Thirty-Second Grounding Techniques

Your body can go from pretty calm to dysregulated in seconds during divorce, and it is not a sign you are failing. When a text from your ex lands, when mediation gets tense, or when you feel that familiar wave of panic, shutdown, anger, or grief, you need something practical that works fast. I share grounding techniques you can do in 30 to 60 seconds to help your nervous system settle just enough to think clearly and stay connected to yourself.

We focus on sensory grounding because your senses are a direct bridge back to the present moment where healing happens. I guide you through seven quick sensory grounding techniques you can use any time you find yourself shutting down or completely activated. 

You do not need to do every technique or do it “perfectly” to get the benefit. Pick one or two that resonate, keep them in your back pocket, and revisit this anytime you need a quick nervous system regulation tool for divorce recovery and emotional resilience.

If you want deeper, lasting change, you can learn more about working with me one-on-one at KarenNelsonCoaching.com. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs steadier ground, and leave a rating or review so more women can find these tools.

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Transcript

Welcome And Who This Is For

Karin Nelson 0:00

You are listening to Becoming You Again, episode number 261, and I am your host, Karin Nelson. Welcome to Becoming You Again, the podcast where you learn to step into your power as a woman in this world, where you learn to reconnect to your wholeness, your integrity, and bring into alignment your brain, your body, and your intuition after divorce. This is the podcast where you learn to trust yourself again and move forward toward a life that you truly want. You are listening to Becoming You Again, and I am your host, Karin Nelson. Welcome back to the podcast. All of you beautiful, amazing women out there. In today's episode, I will be giving you some grounding techniques that you can use literally at any time. They are very short, they are very easy to implement, they take about 30 seconds to one minute. And use these anytime you feel like your nervous system is activated. Maybe you're out and about living your life, maybe you're at home, maybe you just got a text from your ex, maybe you're in your mediation, wherever you find yourself. But use these, any of these techniques that I'm going to give you today to just kind of bring a little bit more sense of calm and presence. Maybe you won't go back to your baseline immediately, but it will just bring you down a little bit to help you in any situation that you find yourself in as you're going through your divorce. So, really quickly, let me just remind you: when your nervous system gets activated and you're feeling some kind of like panic or anxiety or shutdown or anger or grief or like the buzzing feeling that you can feel when you're overwhelmed, using your senses is actually one of the fastest ways back into the present moment. The present moment is where all healing happens. The present moment is where you can recognize what is going on inside your body and bringing it back a bit closer to your baseline. Now, there's nothing wrong with being activated. There is nothing wrong with you when it happens. It doesn't mean you're doing something wrong. It doesn't mean that you're not allowed to feel it, or you shouldn't be feeling it, or you shouldn't be experiencing your nervous system being activated. Like it's very normal. It's a very normal thing that our body does. But having tools to help you create greater capacity for you to move through these moments when your nervous system is activated, that's what grounding and somatic techniques are. That's why I offer them to you to help you just feel a tiny bit better. Doesn't mean you're gonna feel perfect all the time. Doesn't mean you're always going to feel happiness and joy or peace or calm all of the time. That isn't even real life. That could never even be real because we are not perfect beings and we do have emotions. Maybe if you were like a robot or something, that's how you could just go through life. But being able to have tools and remedies to help you when you notice your nervous system activation, that's what these are for. Okay. So I'm gonna give you several grounding techniques to use through your senses. It's not about fixing how you feel, it's just about giving your nervous system something real and present to help you through the moment so you can settle a little bit. Now, as a reminder, with all of the somatic practices and grounding practices that I offer you, probably don't do it while you're driving. Okay. It's maybe not the most safe environment to do it. But just if you are in a safe, comfortable space, this will be for you. All right. So try doing each of these one at a time. You don't have to do them all today. You can come back to this podcast episode as often as you need. It's always going to be here for you. Each one, give it about 30 seconds to one minute amount of time to just sit into it and bring you into the present moment. There is no right or wrong way to do this. Whatever way you do it is the right way for you. And whatever you notice happening in your body, that is exactly right for you as well. Okay. You don't, again, don't have to try all of them today. Maybe try one or two, but give it a try, see which ones resonate best with you, and then keep those in your pocket for when you need a grounding technique quickly to help you feel a little more present and a little more calm. The first sense we're going to focus on is touch. I'm going to give you two different ones for touch. The first one is get a warm cup of coffee or a warm mug of tea. And then I just want you to hold it in both hands. And as you hold the warm cup in your hands, I want you to really notice that warmth. Notice it as it moves into your palms and into your fingers. Really be present with the warmth. Notice where you feel it. Notice how far it travels