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Friday, September 27, 2013

Balancing Your Physical and Spirtual Aspects

Body Scan Grounding Exercise

Balancing your physical and spiritual aspects

By , About.com Guide

Body Scan Grounding Exercise


Body Scan Grounding Exercise
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Grounding exercises help tremendously with maintaining a balance of our physical and spiritual bodies. As a healer, I have learned that being energetically grounded allows me to be better equipped in facilitating healing for clients and also to create and maintain wellness in my own life.

In this article I give instruction for a scanning technique I have used for many years to help balance the body/spirit connection. I do this exercise each night while laying in my bed before I sleep.

Note: Doing my body scan exercise at bedtime will work well for anyone who doesn't fall asleep easily, but for those who tend to fall asleep quickly upon hitting their head to the pillow, sitting upright in a chair is a better alternative. The primary purpose of this exercise is to bring body and spirit into balance.
 
Diagnostic in nature, this body scan will help you become more fully aware of both subtle and not-so-subtle sensations of your physical body. This is an excellent tool for identifying all physical stresses and upsets, especially those underlying imbalances you may not be aware of. Pain can be so overwhelming in one part of the body that the rest of the body gets neglected. The body scan is an exercise in assembling the larger hurts alongside the minutest details of stresses which you may have overlooked within your body. It is helpful to bring our awareness to the less obvious.

In addition to the apparent grounding benefits of this body scan exercise, another side benefit is that sometimes the most painful hurts are miraculously lifted from the physical during the body scan process.
For example: A throbbing headache may get temporary or permanent relief by diverting the focus downwards toward the feet and away from the throbbing, although this will be dependent on the severity of the hurt you are experiencing in your head.

Be prepared to be amazed at the discoveries that you will make about your body during this process.

Grounding Exercise: Body Scan

Lay flat on your back on your bed, couch or floor. Position your arms and hands comfortably at your sides. Place a pillow or rolled towel under your knees if your lower back requires support. Begin your body scan by diverting your thoughts away from any mental chatter, switch gears by first focusing on your feet. Do not rush! During the process you will slowly change your focus from one part of your body to the next. Also, you don't need to touch yourself, the scan is mental. Allow your mind to switch focus from wherever it is. Begin with your feet and move upwards.

Notice the soles of your feet, your toes, in-between your toes, the top of your feet, ankles, and heel.
Do they feel hot? or cold? Do they hurt? Are they numb or swollen? Can you feel the blood circulating through them? Are they feeling tired? Don't judge how they feel, simply notice how they feel. Wiggle your toes. How does that feel?

Once you have a made a strong connection with your feet move your attention upwards past your ankle... switching all your focus from your feet to the lower legs, then move onto your knee caps, behind your knees, your thighs, and so on.

Keep reminding yourself not to rush.

Allow yourself to breathe evenly throughout the scanning process. If you come upon any areas of discomfort (stressed muscles, soreness, etc.) or at a spot that feels like there may be stuck energy take two or three deep cleansing breaths to ease the tension or break through energetic blockages.

Once you have moved your attention through your torso and up to your neck, drop your focus at your fingertips. Move up your attention through the length of the fingers and into the hands (tops of hands and palms). Continue your energy scan up your arms and at the shoulders, returning your attention once again to your neck before finishing up with your focus on face, ears, and scalp.

Are You Adequately Grounded?

How often have you been told that "grounding" is important? What does it mean to be ungrounded anyway? Taking this quiz will offer you clues as to which characteristics you have, and whether the actions or reactions that you take are helping you to stay grounded or are actually aiding your energetic retreats from your physical self.

Are You Adequately Grounded? - take this quiz now
Jacqueline Veissid / Getty Images

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