For many people who feel called toward retreats, sacred entheogenic medicine, or deeper spiritual work, the body has also been a place of tension, bracing, or numbness. You might feel “stuck in your head,” disconnected from sensations, or as if your body is always on alert. If that is true for you, nothing is wrong with you. Often the body has simply learned to protect you the best way it knows how.
Grounding practices are not about forcing your body to relax or making anything “go away.” At Sacred Relations Healing, we see gentle grounding as an invitation: a way of saying, “I’m willing to listen again,” at a pace that respects your history, your nervous system, and your current capacity.
This article offers a few simple grounding practices—both indoors and out in nature—that you can experiment with in everyday life, as well as before and after retreats or ceremonies. Take what resonates, leave what does not, and move slowly.
The nervous system responds to threat by preparing you to fight, flee, freeze, or fawn. For many people living with PTSD, anxiety, depression, or long‑term burnout, those responses can stay partly “on” even when there is no immediate danger.
Gentle grounding practices give your system a different kind of experience:
- A chance to notice actual support beneath you in this moment.
- A reminder that you can pause, slow down, and orient to what is here now.
- A way to reconnect with the body without demanding that it feel calm, open, or healed.
The key word is *gentle*. Grounding is not a test. It is not a requirement for being “ready” for a retreat or ceremony. It is simply one way to build relationship with your body and to offer it small signals of safety that can accumulate over time.
You can do these practices sitting, standing, or lying down—at home, in bed, at your desk, or in any relatively quiet space. None of them are meant to replace medical or psychological care; they are simple invitations to reconnect with yourself.
Practice 1: Contact and Breath (2–3 minutes)
1. Sit or stand in a way that is reasonably comfortable for you.
2. Place one hand on your chest and, if it feels okay, the other on your belly.
3. Notice where your body makes contact with the chair, floor, couch, or bed. Let your weight be supported a little more, even by a small degree.
4. Without trying to change your breath, simply track the natural rise and fall under your hands for a few cycles.
5. If it feels supportive, you might silently say to yourself, “I am here. I am breathing. I do not have to rush.”
You are not trying to achieve a particular state. The practice is simply noticing that you are in a body, in this moment, and allowing a tiny bit more contact with it.
Practice 2: Orienting to Safety in the Room (2–3 minutes)
1. Gently let your eyes move around the space you are in, as if you were slowly scanning a landscape.
2. Notice 3–5 things you can see that feel neutral or even slightly pleasant: a color, a plant, a texture, a piece of art, light on a wall.
3. If you like, quietly name them to yourself: “Green plant… soft blanket… warm light…”
4. Then, notice a few points of physical support: the feeling of your feet on the floor, your back against the chair, your hands resting on your legs.
5. If it feels okay, take one slightly deeper breath, and let your exhale be a little longer than your inhale.
This practice is not about pretending everything is fine. It is about reminding your system that, within whatever else is happening, there are also small pockets of relative safety that can be noticed.
For many people, nature can feel like a quiet, steady companion in their healing. The earth, trees, water, and sky can offer forms of support that are different from words or concepts. These practices are invitations to reconnect with the more‑than‑human world in a simple way, without bypassing or ignoring what you are feeling.
Practice 3: Barefoot on the Earth
If it is safe and accessible for you to be outside with bare feet:
1. Find a patch of grass, soil, sand, or stone where you feel relatively safe and undisturbed.
2. Gently place your bare feet on the ground. Notice the temperature, texture, and firmness beneath you.
3. Allow your weight to drop into your feet, as if you are letting the ground hold a bit more of you.
4. You might imagine the contact as a quiet conversation between your body and the earth: nothing to fix, just a meeting.
5. Stay for 1–3 minutes, or longer if it feels supportive, and then slowly step away, noticing any subtle changes in your body or mood.
This is not about forcing yourself to feel calm or “high‑vibe.” It is simply a way to give your body direct contact with something steady and larger than you.
Practice 4: Noticing the Living World Around You
You can do this practice with shoes on, in a park, your yard, or even looking out a window.
1. Look for three things in the natural world you can see from where you are: a tree, a bird, a patch of sky, a plant, a cloud, a stone.
2. Take a moment with each one. Notice shape, color, movement, stillness.
3. Let your attention rest on one of them a bit longer. You might gently wonder: *How long has this tree or stone been here? What has it quietly witnessed?*
4. See if you can allow a small sense that you are not alone; you are part of a wider living field.
This practice can be especially helpful if going fully barefoot or being very still feels like too much. It offers connection through sight and curiosity.
Practice 5: Sitting with a Tree, Stone, or Water
1. If you have access to a tree, large stone, or body of water that feels safe to visit, choose one that you feel drawn to.
2. Sit or stand nearby. If it feels okay, you may rest a hand on the tree trunk, touch the stone, or sit where you can see and hear the water.
3. Notice the sensations in your body as you make contact or simply sit close. Are there areas of softness, tightness, warmth, or coolness? No need to interpret—just observe.
4. You might silently say, “I am here with you,” and see how your body responds to that simple acknowledgement.
5. When you are ready to leave, you can mentally or quietly thank this place for being with you, then slowly walk away, paying attention to each step.
Again, the intention is not to escape your life or override your pain. It is to let nature be a quiet ally as you build more capacity to be present.
Listening for “too much”
Because these practices interact with your nervous system, it is important to listen for signs that something is becoming “too much.” That might look like:
- Feeling dizzy, overwhelmed, or suddenly checked out.
- A spike in anxiety, agitation, or intrusive images.
- A strong inner sense of “I don’t want to do this right now.”
If you notice any of these, you have full permission to:
- Stop the practice immediately.
- Open your eyes (if they were closed) and look around the space you are in.
- Do something more neutral, like getting a drink of water, moving your body, or focusing on a simple task.
- Reach out to a trusted support person or professional if you need additional care.
Gentle grounding is not about pushing through discomfort at all costs. It is about building your capacity while respecting your current limits.
If you feel called toward The Heart of Authenticity retreat or similar sacred medicine work, these grounding practices can be helpful both before and after ceremony:
- **Before:** to build relationship with your body and to notice how your system responds to slowing down and contact.
- **After:** to help you integrate experiences, reconnect to everyday life, and care for your nervous system as it digests what has unfolded.
You do not have to master any of this to be worthy of attending a retreat. These practices are simply companions you can bring along on your path—whether or not you ever sit in ceremony.
If you would like to explore how our trauma‑aware, somatic‑informed approach might support you, you are welcome to:
- **Learn more about The Heart of Authenticity retreat** and how we structure preparation, ceremony, and integration:
- Or **reach out with your questions or concerns**, so we can feel together into whether this work, in this season, is aligned for you:
Wherever you are right now, may you find small, manageable ways to come home to your body—at your own pace, in your own time.