Grounding Exercises

I have many clients who feel escalated emotions or out of control thoughts and want to slow their breath and body down and come back to the present. Grounding techniques can help us come out of “hyper-arousal” which are anxious, panicky feelings and also out of “hypo-arousal” which are feelings of numbness, freezing and disconnection.

Grounding exercises use mindfulness principals to bring us back to the present moment. Noticing what is happening around you in detail with all the senses help the brain focus on one thing which helps us come back to center.

5-4-3-2-1 Exercise

Look around and notice in detail five things you see around you. The more detail and attention you can place on these objects, the more settled you will become. For example: “I see the plant, the plant is green with yellow stripes, the leaves have a bit of light on the ends, the plant looks like leaves in the jungle"; “I see a candle with flickering light, I see a soft light on the wall, I see a fuzzy pillow, I see a tree in the distance”.

Next notice and name 4 things you hear. For example: I hear the sound of wind, I hear a buzzing sound, I hear voices, I hear quiet music.

Continue with 3 things you feel, 2 things you smell and 1 thing you may taste or want to taste.

You can adapt this exercise to find a good fit for you. Perhaps a mindful walk noticing all the things around you and engaging your senses. Another option is naming one object and noticing all the senses in connection to the object, i.e. watching the water coming out of the faucet, feeling the temperature, tasting the water, smelling and listening to the sounds.

Calm Place Exercise

The calm place exercise works especially well trying it first with a therapist guiding you through and can be a wonderful place to come back to when you feel escalated. This exercise is similar to the first exercise but you can choose an imaginary place or real place that you want to be in, you find relaxing, and you can feel a sense of calm. Next, you visualize this place and move through your senses naming what comes to mind in detail, noting the texture, color, temperature etc. In this exercise you can name as many or as few items in each sense category. After you have engage all of your senses, sit and enjoy this place for a few moments.

A Strong Anchor

This exercise can feel very grounding and help you feel calm when the waves of life feel strong and overwhelming. This imagery can also be a sense of place that you go to at any point when you are trying to return to the present moment. Picture yourself in a boat that is completely secure and strong with the assurance it was built to weather any storm. Then visualize yourself feeling surrounded and held in this boat in a calm and secure way. Next, visualize a strong anchor connected to the boat, watching it fall into the waters depth and land securely into the ground. Then take time to feel held to the bottom of the water by this anchor, gently held fast and tight in the boat with anchor holding strong no matter the strength of the waves and wind.