Finding ground can give your whole life purpose and meaning. Here are 5 practical ways to connect with the earth from our incredible yoga teacher, Lizzie Reumont.
1. Hit The Trails
Every year at this time, I take myself out of London’s busy city scape and hit the trails. The British countryside has some of the most grounding medicine you will find in the form of narrow dirt pathways, wild surf, cliff-lined beaches, rocky outcrops and plenty of the world’s finest mud! No cars, no electric poles…just nature and all of her perfect imperfections.
2. Notice The Details
Taking time to allow myself to surrender to the elements and find my own pace means that I delight in noticing the details: A snail that has found her way between the most unlikely of two colliding rock faces; a curious baby mole who has stepped out beyond the safe boundaries of home; a lone crab, lofted up onto a jutting boulder, placed there, no doubt, by a tidal burst of sea.
3. Climb a Tree
Perhaps my most favoured way to find ground, however, is in my passion of climbing and communing with trees.
They are beautiful to behold at this time of year with their sometimes spindly, sometimes snakelike roots dancing delicately and ferociously with the earth, embedding themselves in the unlikeliest of places to to patience and perseverance. It is not with force alone that they take their wide embrace around and into the earth. As a tree grows, it births new roots, leaves and branches. Their desire to expand up and out is as necessary to its life as is the time invested in nurturing its foundation. And in order to grow? Things must separate, let go, and fall away.
4. Let Your Yoga Reflect Nature
My yoga practice is a constant reflection of the natural world. Like the tree, without a solid foundation we have no starting point. Whether on a hiking trail or on our yoga mat, when we take time to know where we are without shying away from the difficult moments, we can put one step in front of the other and arrive at a different vantage point. It is sometimes difficult to see while we are in it, but particularly in the dark places we find ground – a traction for growth.
5. Enjoy The Wind
Of all of nature’s elements, the wind has always both intrigued and delighted me the most. The wind, like our thoughts, is nature’s way of challenging the strength of our roots – of testing whether we have been patient enough in planting the seeds of intention with proper nourishment. Each time we ground into nature, we have a chance to reinforce our commitment to practicing compassion, and our desire to do good in, and for the world. For me, practicing yoga is akin to basic gardening – reconnecting to the earth and growing something creative, organic, and filled with Grace.
>>Yoga With Lizzie>>
Lizzie has over 25 yoga classes on Movement For Modern Life including this Jivamukti Flow To Get Grounded.
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