Grounding Techniques: Calming Your Mind vs. Connecting to the Earth

Ever feel overwhelmed, anxious, or disconnected? I know I have. Not only are those moments very challenging, but they can also derail us to the point of having to withdraw into a cocoon of safety, away from the sensations of being swamped. As a yoga teacher, I and many of my students have experienced times when life seems to spiral out of control, when anxiety takes over, or when it’s hard to stay present. That's why I've developed such an interest in grounding techniques as a way of bringing myself and my students back into the here and now, both on and off the mat.

Grounding is essentially about bringing yourself back to the present moment or establishing a connection with the earth beneath you. In this article, I’m going to guide you through the two main types of grounding:

• Grounding as a mindfulness technique that aims to calm your body and mind.
• Grounding while using an electrical device or physical contact with the earth (sometimes referred to as earthing), which involves becoming physically connected to the Earth’s electrical energy.

What does grounding really mean?

Although it might sound like some fuzzy, new-age spiritual jargon, at its core, grounding techniques are really about establishing stability and connection with yourself and your surroundings. Although the term is very much open to interpretation, I like to think of it as an anchor point for when you’re feeling somewhat adrift.

There are two distinct approaches to grounding techniques that have very different methodologies and aim to create balance in their own ways. It’s important to highlight the fact that science in this area is still fairly limited and each approach comes with its own benefits and limitations.

• Grounding through mindfulness. These practices are directed towards bringing your awareness into the present moment, calming your nervous system, and redirecting focus away from distressing thoughts.
• Grounding to a conductive reference point. This involves making direct contact with the Earth’s surface and can be achieved by using wired devices connecting you to the Earth’s electric field.

Grounding techniques for well-being

As someone who advocates for and teaches mindfulness practices on a regular basis, I’ve found many of these wellness techniques to be invaluable tools for myself and my students. Most of us know what it feels like to be in the grip of anxiety and stress, and these practices have often been the key to finding a way back to the present.

Sensory grounding techniques

The 5-4-3-2-1 technique

This grounding exercise is designed to help manage anxiety, stress, and overwhelm by connecting us to our environment through the five senses.

The 5-4-3-2-1 method is one of my go-to mindfulness methods because it may offer a simple way to help our minds pivot from overwhelming thoughts, reconnecting to the world around us using the five senses. It’s also incredibly discreet; you could literally be doing it on a jam-packed bus, and nobody would notice.

Here’s how you do it:

Five things you can see. Start by taking deep breaths. Look at five things you can see in your surroundings. For example, if you are inside, you might see a coffee cup, a houseplant, a pen, or a book. If you are outside, you might notice a sign, a dog, a tree, or a flower. Take a moment to really observe their colors, shapes, and details.

Four things you can touch. Feel into your environment by exploring four different textures around you. This could be the softness of your sweater, the smoothness of a stone, the roughness of a brick wall. Pay attention to the sensations you feel between your skin and the item you are touching.

Three things you can hear. Listen carefully for three distinct sounds in your environment. You might notice a clock ticking, the wind in the trees, or the hum of traffic. Notice how near or far they sound.

Two things you can smell. Notice two things you can smell in your immediate surroundings. Don’t worry if you can’t actually smell anything where you are, you can also try to recall two familiar smells that you enjoy. It could be your favorite perfume or the smell of a fruit you like.

One thing you can taste. Try to identify one thing you can taste that is present in your mouth. It might be the bite of a sandwich you took, or even simply noticing the current taste of your mouth.

By reshifting your focus to your immediate surroundings, this exercise might be able to interrupt a cycle of invasive, anxious, or overwhelming thoughts. As much as I wish there were hundreds of reliable peer-reviewed studies on the efficacy of this technique, the science is incredibly limited.

Having said that, whenever I use the 5-4-3-2-1 method myself, I notice a shift in my thought patterns and I feel calmer. It’s also a technique that many of my students utilize as part of their mindfulness practices despite the lack of concrete scientific proof that it actually works.

