Grounding into the New Season

Happy December. I can’t believe I’m actually writing about my December theme because, on one hand, it’s felt like 2020 would never end and now we’re one month away from 2021, and on the other hand, shouldn’t December have been about five months ago? In all seriousness though, it has been one trying year. And now we’re headed into the month that traditionally is one of the most stressful, busiest, most demanding.  While 2020 will undoubtedly look a little different, it’s bound to come with a whole new set of stressors and frustrations. 

First off, we’re still dealing with a pandemic, and the numbers in many places are at their worst, so there’s the continued stress of that. There’s the sadness of having to celebrate separately from family and friends (at least for some). There’s changing every office and holiday party to an online gathering when you may already be virtually working and/or in school all day plus doing the majority of holiday shopping online, which means even more time staring at the screen. For those who have lost a job or had hours cut, there may be the stress of expected gifts for kids, family, friends while you’re trying to pay the bills and get groceries. For business owners and entrepreneurs, there’s looking at end of the year budgets, trying to plan for next year with still so much uncertainty, and possibly having to make some extremely difficult and emotional decisions about your business going forward. And most difficult of all, there are those who will be celebrating the holidays this year having lost some one (note: I realize this could be the case in any given year, but that number is significantly higher this year).

I say this all because the holiday season and looking into the New Year can come with a lot of societal pressure. It’s the time of year that’s traditionally thought to be full of cheer and joy and happiness and togetherness. There’s the push to “finish the year strong” and set goals and resolutions. There’s the trend I’m seeing these days, “Get ahead of the new year resolutions crowd! Get started now!”. Right now - really any year because everyone’s experiences and situations are different,  but I think especially right now - all of this may feel nearly impossible. And I want to say that it’s 100 percent OK if you don’t feel any of this.  If you’re feeling lost or confused or like you’re drifting in a sea of uncertainty and it’s difficult to make any choices or decisions at all, I get it. If you’re not even sure how you feel, I get that too. I’ve been struggling with all of this myself. So I’m taking the month of December to ground. I’m leaning into my meditation practice and developing more of a breath work (pranayama) practice. I’m practicing more grounding poses and flows. I’m using more props and in poses to help bring the ground to me and to increase the amount of contact I have with a solid(ish) surface. I’m spending more time journaling and checking in with myself. When I can, I’m trying to get outside, to feel the fresh air and sunshine on my face (or at least everything above my nose that’s not masked), to feel my feet connecting with the earth, even if through shoes or boots. I invite you to explore this as well. 

This month I’ll be sharing grounding poses and flows on Instagram and Facebook, bringing more grounding practices, poses, and themes into my virtual classes, and offering a full hour-long Yin Yoga (virtual) pop-up for those who want to spend more time in sinking into ground-based poses (seated, supine, belly) and play with utilizing more props in their practice (props are always optional and can certainly be the household item variety). 

Do you have any go-to grounding practices? I’d love to hear about them!