Grounding, With Grace 001
Breathing (a series on grounding practices) + recs from March
Grounding techniques—practices that help distract from fears and unwanted memories—offer a way to control unhelpful anxiety responses. They can help you pull out of a frozen or detached state so that you can think more clearly and choose how to act. They can help you break free from an anxiety spiral, giving you a greater sense of control and confidence. — Johns Hopkins
Over the last few years, I’ve collected many grounding practices and nervous system regulation techniques. In this ongoing series, I’m going to share the ones that have helped me, with many becoming a part of my daily schedule.
It’s really simple: just breathe.
Only…it’s not always that simple. It’s odd the think that the one thing we came into this world doing so naturally could become so difficult. When I experience a panic attack or even just elevated anxiety, my attention turns to my breath and suddenly it’s against me.
To reclaim your breath, I believe it’s essential to practice breathing exercises.
There are many types of breathing exercises and from my experience, you have to try different ones until you find the one that suits you best.
My Breathing Technique:
Inhale for six seconds
Hold for 2 seconds
Exhale long and deep thinking the word “safe” or “peace” drawn out. (I rotate these. The idea is to think of a word that speaks to you—one that you need for your soul.)
~
A great tool to try out for different breathing exercises is an app called Insight Timer. It’s a meditation app that features a whole selection of different guided breathing meditations.
Here’s some additional breathing techniques I’ve come across:
1. Season three of The White Lotus on MAX(HBO). This season takes us to Thailand and follows the lives of the wealthy guests and the resort’s staff. I was hesitant going into season three without queen Jennifer Coolidge on board, but so far, I’ve been just as invested in Mike White’s bizarre and wonderful mind.
2. Blob: A Love Story by Maggie Su. I’m sure this book is not for everyone, but it was right up my alley. Weird, in the best way.
“The daughter of a Taiwanese father and white mother, Vi Liu has never quite fit into her Midwestern college town. Now at twenty-three, after getting dumped and dropping out of college, Vi works as a front desk attendant at a hotel where she refills cucumber water samovars and fends off overtures of friendship from her bubbly blond coworker, Rachel. But when Vi decides to accompany Rachel to a local drag show, her life changes forever. In the alley outside the bar, next to a trash can, is a blob with beady black eyes. Unable to leave it behind, Vi picks up the creature and, in a moment of drunken desperation, takes it home with her.”
3. Finally being able to wear shorts on my walks with Louie!
4. I’ve been wanting to watch Heretic since it was released. I finally got to catch it on MAX(HBO) on a Sunday evening. Such an interesting and fun (in a dark way) watch.
“Two young missionaries become ensnared in a deadly game of cat and mouse when they knock on the door of the diabolical Mr. Reed. Trapped in his home, they must turn to their faith if they want to make it out alive.”
5. The best tacos I’ve had in a long time! From Jose’s Pistola’s, I can’t get enough of the spicy pork with pineapple and kimchi tacos. For any of my Philly followers, you’ve got to check it out!
6. For some light-hearted romcom, I’ve been watching My Dearest Nemesis (Viki).
“A woman who meets her first love again as her boss 16 years after they met online.”
7. For my morning walks, I’ve been listening to the audiobook of Helen of Troy: 1993 by Maria Zoccola. This poetry collection reimagines Helen of Troy from Homer’s Iliad as a woman living in Tennessee in 1993.
8. My go-to dance first thing in the morning, feel-good, nostalgia-pleasing song of March—played too many times to count was PSILOCYBIN & DAISIES by Jessie Reyes.
9. For a quick binge, I watched Adolescence on Netflix. This four-part miniseries was the crime drama I’d been wanting lately. By far, one of the most disturbing shows I’ve watched in a long time. It is one of those shows that sticks with you and makes you question the world we live in. The acting was superb.
“A family's world turns upside down when 13-year-old Jamie Miller is arrested for murdering a schoolmate. The charges against their son force them to confront every parent's worst nightmare.”
10. For my crime and court doc fix, I watched the five-part series A Body in the Snow: The Trial of Karen Read on MAX(HBO). This series follows “the case of a police officer found dead on a fellow cop's front lawn, and his girlfriend claiming she's been framed for the murder.” It was full of shocking moments and even more question regarding this case.