Earth: Being Grounded is Not A Punishment!

You may aspire to float up into the clouds and fly with the angels, and of course this would be a beautiful experience; but sometimes on the spiritual path, we need to remind ourselves of the value of being grounded. Without some grounding, whatever incredible ideas you have will remain as just ideas rather than being manifest into reality. Without grounding our health will suffer – the un-grounded mind is often confused and disorganised; the un-grounded body, shaky and sleep-deprived.

The Earth is literally the foundation on which we stand, however in modern society we have, in many ways, lost our connection with it. This happens quite literally, as our shoes prevent our feet from connecting with the ground and our high-rise buildings lift our physical bodies far from the Earth. If we look at it from an elemental perspective (with Earth representing strength, security, and stability) we can see how the constant “doing” that modern life demands can uproot us. The simple practice of lying in Savasana and surrendering to the Earth is a fantastic grounding exercise, but to the modern mind this may seem like a waste of our precious time. It isn’t! Taking action to restore the connection with the Earth will bring many benefits and can provide a foundation for further spiritual practices.

Even our spiritual practices themselves can sometimes un-ground us, as there can be a tendency to use spirituality as an escape from everyday life. Of course any beautiful, transcendent experiences are to be treasured, but so should our daily lives. One way to look at it would be to imagine using the spiritual practices to collect energy which we then bring back “down to earth” to enrich our daily lives.

If you find that your head is in the clouds, your mind wanders, and you have a million ideas that never seem to become a reality – then it is time for some grounding work. This could involve activities such as walking barefoot, or practising certain Yoga or meditation exercises. Also setting some routine such as sleeping and eating at regular times can really help. For un-grounded among us, the idea of routine sounds like hell, a kind of imprisonment – but really it is the opposite. Having a calmer mind and stronger body actually gives you the freedom to do all the things you have always wanted to do.

The earth element is also related to commitment. If we are committed to our relationship or to our work we are more likely to find satisfaction rather than constantly feeling the need to change everything. Often we go into spiritual practices looking to make dramatic changes to our lives – which is great – but we should also remember that we can often use these practices to teach us to be grateful and content with what we have.

Yoga really is about bringing everything into balance. As we have said, being un-grounded causes many problems, but likewise too much of the Earth element isproblematic: this will result in depression, a lack of motivation, heaviness and tiredness. In these cases there would be less focus on grounding exercises and more work to get you flying again.

Yoga Postures For Balancing The Earth Element

Yoga postures for working with earth often focus on the legs and feet – literally our foundation. The bones in the body represent earth as they are solid, so Yoga postures which work with the muscles that support the bones are used. Some postures to try are:

• Standing or sitting forward folds
• Balance Postures
• Chair Pose
• Warrior III
• Sivasana (surrendering to the Earth in the corpse pose).
• Standing or sitting forward folds
• Balance Postures
• Chair Pose
• Warrior III
• Sivasana (surrendering to the Earth in the corpse pose).