10 Poses to Get Grounded
Do you ever have those days where everything seems to go wrong and you don’t want to have to deal with anything? On those days I need to get grounded. Getting grounded allows me to reconnect with myself and gives me the space to work through whatever I need to.
Sometimes that means I release all the anger and aggression that built up during the day. Sometimes that means I cry for 15 minutes in child’s pose before I even move on to another posture. Sometimes that means going through the postures and feeling so much more relaxed I fall asleep on the floor in Savasana.
I hope these postures help you create a little space in your life to reconnect with yourself and to let go of any bullshit life has thrown your way today!
Poses
Utthita Balasana // Wide Legged Child’s Pose
Bring your knees wide, toes to touch. Allow your rib cage to sink down, extend your arms long out in front of you to help lengthen your spine. Take 5 deep breaths here, allow the pose to lengthen your spine, stretch your hips and relieve tension in your body. Let go of any tension you're holding on to.
Adho Mukha Svanasana // Downward Facing Dog
Ground down through your fingers (especially your thumb and pointer) engage your arms while pushing the earth away allowing your weight to come into your feet. Lengthen through the spine, pressing your hips up and back. There are so many moving pieces in this pose take your time with it. Take a few deep breaths and start to feel your toes and your calves, your fingers and your shoulders.
Virabhadrasana II // Warrior II
Don't let your bent knee cave in. Engage through the legs, pay special attention to the outside of your straight leg engaging through the outside of that back foot. Settle in here, notice where your mind goes when you want to get out of this, take another deep breath in that discomfort and sit a little deeper. Feel your strength.
Utkata Konasana // Goddess Pose (w/ twist)
The variation on the left I'm pushing my head into my hands - I find this helps me sink deeper and balance more easily. The variation on the right you should take on both sides-using your arms to press into your legs while allowing your shoulder to drop. Sink a little deeper than you naturally do and breath here, find your balance or work your shoulders down from side to side, moving with your breath, focusing on the pose and allowing all other thoughts to float away.
Prasarita Padottanasana // Wide Legged Forward Fold
Engage through your quads to help you hinge further into this pose. I like to use my arms to help pull me a little deeper, think about hinging from your hips and lengthening through your spine. On your inhales lengthen through your spine and on your exhales fold a little deeper. Allow your breath and movements to move together, feel the earth under your feet, pull the energy up through your quads and hinge a little deeper.
Malasana // Garland Pose
Squat with your feet as close together as possible. Keep your heels on the floor if you can, if not no big deal! You can always support them on a folded mat or towel. I like to bring my elbows inside my knees to help push my legs out slightly. Allow yourself to be unstable, be playful here. Breathing and finding your balance, lengthening through the top of your head, through your entire spine.
Supta Baddha Konasana // Reclining Bound Angle Pose
I like to use my hands to spread the back of my pelvis and release my low back. The natural tendency in this pose is to try and push your knees toward the floor thinking that this will increase the stretch of the inner thighs and groins. This isn't really true though, pushing the knees down will actually have just the opposite effect. Imagine your knees are light and continue settling your groins deep into your pelvis. Feel the earth holding up your hips, allow your hand to rise and fall with the rhythm of your breath.
Ananda Balasana // Happy Baby
I'm showing two variations here one grabbing the outsides of my feet and one grabbing my legs. Neither is better than the other just different. Make sure your low back stays on the mat, try both variations to see which way works better for you. Feel the grounded feeling that comes with having your entire spine long and pressing into the earth. Lengthen through the crown of your head and allow yourself to relax on your exhales.
Halasana // Plow Pose
Plow pose is a pose that varies SO much from day to day. My flexibility here really just depends on if I've been climbing or if I'm stressed. So try and meet this one where you are TODAY (a good reminder for how we should approach all poses). Here are a few different variations I like to play with and see how far into this I can get. Make sure your weight is on your shoulders and not your neck. You can even support yourself by putting a folded up blanket under your shoulders. Keep your gaze directly up (don't try and look at what's going on around you). Once in the pose breathe into your discomfort, feel all those tight muscles release on your exhales.
Supta Matsyendrasana // Supine Twist
Let your legs fall toward the floor while keeping your shoulders on the mat (I sometimes need to readjust here). If keeping your head turned toward the opposite shoulder hurts you feel free to keep your gaze up! Feel the earth holding up your body. The weight of gravity pulling your knee closer to the earth. Notice where your mind wanders then you slow down, notice, but don't judge.