Body Scan Grounding Exercise
Balancing your physical and spiritual aspects
Body Scan Grounding Exercise
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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