What are you still holding onto? From yesterday... or last week... or last month?

Yesterday, I led a mindfulness walk in the forest.

We moved slowly, noticed the light through the trees, felt our feet on the earth. I guided everyone to slow down, breathe, and ground themselves — to come home to the present moment.

And then? I packed up and went on with my day.

When I woke up this morning, I felt... scattered. My thoughts were racing. It was like I couldn't settle on one thought. My brain kept going "squirrel" and looking that way (again and again...). This is not how I usually wake up.

That’s when I realized that yesterday I helped everyone else take time to come home to their calm, quiet center, but I never gave myself that same gift.

I never let go of what I call "my facilitator energy". I also never released the walk itself. I just carried it all with me — right into my sleep and into this morning.

What Would Have Helped? Centering and Grounding...

After that walk, I didn’t take time to center myself — to return to a calm, even state.
And I didn’t take time to ground myself — to release the energy I’d gathered from the group and the day.

I think of centering as finding your level point — that steady space between the highs and lows. And I think of grounding like grounding electricity — releasing the energy that's built up by connecting with the earth and anchoring into the present.

Quick note - these terms get used interchangeably, and that's okay. What matters isn't the label, but tuning into what you need:

• Do you need to find your steady center?
• Or do you need to discharge energy?

Sometimes you need both.

We move through our days collecting things — conversations that linger, worries that loop. Even good experiences, like leading that forest walk, can become something we hold onto without realizing it.

We show up for others again and again, but often forget to return to ourselves — to find our center and ground back into what’s here, now.

Small Ways to Center and Ground

Centering and grounding don't require a formal practice. Sometimes it’s just a pause — a conscious choice to come back to level and release what you’re holding.

For me, it’s almost always nature. Today, I’m taking a short walk (probably while you’re reading this) to let myself settle. Not to accomplish anything or get anywhere — just to be with the trees and let whatever I’ve been holding fall away.

But centering and grounding can be simpler than that.

Your Invitation This Week: Try One of These Small Resets

• Spend one minute with your hands in soil or under running water. There’s something about physical sensation that interrupts the mental spiral. You’re suddenly just here, feeling "this". And, it's great way to physically connect with nature. Yes...running water counts!​
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• Sit in your car for one minute before you go inside. No scrolling. No planning dinner. Just breathing in quiet and acknowledging the transition from one part of your day to another.
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• Lay on the floor or in the grass (my fave!). When your whole body connects to the ground, you feel held by something solid beneath you. Grounding, in the most literal sense.
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• Have a dance party to discharge excess energy! Sometimes you don't need to quiet down — you need to move the energy through and out.

The practice itself matters less than the intention: I’m releasing what I’ve carried. I’m coming back to me.

So this is me, reminding both of us: after you give, center and ground yourself.

• After you hold space for someone else, release the energy.
• After you move through your day collecting all the things, take a moment to find your level center and let the rest go.

And, if you want to learn more about grounding practices, I really liked this read from the team at Calm: How to Ground Yourself.

Sending love and grounding vibes, Chris

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