Shelf Life

Everything has an expiration date (except Twinkies), even your time here on this beautiful planet. This exercise is not about expiring, but is about digging in deeper to an energetic “shelf” that’s just below the surface of the earth. There are so many ways you can commit to being grounded. Here’s just one of them.

Stand outside in nature, preferably around some trees. Breathe in and imagine that the souls of your feet have energetic beams that shoot into the ground about 6-7 feet. You don’t need to go too far, just far enough to be submerged. Imagine that there’s kind of shelf, a platform of vibrating energy where you can lay your energetic cables, like the roots of a plant that finds the bottom of the container that it’s in. Your energetic roots can still grow and thrive without having to continuously descend into the earth. Breathe in and out a few times and imagine that your energetic roots are getting comfy on your earth shelf. There, you just planted yourself.

Between Earth and Sky

Our bodies are energetic channels that move about this planet between the earth and the sky. This exercise is simple and reminds me to connect to both realms, starting with the earth.

Move your arms so one hand has your palm facing the ground, while the other hand has your palm open toward the sky. Breath in and imagine that your ground-facing palm is drawing in the energy of the earth. Really plant yourself and feel your feet on the ground. Imagine that your sky-facing hand is drawing in the energy and the power of the heavens. As you breath out, switch hands and face them in opposite directions. Keep your body in the same position. Just move your arms with your palms open flat.

Breathe in. Hold. Breathe out. Switch arms. This activates your body as a channel between the earth and sky and helps you find your place between the two.

The Joy(s) of the Day

Some people live in a perpetual state of grumpiness, or they worry all the time, or they’re stuck in the head-down-trying-to-get-ahead gear, or they watch too much news. Let’s face it. Many people are joy challenged. They’re so distracted with the problems of life, they don’t remember how to feel joy or suddenly realize that they haven’t felt joy in a while. We’ve all gotten stuck in that rut at one time or another. This mindfulness snack is designed to help us return to joy, one step at a time.

Commit to finding one thing every day that brings you joy . It can be something you eat (really taste it and savor it). It can be something big that jumps out at you or something small and subtle that you may not have noticed if you hadn’t been hunting for you Joy of the Day. Maybe it’s a phone call to an old friend or a great piece of music or a moment when you felt undeniably calm for no reason at all. The mere act of looking for the most joyful moment during the day will tune you into your life differently. You’ll be more present, more aware of what’s making you happy (or not). At the end of the day (or anytime, really), review your list of the joy(s) of the day. There’s even some neuroscience to support the switch in brain chemistry to more endorphins or dopamine. You be the judge. Just try it for one day, then another, then another.

Bubble Up!

This ‘bubble up’ technique is a basic energy move that you’ll see with variations for different chakras. This helps protect you from negative, toxic energy on the outside while still allowing your own energy, your love and light to filter through this invisible, egg-shaped membrane that surrounds you.

• Bend down and touch the ground with your fingertips

• Turn your palms out so they face away from your body

• Straighten your arms and sweep your palms up toward the sky

• Imagine that you’re creating an energetic membrane that protects you

• Let your palms touch at the top

• Turn your palms away from one another

• Draw the same line with your wingspan as you re-draw the membrane

• Let your fingertips touch the ground

• You can repeat as many times as you need or like

• Stand up straight and imagine you’re grounded and protected in an energetic egg

• Breathe and fill up your bubble with love and compassion for yourself and others

Become the Breather

Our bodies are designed to breathe on their own, so if you forget to breathe, the atmospheric pressure and the wisdom of your body will keep your lungs inflating and deflating without you having to give it a second thought. It’s a genius design. This mindfulness snack reminds you to breathe with your breath, even if your body does it for you. By participating in your own breathing, you connect with your body in a very essential way. All you have to do is purposefully take in one big breath, or just become aware of your own breathing, even for an instant, so you feel like the ‘breather’ of your own body.

This is both a celebration of your lungs, your life, and another way to help ground you in your own body and calm your anxiety. When you think about it, everyone breathes: humans, animals, even plants take in oxygen. This is a similar to the concept of my favorite children’s book, Everyone Poops.

Creative Noticing in the Now

The Power of Now is both a book and an elusive practice because it’s really hard not to get distracted by everything in our lives. Our phones are probably the worst culprit for bringing us out of the Now, but we’re all addicted to them. One way that I’ve found to get back to the present moment is with the conscious act of creative noticing.

• The first step is to notice something in your surroundings or in your interior landscape (e.g. Am I hungry? Is this bra too tight? What’s that horrid smell?).

• Then notice something extra or add something extra to bring you further into the experience of noticing and being present. You can make up stories or captions or embellish on something strange. For example, I noticed this little girl’s barrette clipped to the branches of a tree in the park. It was most likely positioned as such so whoever lost it could find it again, but I decided that it must be the tree’s birthday because she was all dressed up for her party. I wished the tree happy birthday in my mind and took another moment to be there.

• I also call this technique, vibrant noticing, because it activates the imagination and helps you pay closer attention to your surroundings, making them more vibrant.

Fertilize the Soil

This simple breathing exercise is intended to help you get grounded, connect with yourself, cleanse your energetic body, and then give the crap that you’ve been holding onto back to Mother Nature. She won’t mind, I promise you. It’s easy to do, and you can do it anywhere, even in the bathroom.

• Plant your feet on the ground (sitting, standing, or walking).

• Breathe in and imagine that you are drawing in the power and healing energy of the earth through the souls of your feet.

• Breathe out and imagine that you are planting energetic roots about six feet below ground from the souls of your feet.

• As you breathe out, release any fear or anxiety and give it to the earth to fertilize the soil, metaphorically speaking.

• When you think about actual fertilizer and what it’s made of, you can see why your negative emotions like fear and anxiety can easily be absorbed into the earth.

• Breath in again. Repeat.

The Art of Being A Tree

Humans are a lot like trees with our ancestral roots, our sturdy trunks, branches like arms that reach out to others or to the sky, and a circuitry of arteries that bring in water and nutrients from the ground. Both can provide shelter and shade, and we change with the time and the seasons.

There’s an art to being a tree and a human. We need to plant ourselves in the right place to grow, then we need to receive all that the earth has to offer in terms of nourishment, and all that the sky has to offer in terms of sunshine.

This meditation is simple. Imagine that your body resembles a tree and that you have ‘invisible’ roots that extend from the souls of your feet, extending about six feet underground, or as far as you need them to go. Then just breathe in the nourishing power of the earth.

If you’ve imagined yourself as a willow tree, feel free to sway with the breeze. If you’re a might oak tree, feel your own power as you plant deep roots while you soar toward the sky. All you have to do is breathe and imagine.

Walking on Sunshine

This creative, grounding meditation was inspired by that upbeat song, Walking on Sunshine, so if you’ve never heard it, please take a moment to listen now.

Great. You’re going to hate me when you can’t get that damn thing out of your head, but for now, just go with it. This song used to annoy me for many reasons. It’s almost too happy and it describes someone who just fell in love and is so elated that she’s ‘walking on air’ (or sunshine). It’s the opposite of being grounded, which is what makes this song perfect for a grounding mindfulness meditation.

I heard it recently when I was out for a walk in the park and stepped on a patch of sunlight that sliced between the shade of the trees. Then I got to a sunny part of the road and realized that I too was walking on sunshine, or the ground that was splattered with sunshine.

You too can walk on sunshine. Next time you’re out for a walk or dashing to your car in a parking lot, look down and notice the sunshine under your feet, then imagine that it’s entering your body from the souls of your feet. This actives your lower chakra and reminds you that you can bring sunshine into your body from the ground up!