- Find a quiet space where you feel comfortable. You can either stand up, or sit upright in a chair for this practice.
- Take a second to intentionally pause and be here now, wherever you are. You might be coming into this practice feeling low, with uncomfortable sensations, emotions, or thoughts, or maybe you’re not feeling much at all in this moment. I'm here to remind you that this is okay. This is a nervous system response - and we can maybe even thank our nervous system for trying to protect us, and just spend the next few minutes being curious about trying something new.
- Place your feet flat onto the ground beneath you, with your feet at hip's width apart.
- Sense the floor against the bottom of your feet.
- Notice where the soles of your feet make contact with the floor, and what it feels like to be supported by the ground in this way.
- Notice how the floor supports your weight.
- Practice pressing or pushing your feet further into the ground. You can even try pushing the soles of your feet further into the ground, so you can really feel how the ground supports you.
- Keep feeling the floor underneath you for the next thirty to sixty seconds.
- Name two things that you notice internally when you stay still, with all your attention on the soles of your feet. Are there any shifts, however tiny or subtle, in how your body feels? See if you can put words to what you notice.
- Notice if there are any parts of you that are enjoying feeling your feet on the floor, and if there are any parts that don’t.
- If there are parts that don’t, notice what they want to do? You can try experimenting by lightly lifting one foot up off the ground and slowly moving it around - maybe rolling the ankle, scrunching and stretching your toes. Or you could keep your feet on the ground but just lift your toes up, and then slowly try placing one toe back down at a time. You can experiment with as much or as little movement that feels right for you, just noticing what your feet want to do in this moment now.
- Once you’ve finished experimenting, place your feet back firmly on the ground and bring your attention back to the soles of your feet, just noticing what it's like for them to ground down into the earth beneath you. You can stay here for however long feels okay.
- Once you’ve finished, notice if anything is different from just a few moments ago. Are there any shifts, however tiny or subtle, in how your body feels? See if you can put words to what you notice, remembering that whatever comes up is okay.
( i ) By bringing focused attention to the ground and your feet, you are increasing your nervous system’s felt sense of having a physical base of support. This kind of grounding helps to gently bring you back into your body and into the present moment in a way that still reminds you that you are supported.