Grounding and Rootedness - Written for The Daily Wellness

Sometimes I feel so disconnected from myself, my mind is so busy with a thousand things at once. And all I want to do is run away to a retreat in the mountains or go on a holiday.  But for now, I am needed, I have made commitments and I have to be present in my own life.  So, what do I do?  What will help me feel settled and balanced again in my day-to-day life?

Grounding, also called earthing, is an alternative therapy that some people believe has therapeutic benefits.  New and promising research from a variety of sources (including the National Library of Medicine) is encouraging in their findings of the health benefits for all of us.

Grounding is thought to have physical benefits, including improved immune response, repairing cells, promoting healthy aging, increasing antioxidants, improving sleep, healing chronic pain, and reducing inflammation.

The concept of grounding extends well back into history wherein many ancient cultures believed that all living creatures were connected to the energies of the earth and that those energies kept all that were connected to it in balance.

Grounding is so important for all humans. Whether one is going through life changes like adolescence, pregnancy, parenthood, career shifts, menopause, loss, caring for others, or identity transitions—because it offers a stable centre in the midst of inner and outer challenges, everyday life challenges and transformation.

Everyday life may bring about:

• Emotional ups and downs

• Anxiety or restlessness

• Loss of identity or direction

• Hormonal and physical shifts

• Feelings of overwhelm

• Being in so many different places physically and in our heads all at once

For some, these shifts are often layered with societal expectations, caregiving roles, and personal transformation happening all at once.

Grounding gives us something solid when everything else feels uncertain. When we pause and connect, we stop outsourcing validation and start trusting our own intuition, voice, and learning to say no

Tara Brach, Ph.D., a well-known American psychologist and author, extends grounding from simply being in contact with the earth to a “mindful return to the body and the physical sensations that connect us to the present moment”. We can do this by tuning into:

• Where we make contact with the world, such as the feeling of your feet on the ground, your body settling into the couch or chair, the weight of your body, warmth from a heat pack, or secure pressure such as a massage, bringing awareness to gravity and the sense of belonging to the earth.

• Resources around us that anchor us like touching a neutral or comforting object (a stone, a piece of fabric, a tree trunk, a leaf), placing a hand on your heart or belly, or visually taking in the environment around us, helping to bring presence, comfort, and calm.

Why does this matter? In moments of stress, busyness, fear, reactivity, or dissociation/disconnection, grounding offers a refuge, a place to rest our attention and reset into a more present state.

Connected to grounding is the concept of rootedness.

This is an extension of grounding, where we imagine the life of a tree, how long it may have survived through all sorts of weather, urbanisation and natural surroundings, and then spend some time meditating on what it would feel like to have our own personal roots, deeply connected to the earth where we stand. There are many beautiful guided meditations for rootedness on a variety of apps, YouTube and social media.

Rooting ourselves like a tree is like an open door or portal to feeling calmer and more present.  It can support us in creating more of an awareness of our own living body, which is here, and alive.  It feels pain, pleasure, warmth, cold, discomfort, relaxation and many more things.  It keeps on working, breathing, digesting, beating, moving, even when we are not aware of it.  When we start to notice our body, internally, and what it feels like in relation to the world and people around us, we start to feel more in control and present.  This helps us feel more awake in any given moment. 

Rootedness is deeply important for us because it helps cultivate inner stability, clarity, and self-trust in a world that often pulls us away from ourselves, through roles, expectations, emotional labour, and constant change.

Particularly for those who have been conditioned to put others’ needs first, to please, to adapt, rootedness can help to come home to oneself, to our values, intuition, and inner wisdom, so that we can live from our own truth, and not from external expectations.  It can support us in remembering who we are beneath the roles that we play.  Rootedness provides an internal anchor, like a sense of continuity through all the changes.

Rootedness is not just psychological, it also has a place in enhancing spirituality. It reconnects us to the earth, the cycles of life, and the natural rhythms of being rather than doing. This can support us in feeling held by something greater than ourselves, honouring our body as wise and not broken, and living from intuition, not just intellect.

Grounding and rootedness are interconnected.  Grounding involves being in the here and now, physical and sensory experiences, calming the nervous system bit by bit, and putting our feet on the ground.  Rootedness involves remembering who we are, connecting with our emotional and spiritual parts, encouraging long-term stability and recognising the body/soul connection.  In time, practising both of these will bring us greater inner peace, a deeper understanding of our emotions and better ways to react and respond in stressful situations.

Some ideas for every day grounding and rootedness opportunities:

Breathing, body scan, meditation, imaginative journalling, holding a stone and doing a mindfulness exercise, putting feet and hands on the earth or on a tree, watching the clouds, spending time in nature (for example, the Japanese practice of shinrin yoku – forest bathing), music, dancing and exercise.

Some reflections to consider that may surface whilst practising grounding and rootedness:

How much do I allow outside noise to impact on my decisions and actions?

Can I still be myself even as things around me changes?

Will grounding and rootedness support me in becoming more assertive as I quiet my mind and understand my needs better?

What small things can I try a little each day to practice connecting more to myself?

By – Hayley Bilski (Accredited Mental Health Social Worker)

www.mindspacetherapy.com.au

Hayley Bilski is the founder of Mindspace Therapy Practice in Sydney, Australia, working in person and online with Nature Focused, Compassion- Based, Acceptance and Commitment, and Cognitive Behavioural therapeutic approaches.  She has been a social worker for over 20 years and is passionate about guiding people towards being the best version of themselves and working through challenges with greater self-compassion.