Grounded vs Ungrounded

Article by Angie Webster

To be grounded is to be fully in the body. Your energy feels very centered and present within your physical body when you are grounded. You are functioning in the now, rather than your energy being caught in the past or worried about the future. When you are well grounded, feelings of anxiety, hurry and scattered energy disappear. You feel aware and present.

What does it mean to be ungrounded? When you are ungrounded your thoughts are scattered in many different directions. Perhaps you feel urgency. Or you are caught in regret. Trauma is very ungrounding and those who struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder can have great difficulty remaining grounded in their bodies and in the present. We are ungrounded when we are in a state of emergency or hurt. When we are in resistance to the present moment–the things that are going on with us, and around us, or even the emotions that we are experiencing–we become ungrounded. When we are ungrounded, our soul energy shifts away from our body.

Groundedness is an energy state. When we are grounded, our energy is fully rooted in our body through our awareness and our presence. When we are ungrounded our energy is escaping in some form through our thoughts or emotional energy. This can happen in many ways and often is a means that our subconscious uses to help us cope and to protect us from a harsh environment. The subconscious mind naturally removes our energy until we feel safer.

Ungroundedness can also happen when our thoughts become scattered, rushing around in all directions or multitasking. Our energy is no longer centered within our body but it is sent racing in many different directions. Likewise, when we are caught in thought loops of regret or worry, our energy is leaking out into the areas where our regret or worry lies. When we cord to others through judgement, gossip, pity, or harsh words, our energy leaves us through our thoughts to bind with those we judge until we release the cord.

There are a few misconceptions about groundedness. You may hear that you can become ungrounded from traveling by airplane, car, or train. You may also hear that to ground you must be outside with your feet directly on the Earth. However, you can ground anywhere–even on a plane thousands of feet in the air–and you can also become ungrounded anywhere—even on the beach with your toes in the sand. Travel itself doesn’t creates ungroundedness, but the urgency, rush and scattered energy that can accompany travel at times is very ungrounding. It’s not our loss of connection with the Earth that causes ungroundedness. It is our disconnection from ourselves. When we are connected with our physical bodies, our energy naturally connects to the Earth.

Our bodies naturally want to be grounded and whole. They naturally choose to be merged with our energy. Grounding is as simple as placing a hand on your chest and noticing your breath or your heart beat for a moment, reconnecting with your body. Or you can ground through to your senses, noticing your surroundings through your sense of sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste or your visceral sense. Any of these senses will bring you back to your present moment surroundings and connect you to physical body. If you are ungrounded due to trauma which takes you out of the present, you might try speaking aloud as you connect through your senses, reminding yourself of basic facts of the present, such as your name, your location, and the date.

You are not “bad” if you are ungrounded. We all become ungrounded sometimes in the course of life, or even in the course of the day. If you find that you are feeling ungrounded, disconnected and scattered, there is no need to feel that you are doing anything wrong. You have already taken the first step to feeling more grounded by simply noticing how you feel. It only takes a moment of conscious thought and tuning into our own bodies to bring us back to groundedness, which is our natural state of being.

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Angie Webster made a significant contribution to the Reiki community, with a particular focus on Animal Reiki, which she had a deep affection for. As a knowledgeable Reiki Master Teacher and Author, she conducted online courses on energy healing, herbalism, flower essences, and personal growth.
She is the author of “Animal Reiki: How it Heals, Teaches & Reconnects Us with Nature” and “Reiki from A to Z”. Currently, Angie has decided to retire from her professional life to devote more time to her health, family, and the little joys of life.