there are a ton of benefits to grounding.

Here are the steps:

1. Find a comfortable seat with your feet flat on the floor. (If sitting upright is unavailable to you, just get comfortable.)
2. Take a couple of deep breaths and turn your attention to your body. 
3. Imagine a long tube of energy around your hips and connect it all the way down into the core of the Earth. This is your grounding cord.
4. With that connection in place, allow your body to let go. Invite gloops and globs of negative energy to fall out of your body and down the grounding cord. 
5. Set the intention that you will be grounded for the rest of the day. It’s that simple!

You don’t need to be meditating and visualizing your grounding cord for it to work for you. Just open your eyes and know that it will keep you connected with Mother Earth all day long.

Remember, grounding is a practice. You may not be used to being grounded at first; it may feel a bit strange or unfamiliar. Practice daily, and you will start to unlock the endless benefits of grounding for your health, wellness, and sense of ease!

Benefits of Grounding—How it Feels to be Grounded

All right, so you get the picture. Being grounded can really help you as you go about your day. And can make a huge difference in how you flow in your life. The more you practice, the more you’ll start to feel and notice a difference in your experience. What you notice will be unique to you, but here are some common signs of being grounded. 

Being grounded tends to feel like: 

• You are calm, centered, and clear-headed. 
• Your body feels safe and stable—it might feel a bit heavy, but don’t worry, that’s you being solid in your body.
• You will hear your body’s signals—hungry, thirsty, tired, or energized, for example.
• You will experience less mental, physical, and emotional pain.
• You feel more agile and graceful, with more awareness of where your body is in space.   
• You will feel lighter and more amused, mentally and emotionally.
• You will have more ease and fun interacting with others.
• You are in control of your thoughts and emotions.
• You won’t lose your center in difficult situations—you can respond, not react. 
• You will be able to express yourself (verbally and non-verbally) more clearly.

How you feel when you’re grounded will be unique to you and your body. The more often you practice your grounding meditation, the more natural it will become. 

It’s also ok if you don’t feel anything dramatic at first when you start grounding! If you don’t notice significant changes right away, some other signs that you’re grounded are that you’ll start to feel more comfortable with yourself and experience less anxiety and depression. The key is to pay attention to how you feel when you take the time to ground. 

How it Feels to be Ungrounded

When you get used to being grounded, it will start to feel more obvious when you’re not grounded. You’re miles ahead of the pack if you can spot when you’re not grounded before too much of your day (or week… or life) gets away from you. What you notice will be unique to you, but here are some common signs of being ungrounded. 

Being ungrounded tends to feel like:

• You are anxious, uncentered, and foggy.
• Your body feels unsafe and uncomfortable.
• You feel lightheaded and floaty. 
• You are emotionally and mentally unstable.
• You feel manic, frantic, sped up, or all over the place.
• You are governed by impulses and emotions.
• You just don’t feel like yourself.
• Conversations are playing over and over in your mind.
• Life feels hard and overwhelming, with no support.
• You have feelings of not belonging.
• You feel disconnected from your body and extra clumsy. You might be dropping things or tripping more. 
• You stumble over your words, and conversation might feel more difficult. 
• You are out of sync with natural rhythms—sleeping and waking at irregular hours, eating in the middle of the night, and not getting outside during the day. 
• You unconsciously ignore signals from the body—like aches and pains, needing to go to sleep, or eating when you aren’t hungry. Even holding it for too long when you have to go to the bathroom!
• You will be on “autopilot.” Not remembering chunks of time, like driving home and not remembering how you got there.  
• You will have excess anxiety and worry.
• Your body may have a longer recovery time to heal from injuries and illness. 
• You may have difficulty sleeping, nightmares, or lethargy.

We’ve all experienced moments of ungroundedness. It’s a normal part of human life and nothing to be ashamed of. Our modern lives can be especially ungrounding, encouraging us to stare at screens for 8+ hours a day and ignore our bodies. The key is to become more aware and make adjustments when necessary. 

Certain situations can also cause you to lose your grounding. I find that unfamiliar environments, important social engagements, or anywhere I might feel a little extra stress (doctor’s offices, the DMV…) can trigger me to become ungrounded. If I take the time to meditate and secure my grounding cord beforehand, even waiting in line at the DMV seems to go much faster!

Grounding to Things Other Than Earth

We can think of grounding at a mechanical, energetic level as creating an energetic cord to anchor us to something. If you’ve been reading this blog, hopefully you realize the benefits of grounding to the Earth itself. But often in our culture, people unconsciously ground (or anchor) to other things, like money or politics. Most of these things lack the stability that the Earth can provide. 

You may know someone who is grounded to medicine and loves going to the doctor at the first sign of any discomfort or illness. They may love following the most current health trends and can end up feeling disappointed and confused when recommendations shift and change. If you are grounding your body to the energy of medicine rather than the Earth, it can feel like a roller coaster ride when trying to take care of your body. That doesn’t mean that you don’t still utilize and engage with medicine but that your sense of groundedness and feeling solid with your body’s health doesn’t entirely rely on the latest shifting medical recommendations! 

Another example is stockbrokers or people who are strongly anchored to money and success as markers of their well-being. Some people on Wall Street will make extreme and sometimes harmful decisions because they’re so grounded to money, at the expense of their bodies and health. Because the stock market is constantly up and down, their lives may also feel turbulent and unstable. 

