Getting Grounded

As we continue with our Guest Posts series, please welcome to our blog Jeremy Walker.

Jeremy Walker is a trained Hypnotherapist, NLP Master Practitioner, Sleep Coach and Psychosomatic Therapist.  Jeremy is highly passionate about health, healing and behavior and has his own published work on sleeping well and health.  He enjoys nothing better than seeing someone make a positive shift in their lives.

The following article was written by Jeremy especially for us here at Calming Music Weekly, so that he could share his suggestions and ideas for reducing stress and taking control of your emotions.  Jeremy provides some simple and practical tips for stress relief and what he describes as “getting grounded” – removing yourself from your stresses.

Over to you, Jeremy….

Getting Grounded

What things can I do to help balance my emotions?

How can I get from stressed to calm?

I would like to try to answer these questions for you.

I would also like to share with you some approaches to stress that will give you a deeper insight into your self and may change the way you approach stress forever.

The first way to deal with stress is the most effective.

It is also deceptively simple.

It is simply to move ourselves away from the source of the stress.

Do I really have to spend time with this person?

Do I really have to do that particular job?

Could I just stop going to the source of the stress and do what I love more often?

Moving away from stress or changing how we think about it, is the ideal scenario.

When it isn't possible to get away from the source, there are some quick things we can do to get relief.

Ongoing stressful events mean we have to find ways to get from stressed to calm.  There are things we can do to help reduce mental overwhelm.

When we are all up in our thoughts and emotions, we need something to ground us.

As human beings we can be in 1 of 3 different 'modes' and can switch between all 3.

Which zone do you spend the most time in?

We can be in our Mental zone- which is thinking, problem solving.
We can be in our Emotional zone- experiencing our feelings.
We can be in our Physical zone - grounded, in the body, exercising.

When you become stresses, often it is a good idea try to get into your Physical Zone.  Grounding is a useful way to get out of all the thinking and emotions we experience.  When we are 'in the body' and truly present, we are grounded.

A good example of this is when we are doing something vigorous.

We are not thinking about problems at that time are we?

Being grounded in our physical zone, is what is meant by being present.

Getting grounded involves physically moving your body into an activity.

Some of the most effective ways to get grounded, fast, are:

• All forms of physical exercise.
• Spending time in nature.
• Walking barefoot on grass.
• Listening to calming music with our eyes closed.
• Eating root vegetables; zucchini, sweet potato, carrots, onions, pumpkin.
• Spending time with a pet.
• Cleaning and organising.

As an aside - our diet is linked to our emotions.  Eating real foods can be up to 50% of the work needed to reduce stress.  The above vegetables have a grounding effect on the system.

When working one-on-one with clients, I love it when they tell me they have been cleaning out the cupboards and throwing away old things.  This is great for the psyche, as our outer world represents our inner world.

When we clear our work-space and our home-space, we feel less cluttered and clear in the mind.  Also having an immaculate bedroom is one of the top things you can do to sleep well.

Tidy bed, tidy head !

Exercising and spending time in nature helps us to process thoughts and emotions.

How good does your head-space feel after spending time in these activities? Usually you will feel much better.

There are dozens of ways to get this grounding effect on the body - remember to do at least one of these per day.

Each of the above exercises feel good, have no side effects and are completely free!

At times of high emotion and stress, we need a balancing tool, like grounding.

My simple advice is to spend a little more time doing things that recharge your batteries and a little less time with things that drain you.

With many of the people I help – such as with quitting smoking, binge eating or alcohol problems - they are all looking for something.

Many of these people are busy Mums, teachers or health care workers.

For them, there is lots of giving to others and maybe not so much giving to themselves.  The unhealthy habits kick in when they get those precious few moments to themselves, finally a time out to just pause and rest.

I propose that at these times we're not looking for a cigarette or something to binge on, we are looking for grounding and balance.

In fact, if the stress is really high, shouldn't we be looking after ourselves even more ?

At times like divorce, moving house or relationship problems - this is the time to be as healthy as possible.

I know when things are going wrong for me I return to the basics.

When I've had a really bad day I will:

1. Stop and take 15 deep breaths.
2. Drink a full glass of water.
3. Eat the best possible food.
4. Do any form of physical exercise (grounding)
5. Listen to some calming music and meditate.

Does this get rid of the problem?

No.

Does this change my mood and help me process emotions without the need of other substances?

Yes.

When these 5 steps are examined closely, there is a great power behind each one of them.
My old meditation teacher used to say that her “breath was her best friend”. I didn't get it for a few years, but I later came to realise the great power of being familiar with and aware of my breath.

I've been using these for more than 5 years.

They are what the body is really needing, they're natural, they're free and they have no downsides!

Please remember to nurture yourself a little once per day and a lot once per week.

About the Author:
Jeremy Walker works as a Hypnotherapist and Psychosomatic Therapist in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.  He really enjoys seeing others gain self-mastery and to live their best life.  Jeremy focuses on helping people with; quitting smoking, weight loss, sleep problems, psychosomatic health, increasing energy and healing and he provides personal health services to Brisbane and beyond.

Thank you Jeremy !   I am sure that our readers will get some great benefits from your simple yet easily implemented suggestions.

Matthew

Calming Music Blog

Photo credits -  vastateparksstaff , jenny downing