As feeling overwhelmed and stressed in daily life has come to be the norm for millions of Americans, the practice of grounding to manage anxiety and stress has been gaining popularity as of late. For those unfamiliar with the concept, grounding is the practice of redirecting your focus away from intrusive worry and anxiety triggers through both physical and mental exercises. While the practice of mental and physical grounding to regulate the nervous system and manage anxiety has been around for decades, a type of physical grounding called “Earthing” has been experiencing amplified popularity on social media lately among mental health practitioners and wellness influencers alike as a way to combat anxiety.
Earthing is a type of physical grounding that involves going barefoot into a grassy natural space and physically grounding down through your feet into the bare earth, focusing on the physical sensations of the experience. While this is an excellent physical grounding exercise, it is not always an accessible one for those needing to manage overwhelming anxiety symptoms on the fly at the workplace or somewhere they can’t access nature, or for those with sensory issues and other mental health diagnoses that make it difficult to be barefoot or in an uncontrolled environment.
There are both mental and physical grounding exercises that can be done in daily practice to help manage and reduce anxiety symptoms in daily life. Here are five easy-to-do grounding exercises that can reduce anxiety when in indoor spaces places such as work, home or even in a (safely parked) car.
Five Easy Grounding Exercises
Grounding Chair
Find a seat in a comfortable chair in which your feet firmly touch the ground. Place your arms and hands at your side or in a resting position that feels comfortable to you. Next, close your eyes and begin to focus on your breathing, drawing in each breath slowly for the count of four and exhaling for a count of four. Begin to notice how your body feels while sitting in the chair. Notice the sensation of the chair against your back, how your head feels between your shoulders and the sensation of your arms against the chair or in your lap. Imagine that with each deep inhale you are filling your body with positive light energy and expelling stale, negative energy with each exhale. You may envision this positive light energy as a color like soft pink, light blue, or pale yellow.
Next, bring your focus to your abdomen, backside, legs, and down to your feet. Notice the sensation of the chair against the back of your body. Firmly push your feet into the ground and begin to envision your feet as growing roots into the ground. Envision the tension in your body draining down from your head to your shoulders and arms and out through your rooted feet into the ground. You may repeat this process for several minutes with the help of a phone timer or for as long as time permits.
Four-minute Box Breathing
A highly effective physical and mental grounding exercise that combines both the instant calming power of breathwork with the powerful awareness of mindfulness. Begin in a comfortable seated position. Next, draw in a long inhale through your nostrils for a count of four, then hold the breath for a count of four, and lastly, exhale through your mouth for a count of four. Do this at least four times in a row for however long it takes for you to begin feeling less anxious. Add a 4-minute timer and do box breathing for the duration of the timer for a full mental and physical reset using just the power of oxygen and your mind!
Grounding Object
This mindful exercise requires that you bring your focus to a comforting object and away from anxiety triggers. First, identify a comforting object around your home like a marble, an energy crystal, a soft blanket or a small bean bag. Next, hold the comforting object in your hand and bring your focus to how it looks and feels. Feel the weight of the object in your hand. Notice the object’s shape, what color(s) it is, notice any textures, whether it is translucent or opaque, whether it feels heavy or light. Spend several moments just noticing all things about the object and staying present with it.
A small object tends to work best for this exercise since its easier to carry in your pocket or purse and have ready when experiencing emotional distress.
Five Senses Grounding
This exercise invites you to ground down through all five senses. Like the previous exercises, you may begin in a seated and comfortable position. Next, close your eyes and begin drawing in your breath for a count of four and then releasing for a count of four. Take 4 deep breaths, drawing in through your nose and exhaling out through your mouth. Now, open your eyes and take a look around the room, and begin to notice/state out loud:
5 things that you can see (ex./ Items you see around the room or the view outside)
4 things you can feel (ex./ the texture of the chair, the tabletop or any nearby surface)
3 things you can hear (ex./ the hum of the fan, birds outside, etc.)
2 things you can smell (ex./
1 thing you can taste (ex./ take a sip of water or your favorite smoothie)
Grounding to a Safe Place
This is a mental grounding exercise that can be done anytime you are able to find stillness. Grounding to a safe place encourages you to identify a happy place or safe place in your mind and begin to envision yourself there. Start this exercise in the usual manner by finding a safe and comfortable seat in which you can sit with your eyes closed. Once you’ve found stillness with your eyes closed, begin to imagine your safe and happy place. Perhaps it is a place you have traveled to before or a place of happy memories like a beloved family member’s home, or maybe it is a place that you invent for yourself in your mind. Once you’ve identified your safe and happy place, flesh out the vision by picturing the sights, sounds, locations, and sensations of your special place. Allow yourself to just breathe and rest within this safe mental retreat for several minutes. Perhaps incorporate a 3–5-minute timer to fully relax within your safe space. Practice as many times per day as needed.
Grounding Tips
Practice and consistency are key to making grounding an effective and vital coping tool for anxiety in daily life. The more you can practice grounding (even when not so stressed), the easier it will be for you to access grounding tools when experiencing heightened distress. It is also important to have patience with yourself through the process and to resist the urge to judge yourself for any missteps or for the need to ground down in the first place. Our difficult emotions are a part of ourselves and learning to manage them is a lifelong process that takes patience, practice, and support. Speaking of support, if you find it difficult to manage your anxiety and difficult emotions through grounding on your own, please show yourself compassion and reach out to a licensed mental health professional to help guide and support you through your self-actualization journey!
The preceding article was solely written by the author named above. Any views and opinions expressed are not necessarily shared by GoodTherapy.org. Questions or concerns about the preceding article can be directed to the author or posted as a comment below.
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