ARE YOU GROUNDED? Stomach points
By Lisa Wieben
Kidney 1 Point. The location of this point will vary from person to person, but massaging around the area will cover it.
Electricity needs to be grounded. Our
body energies also
need to be grounded. When we talk about grounding, we are
bringing awareness to that feeling of
stability, security, or calm that gives us the ability to deal with life’s ups and
downs more easily. Grounding your
internal energy while walking barefoot on grass or spending time at a beach
are great ways to
ground and connect with the earth, and unfortunately not
always available. But, there are simple
ways to affect your energy.
14 • FEBRUARY 2022
SADDLEUP.CA
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iredness, irritability, forgetfulness, insomnia, feeling ‘spacey’, difficulty focusing on a task, being off-balance, as well as sore feet could be signs that you are un-grounded. When we are stressed our energy moves up and we can ‘get stuck in our head’ with neverending chatter. We are no longer feeling our way through situations, but reacting to them. Our energetic body shifts from a state of balance and our horses can pick up on this shift in us and may become worried, spooky, or nervous. We are no longer a secure figure in their life, but something that causes them to worry or be nervous. Horses can certainly be a mirror! The easiest way to think about grounding is to picture a tree. The roots of trees spread out wide and deep to support the tree above. The roots bring in nutrients from the soil and move them up the trunk to the branches and leaves. Then the leaves bring in nutrients from the sun, rain, and the environment. As the wind blows the tree stays grounded. Now imagine your body is the tree. As you ground you are bringing in the beautiful yin energy of the earth, which moves up through the body, and then the yang energies from above move down through the crown chakra and down the body into the earth. There is a constant exchange of energy up and down and throughout your body. Now, as you do this, be sure to take slow, deep, cleansing breaths. Perhaps imagining the energy coming in on the inhale, and then releasing anything you don’t need, to the earth on the exhale. When we are ungrounded this flow of energy is blocked in some way. First we will address the feet since this is our connection to the ground. Massage each foot, top and bottom. Run your fingers down from the ankle to the toes between the tendons giving any sore spots some extra attention. On the bottom of the foot, pay particular attention to the middle of the foot, down from second toe and across from the widest point of the foot. This point in Centered Riding and Tai Chi is called the ‘Bubbling Spring’ and is a balance point of the foot. In Chinese Medicine this point is the first point on the kidney meridian where the earth energy enters the body. Massaging this point is said to ‘calm the spirit’. The sides of the foot and top of the foot also contain the spleen, bladder, gallbladder, stomach, and liver meridians, so massaging the foot helps to send energy throughout the body. Now imagine your body is like a battery. Cells have + and - charges and our body has a north and south polarity. Rub your hands together briskly then slowly take them apart and closer together without touching. Can you feel a resistance between your hands? Your hands are like magnets with the palm being the south side of the magnet and the back of the hand being the north. Like repels like so after you have built the charge your hands will repel each other. Energy practitioners move energy with their hands. When we are ungrounded the polarity of the body may flip or be the same charge top and bottom. An easy way to ground is by rubbing the feet with a stainless steel spoon (one that a magnet will stick to). This realigns the polarity.