up into your hands. Notice it. Stay with it. We're just going for about 30 seconds to one minute. The next one with touch is actually the opposite of warmth, and it's cold. I want you to turn on the cold water on a sink and just run the cold water over your hands for about 30 seconds. Just notice the temperature. Notice the sensation of the water moving over your skin. Notice the pressure of it. Be present with what your hands are actually feeling right now in this moment. The next one I want to offer you is your sense of sound. And we're just going to listen for one sound at a time. So wherever you are, close your eyes and just focus and listen. Not to everything at once. I just want you to pick one sound. Maybe it's the hum of the refrigerator, maybe it's a bird outside, maybe it's the sound of your own breath. Like for me right now, I can hear my washer in the other room. So you just want to focus on that one sound. Let it be the thing that exists for the next 30 to 60 seconds. And when your mind wanders, because it will, which is very normal for our minds to do, and when you notice that, we just gently bring it back to the sound and focus on what you hear. All right, the next one I want to offer you is your sense of smell. Go find something with a scent. You might even choose a scent that you enjoy. This could be a candle scent or maybe a lotion or a perfume, maybe the cup of coffee that you have sitting at your desk. It could be a piece of fruit or a flower. I just want you to pick a scent and then hold it close to your nose and breathe it in slowly. Notice what happens in your body when you smell that scent. Notice if there's a memory that's attached to it and just notice the smell. Notice what changes in your body as you smell the scent. Stay with it for about 30 to 60 seconds and just be present with it. Our next sense is the sense of sight. So without moving your head, I just want you to let your eyes slowly move around the room that you're in right now or the space that you're in right now. Remember, we're not doing this quickly. This is a very slow eye movement. And I want you to just pick one or two things to notice. Notice the colors, notice the textures, notice the patterns. Maybe find something that you've never really paid attention to before. Let your eyes be curious, stay unhurried, and just take in what is actually there, what you are actually looking at. Be with it for about 30 to 60 seconds and just notice. The next one is taste. Take a sip or a drink or a small bite of something and don't swallow it right away. Just let it sit in your mouth for a moment. What do we notice? Notice the flavor. Is it sweet? Is it bitter? Is it warm? Is it cold? Notice the texture. How does it feel in your mouth? Notice the different flavors. Notice when the flavor changes. This is basically mindful eating in its most basic form. And it works because what it's doing is it's forcing your brain to be here in the moment, but experiencing. You're not three steps ahead letting your brain spiral. You're staying in the moment. You're staying in the present. And then the last one I want to offer you, you can do as you're just sitting in your chair, sitting on your couch, sitting somewhere comfortable. I want you to bring all of your attention down to your feet. And if you're wearing shoes, you can just notice the pressure of your feet inside your shoes. Notice your toes touching the soles of your shoes. Notice your heels pressing against the bottoms of your shoes. And if you're barefoot, I just want you to notice the floor beneath you. Is it warm? Is it cool? Is it hard? Is it soft? Press your feet gently into the ground, whether in your shoes or if you're barefoot, and notice the ground pressing back. Notice that sensation and remind yourself, I am here in this moment. I am supported. The ground is holding me. Remember, we're just doing this for 30 seconds to 60 seconds. We're just noticing we're being present in our body and we are using our senses to ground us wherever we are. All right, my friends. You can use these at any time when you feel your nervous system is starting to shut down or starting to activate, right? And again, you don't have to do all of them. Pick one or two, try them out here and there, see what works best for you. I want you to normalize the experience that you have as you go through this because it might be really easy to stay focused. And it might be really difficult to stay focused, or you might find yourself somewhere in between. And it really might depend on what's going on for you. All of those are okay. There is no wrong way to do this. Find your favorites because some are gonna resonate more than others. And then again, put them in your back pocket for the next time you need a quick grounding exercise. And come back to this episode whenever you need it. Save it, bookmark it. It's gonna be here for you. All right, my friends, that is what I have for you today. I am so happy that you keep coming back. I am so happy that you keep learning more tools and showing up for yourself to support yourself through your own healing as you go through your divorce. Thank you so much for being here. I love you so much. I will be back next week. Hi, friend. I'm so glad you're here and thanks for listening. I wanted to let you know that if you're wanting more, a way to make deeper, more lasting change, then working one-on-one with me as your coach may be exactly what you need. Together, we'll take everything you're learning in the podcast and implement it in your life with weekly coaching, real life practice, and practical guidance. To learn more about how to work with me one-on-one, go to Karin Nelson Coaching.com. That's www.karin, N-E-L-S-O-N coaching.com. Thanks for listening. If this podcast agreed with you in any way, please take a minute to follow and give me a rating wherever you listen to podcasts. And for more details about how I can help you live an even better life than when you were married, make sure and check out the full show notes by clicking the link in the description.