🔼: [[🛠 Pendulation Toolkit]], [[🕯️ Meditation 🧘]] ##### 🕯️ Grounding When we talk about being or feeling grounded, it means we’re [[🕯️ Embodiment|embodied]] and deliberately engaging and focused on our physical senses as opposed to being absorbed in our inner-world. The polar opposite of Grounding is [[🛡️ Dissociation]]. - Grounding could be considered a form of [[🕯️ Meditation 🧘]], where our [[💡 Meditation Anchor|meditation anchor]] is one or more physical sensory experiences – an outer sight, sound, smell, taste, or feeling. - It can be used as a safe [[Protector Strategies 🛡️|Protector Strategy 🛡️]] — a form of deliberate [[🛡️ Self-Distraction]]. ###### Grounding Practices [[🔑 Trust your experience and intuition]], and feel free to come up with more. Breathe in and say to yourself “I am...” Breathe out and say to yourself “…here” Ask yourself: - What can I see? - What can I feel? - What can I taste? - What can I smell? - What can I hear? As you answer each question, focus on the source. For example, if you can taste the inside of your mouth, focus on the taste for several seconds. If you can see an object in the room, consider its shape, texture, and color before moving onto the next thing. - [[🛠 Dizzy Floor Time]] - [[🕯️ Movement Practices 👟]] - [[🧘 Body Scan]] - [[🛠 Grounding in the Body]] - [[🛠 Vertical Grounding]] - [[🛠 Progressive Muscle Relaxation]] - [[🛠 Mindful Walking]] - [[🛠 Wavy Wiggles]] - [[🛠 Heart-Hug]] - [[🛠 Butterfly Hug]] - [[🧘 See, Hear, Feel Out]] - [[🛠 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Technique]] - [[🛠 Naming and Counting]] - [[🕯️ Cold Shower]] - [[🛠 Anchors]] - [[🛠 Music]] - [[🕯️ Mindful Moments]] - [[🌿 Herbal Bath]] - [[🛠 Biofeedback]] - Place a cool washcloth on your head or face with lavender [[Essential Oils]]. - Bite into a lemon - Get a tasty beverage and drink it slowly, focusing on the taste, smell, and temperature. - [[Acupuncture]] ###### Skillful Grounding Grounding can be used skillfully to aid [[🕯️ Pendulation]] and [[🕯️ Titration]]. It can also be used to help us come out of other [[Protector Strategies 🛡️]] such as [[🛡️ Dissociation]] when our Parts don’t feel safe to allow it, or when we don't have someone to help us through [[💡 Direct Access|Direct Access]]. There are some who believe Grounding bypasses [[💡 Protector Parts|Protectors]] who use [[🛡️ Dissociation]] when [[🔑 All Parts are welcome exactly as they are|🔑 all Parts should be welcomed exactly as they are]]. I believe skillful Grounding actually respects them: If something in particular triggered the [[🛡️ Dissociation]], we can Ground to focus our attention *away* from what that [[💡 Protector Parts|Protector]] doesn’t want us getting close to and then respect that boundary by *not* going back to the trigger after the [[🛡️ Dissociation]] has passed. Instead, check in and get to know that [[💡 Parts|Part]]. Get their permission before trying again – [[🔑 Go at your pace]].