Some other things that people will unconsciously ground to include: family, work, appearances, technology and phones, home or car, or the opinions of others. All of these things are important aspects of life, but when you anchor yourself to them, your life will be unstable. A change to your work or family situation can be devastating if that’s what you depend on to feel balanced and secure. When you ground to these things unconsciously, the instability can also create a lot of anxiety, confusion, and sometimes hysteria. 

By grounding to Earth, life will feel much more safe and reliable. You’ll be able to weather the ups and downs of life with much more ease and fun. 

The Benefits of Grounding in Relationships

When ungrounded, you may have a harder time being present with others and may not remember conversations or details that people share with you. It can be hard to hold boundaries. You might find it harder to say no (or hold your “ground”) and may be a pushover who agrees to do things you don’t want to do or might regret. 

Having a grounding meditation practice is highly beneficial to the quality of your relationships. 

Have you ever had a conversation with someone and felt like they were word-vomiting all over you? This could have been because they were ungrounded! Without a release valve, like a grounding cord, to let energy out of their space, they release it all through words onto someone else. Word vomiting is the equivalent of energy dumping. Notice the next time you leave a conversation with someone and feel icky and dumped on; they were probably ungrounded.  

But don’t fret. To release the effects of the word vomit, all you have to do is take a few moments after the interaction to meditate. (Maybe in the bathroom of the restaurant or in your car.) Visualize your own grounding cord and set the intention that the energy of their problems and difficulties will leave your body and fall right down your grounding cord.

It can be hard to have intimacy in a relationship with someone who is ungrounded because it can feel like they are not really there — they’re not embodied. Genuine connection and intimacy require both parties to be fully present and grounded in their bodies — at least most of the time! 

The Earth and Your Body 

Many of the problems humans have created on Earth come from being ungrounded. When we’re out of tune and disconnected from our planet’s energy, we make choices that are out of harmony with what is best for the Earth and all of the creatures who live here. Things like pollution, over-exploitation of the Earth’s resources, and deforestation are all problems resulting from the human population being ungrounded at a large scale. If we were more grounded as a human species, it would be easier to take better care of the Earth the way native cultures have for thousands of years.

At a smaller scale, when we’re not connected to Mother Earth and her natural biorhythms, it throws our body out of harmony with things like our circadian rhythm, causing us to sleep and wake at irregular and unnatural hours. We also may choose foods that are not aligned with our bodies or the environment or season we are in currently. Even choosing not to exercise or get outside can result from being ungrounded. The same goes for ignoring the signals from our bodies, like aches and pains, causing us to push and make injuries worse. 

Being disconnected from Earth means being disconnected from your body. Our bodies benefit from being in harmony with the Earth. And the Earth benefits too.  

Why Mother Earth?

“Well, what’s so special about Mother Earth?” you may wonder. “How can she handle all the energy that we can’t?” 

It’s a good question. 

The truth is that the planet is rock solid and will be here way longer than we will. If you take the time to ground to the Earth, you can count on her always being stable, solid, and there to support you no matter what you’re going through. She is the literal ground we stand on! It is a simple truth about human beings’ relationship with our planet. 

Of course, you might still wobble a bit with what life throws at you, but you won’t be thrown off center in such a big way when you ground to Earth. 

If you are a sensitive healer type and feel guilty about dumping your energy garbage into Mother Earth, please don’t worry. She has a natural mechanism to take your energy, recycle it, and give it back to us refreshed and renewed. In physics, this is known as the law of conservation of energy. In every reaction, energy is always conserved. 

We have a symbiotic relationship with Mother Earth. We ALL benefit by being in tune with her.

My Own Practice  

Now that I know how and what the benefits of grounding are—grounding myself is part of my daily routine. I brush my teeth, wash my face, and put a grounding cord on every morning. I’ve found myself grounding while riding on the subway, in my car, while hiking out in nature, in the middle of a stressful conversation… I take a minute, get myself grounded, and let the energy flow. 

Now, before I enter a party, I sit in my car and take a few deep breaths. Picturing my grounding cord anchoring deep into the Earth, I let all my nerves and anxiety flow out of me. I feel my body calm down and my heart rate slow. 

When I enter a room now and see a bunch of unfamiliar faces, I smile and say hello. I know I’m grounded and connected to my body. Instead of floating away, I can be present and enjoy the experience.

Of course not all experiences are ultimately enjoyable, even when you’re grounded. The benefit is that with my grounding cord I’m tuned in enough to know when it’s time to leave an unpleasant experience and confident enough to leave graciously.

I feel the benefits of grounding in my greater life too. I am more stable and less caught up in the emotional drama and roller coaster of others’ feelings. I feel in command of myself and my energetic space, whereas before, I would get easily swept away by the energy of others and my environment. 

Of course, I’m not perfect. I still get ungrounded and have challenging moments. But with these tools in my toolbox, I have a smoother and easier recovery every time. 

Grounding is a lifelong practice. Learning how to ground in this lifetime means you will bring it with you into future lifetimes, and even over to the other side after your body dies.

Grounding is one of the easiest steps you can take to be in harmony with yourself, your body, and the planet. Practice your grounding meditation, and see what happens in your body and in your life! 

If you want to learn more about the benefits of grounding, sign up for our 4-week Self Healing 101 course. In the very first week you’ll practice this technique. As a bonus, you’ll also learn to take care of your aura and replenish after releasing all that unwanted energy. 

Happy grounding! 

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Blog written by Nicole Evangelista, energy worker, writer, and student at BPI.