A lot of people work out for their bodies. While exercise defiantly helps you stay in shape, the reason I practice yoga is very different. I do it for my mind. The asanas help me stay grounded and present.

Yoga teachers use the word grounded a lot. But what do they really mean??? Literally, they are referring to grounding down through the feet and pressing all the corners of the foot into the earth to create a solid foundation to rise out of.

‘Grounding’ poses in yoga teach you to send energy downward into the earth, to feel ‘rooted’ and to connect to the earth. This seems all the more relevant if we stop to examine how flighty our thoughts can be. Most times we feel like we cannot control our thoughts or our feelings, but we can control our bodies, we can control how we spread our toes, grip the ground and truly plug into the earth.

In that moment of stability, when our body seems to tap into the calmness of the earth, our mind goes quiet and we become still. We have to draw our energy away from that which is unstable, our thinking minds, to that which is stable, the earth. It’s ironic that we have the security we crave right under our feet, yet we seem to glide over the ground, floating in our endless bubble.

We are not separate from the earth; we are of the earth. And grounding means touching the ground, really touching it. Letting the natural expression of the earth rise up through our body we can grow…

Just as a tree grows taller by first extending its roots. It means we stay in the present moment, in our body. We are not stressing about the past or being catapulted into our future to do list. It’s the most effective way to destress the body and restore calm. Events that come up each day will not be able to throw us off balance.

The benefits of a daily yoga practice will carry over into your life. You’ll smile brighter and breathe a little deeper. So find a quiet spot and give yourself a few minutes each day to connect to the earth. Your body and mind will thank you.

Namaste xxx Chef MM