Let's Get Anchored
Grounding Techniques are used to help individuals stay present in the moment and reduce overwhelming emotions. Our monthly newsletter includes a grounding technique in our section "Let's Get Anchored" each month that is fun and seasonal. Check them all out here!
Crunch on this!
There’s something magical about fall, and it's not the Pumpkin Spice. The air is crisp, warm colors everywhere, and of course, the satisfying crunch of leaves underfoot. Beyond being a nostalgic seasonal joy, that crunch can actually serve as a powerful grounding technique for mental health.
Grounding is a practice that helps bring your mind back to the present moment. It’s especially useful when stress, anxiety, or overwhelming thoughts start to take over. By engaging your senses, you can reconnect with your body and surroundings.
Walking through fallen leaves offers a perfect opportunity for this. Notice the texture of the ground beneath your feet, the sharp crackle as each step lands, and even the earthy scent of autumn in the air. Focusing on these sensory details anchors you in the now, reminding your mind and body that you are safe and steady.
A Little Birdie Told Me
Hummingbirds wings are incredibly fast, flapping at a rate of 50-80 times per second. But do they look stressed? Nope. Probably because they know the secret of humming. This time of the year is packed with back-to-school shopping, schedules and finding the perfect first day outfit. If you find yourself needing a little grounding, take a tip of our feathered friends and hum.
Humming with your mouth closed and throat relaxed allows vibrations to reach the vagus nerve endings in your vocal cords. This activates the vagal pathway, lowering heart rate and reducing blood pressure.
Here’s how to get started. Sit comfortably, take a deep breath. As you exhale, hum a steady tone (try a mmm or ohm) for the full breath. Studies show repeating this for 2 minutes can reduce cortisol levels and increase heart rate variability. The best thing about this grounding technique is if anyone asks for where you learned this tip from you can say “a little birdie told me”.
Ice, Ice, Maybe?
This weather can make everyone feel a little off. Let’s Get Anchored with Ice! If you need to manage anxiety or dissociation, try holding ice cubes in your hand, running them along your skin, or splashing cold water on your face. This will redirect your focus to the present moment. The ice interrupts the cycle of overthinking and anxiousness. Sudden cold exposure can activate the vagus nerve, which is linked to the parasympathetic nervous system, promoting relaxation and calming the body. Using ice cubes, cold compresses, ice packs, cold water while also focusing on your breathing and other senses will have you anchored and cooled down in no time. Next time you are feeling like you could use some grounding, try ice, ice, maybe?
Rainbow Connection
Roy G. Biv-you learned it, you know it, so lets put it to work for your mental health. When you find yourself needing a moment to reconnect, check out your surroundings and find something from every color of the rainbow! Red-apples, flowers, shirt? Orange-car, package. Continue this process for each color while focusing on your breathing, releasing your jaw and lowering your shoulders. Singing ‘Rainbow Connection’ by Kermit is totally optional.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Technique
The Count taught us how to… well… count. Let’s put that to work to help ease stressful moments and provide grounding. Here’s how it works: Start with 5. Identify 5 things you can see, bushes, flowers, paperclips. Look around and whatever is surrounding you, count! Then move on to 4. Find 4 things you can touch. Then 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell and 1 thing you can taste. This activity will give you a chance to reconnect with your surroundings and help you feel grounded.
Feel the Rain on Your Skin
Remember when Natasha Bedingfield sang “feel the rain on your skin”? Spring brings us many opportunities to connect with nature. When you feel stressed and need a moment to ground yourself, go outside. Take a deep breath and feel your surroundings. While outside you have the opportunity to smell grass or flowers. Give yourself a moment to connect to your surroundings. Pay attention to the breeze, the sun on your skin or even the rain. There are so many other ways you can connect to nature but the rest is unwritten. (If you sing that last line, it helps it make more sense.)
Let's Sunflower!
Have you heard of the viral ‘Sunflower’ trend? It involves going outside, standing towards the sun (with your eyes closed) and just enjoying the sun for a minute. We have all heard sunlight can provide many benefits such as increasing Vitamin D levels, supporting bone/heart health, regulating sleep cycles, enhancing emotional well-being, reducing pain perceptions and boosting alertness-just to name a few.
The sun is coming out and staying out longer this time of the year. Take advantage and go outside and be a sunflower!
Puppy Love
We love animals and we have 3 therapy horses, 1 mini horse, a dog and a donkey to prove it. This grounding technique is one for the animal lovers. Next time you’re feeling down, reach out to a friend-not just any friend-man’s best friend.
Research via John Hopkins has shown that simply petting a dog lowers the stress hormone Cortisol. And if anyone ever gives you a look for talking to your dog, let them know that social interaction between people and their pets actually increase levels of the feel-good hormone Oxytocin! This is the same hormone found that bonds mothers and babies.
Lowering your cortisol level and increasing your Oxytocin can also help with your blood pressure. Next time you are looking to feel more grounded, get closer to the ground and give your pet some love.
Spell it Out!
Let’s Get Anchored is our play on words for our grounding techniques. These techniques are used to bring yourself back to the present moment, helping to manage stress, anxiety or overwhelming emotions.
With the spelling bees going on in schools right now-here’s how spelling can help you anchor yourself in the moment. Take your name (or any word), look around the room and spell it with items you see.
For example, let’s spell “Anchor”. Air freshener “A”, notebook “N”, chair “C”, hair “H”, open sign “O”, and refreshment “R”. This gives you a moment to look around and take in your surroundings. Let us know how this method works for you!
Scents that make Scents
The smell of coconut can take us to the beach or the smell of peppermint can take us to Christmas morning. Just like smelling salts are used to wake our favorite soap operas stars after they dramatically faint on cue, we can use scents to help calm us this holiday season.
-
Lavender is probably one of the most popular calming scents with its potent relaxing effects of linalool.
-
Lemon can help promote concentration, clarification and can be calming when feeling anxious.
-
Sandalwood has been used in incense for meditation aid for centuries. The woody scent is not only relaxing but quite seasonal and perfect for our December newsletter.
-
Peppermint is also easy to find this time of the year and has an aromatic herb with analgesic and tranquilizing effects.
Try these out and let us know which worked for you!
Tastes Like Calming
Thanksgiving brings us so many delicious foods, but did you know certain tastes can help keep you feeling grounded? With the added stress the holidays can bring, turn to these flavors to help calm and stay grounded.
Spicy and sour foods can activate our taste buds and “wake” us up. Take time to notice the strong flavors and get reconnected with the moment. Pay attention to their flavor, how it feels on your tongue and other sensations while eating.
If you have an activity filled day ahead, skip the coffee and go for a drink with apple cider vinegar, matcha, ginger or turmeric. These ingredients are known as powerful remedies for fighting fatigue, anxiety and stress.
Let your tastebuds be real buds and help you get anchored this holiday season!
Tips for Literally
'Chilling-Out'
The colder weather is here which can actually help with anxiety. If you are looking for a way to get grounded, try these cold techniques.
Take an ice cube out of your drink and hold it between your hands. The cold can jolt you out of that moment and bring you back to the present. Hold the ice cube in your hand or to your wrists for 1-3 minutes over a sink while you take a breathing break. For 90 seconds, focus on taking 5-6 deep breaths.
Another option is to go outside into that Fall breeze without your jacket! (Nobody tell my kids I said this!) Feel the cold breeze. Listen to the leaves. Look at the colors of the changing leaves and take a breathing break. Ninety seconds of nature can help anchor you to the moment and change the rest of your day.