To me, grounding means making an active choice to let go of stresses and worries--especially those that are out of my control--and focus on being in the moment in order to do the things I need to do so I can move forward.
Along those same lines, centering myself means to give myself something to come back to when I feel like the stresses and worries are getting to be too much. It keeps me from feeling like I'm (emotionally and mentally) floating too much.
In the past, it was my Christian beliefs that kept me emotionally balanced and feeling in control.
There are a few ways I keep myself from feeling off balance.
Though I don't practice yoga nearly as often as I would like to, I always feel better when I do. (Which should tell me I need to do it more often, I know.) It gets my body moving, which is good, and since I focus entirely on the poses and my breathing in each moment, I can let go of the other things in my life for just a little while. Even if all I do is a single sun salutation, I feel better. I'm working on doing yoga more often for my physical health as well as my mental/emotional health.
Journaling is also very helpful. I'm currently going through The Artist's Way, and the morning pages have become very valuable. It gives me the opportunity to journal about all the shit clogging my brain before I start my day, getting it out of the way so I can focus on the writing I have to do for work (and pleasure). Of course, it's also valuable to me as a writer because I've gotten lots of ideas out of journaling. And writing is writing, even if no one else sees it.
Taking care of my plants is also a big draw for me. One of the reasons I want more plans is because I have the tendency to fuss over the ones I have. Probably a bit too much. I make sure they have enough water, move them around to make sure they're getting the right amount of sun/shade, get dead leaves out of the pot to make room for new growth, and, of course, talk to them. It's a bit of a distraction, and lets me take a break from the things I need to do.
What do you do to keep yourself grounded and centered?
Good post. My Christian beliefs also kept me grounded for a time. I now have more abstract ideas about life, but a firm trust that the universe has my back, nonetheless. I think yoga has softened me and helped me to abandon judgement and embrace my self (and others) as is. It's also pretty damn effective as a workout -- a firmer butt is always welcome. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear yoga has helped you! I always feel better when I do it, so I keep trying to remind myself to practice more often. It's always a process, isn't it?
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