Other sensory techniques

You can use any of your five senses as a way to quiet the mind, make yourself aware of the present moment, and disrupt potentially distressing thoughts. Here are a few of my favorite sensory grounding techniques:

• Touch. Splash cold water on your face, grab a couple of ice cubes and hold them in your hands, or run your fingers along different textures in your environment. In my yoga classes, I often invite students to feel the texture of their mats and towels or notice the temperature of the floor beneath their bare feet.
• Smell. Open up an essential oil like lavender and inhale with deep breaths, stick your nose into a bag of coffee beans, light a scented candle, and notice the aroma drift towards you. I tend to go for floral scents like lavender and geranium or citrus like lemon or mandarin for grounding.
• Taste. Take your time to really savour the different tastes in a piece of dark chocolate. Notice where you taste sweetness or bitterness. You can also slowly sip a warm and comforting drink, paying attention to the way it feels on your lips and the tastes in your mouth.
• Sound. Give yourself a moment to listen to some calming music, step outside, and notice the sounds of nature around you. You can even go for a simple focus on the rhythm and cadence of your own deep breaths as they flow in and out of your lungs.
• Sight. Bring your focus to a single item that you can see in your environment. Describe it to yourself in detail. What are its colors and shapes? What might it feel like? How is the light falling on it?

Again, the scientific evidence for these sensory techniques isn’t particularly well studied. However, there is some promising research, including a 2023 study published in Frontiers in Psychology. Sixty-eight participants were given either a recording of a mindfulness practice as an anchor to the present moment or a mindfulness experience that included sensory stimulations like smell, sound, and sight.

The researchers noted participants in both conditions were able to effectively connect to the experience and showed a relaxation response.

Sounds pretty good, right? But before we run off claiming that sensory mindfulness practices can heal all our stress-related woes or stop a panic attack, remember that this study only looked at a very small sample size. The results from 68 people can’t be extrapolated to over 7 billion of us who are currently walking the Earth.

Physical sensations and movement

In both my teaching and personal practice, I use physical sensations and movement to help create awareness in the body and a connection to our surroundings:

• Deep breathing. This is such a simple and effective technique for calming and regulating. Take long, slow breaths, counting to four as you inhale, holding for a second, and counting to six on the exhale. You can also place a hand on your belly to connect with the rise and fall as you breathe in and out.
• Progressive muscle relaxation. This is great for noticing where you’ve been holding a lot of tension (I know those shoulders are creeping up to the ears!). Begin by inhaling and squeezing your toes tightly for 5 seconds. Then release and relax all that tension with a big sigh on the exhale. Repeat this for all your different muscles, all the way to your head.
• Walking meditation. Take a few minutes to walk around your space slowly and deliberately, noticing the sensation of each foot as it makes contact with the ground. You can do this at home, in the garden, in a park, or anywhere you feel comfortable to kick off your shoes and feel the ground beneath you.
• Stretching. Sometimes the simplest of yoga poses can be highly effective at helping you reconnect with your body, regulate your breathing, and bring down stress levels. My favorites for this are the wide-legged child's pose or the mountain pose.

In my classes, I often remind students that one of the simplest ways to come back into connection with the physical body is to pay attention to the sensation of their feet pressing into the floor beneath them.

Mental exercises

When our minds get busy and our thoughts race, it can be incredibly difficult to feel stable and connected. I’ve found that sometimes, engaging our minds in very specific ways can help shift focus away from distressing, invasive, or racing thoughts. Below are a few mental exercises that might be beneficial:

• Counting backwards. The focus it takes to count backwards might be able to help redirect your thoughts and help you feel more grounded. To enhance your attention, you can try making it slightly more difficult by going backwards by 7 each time (100, 93, 86, and so on). But, if the idea of doing quick maths like that creates more stress, don’t do it.
• Category games. Pick any letter in the alphabet and name as many animals, foods, or countries as you can that start with your chosen letter.
• Reciting. Go through the alphabet and say as many words for each letter as you can as quickly as you can.

Soothing techniques

When we feel anxiety or overwhelm, it can often be really helpful to practice gentle soothing techniques. These approaches focus on creating feelings of safety and calm:

• Visualizing loved ones or safe spaces. Visualize someone you love in front of you, or make a mental picture of a place that makes you feel safe and secure. Really explore the details in your visualization, pay attention to eye color, look for those cute dimples, and if you are picturing a safe space, think about the colors, smells, and small details you might find there.
• Self-compassion statements. Repeat kind phrases to yourself like "I am safe," "This feeling will pass," or "I am doing the best I can right now and that is enough."
• Hands on the body. One example is to place one hand on your heart and another on your belly. Feel the rhythm of your heartbeat, the steady cascade of your breath, and remind yourself that you are alive and present in this moment.

When to use mindfulness grounding techniques

Let’s get a little personal. I come from a family of eminent psychotherapists and physical therapists. My father, Rex Brangwyn, BA Hons DO GOsC MSc EMDR PGDip, is an osteopath and psychotherapist with a specialty in trauma and PTSD, and has more letters after his name than the alphabet.

I’ve often turned to him for expert advice, but for this article, I decided to interview him properly. He’s dedicated his life to helping people recover from chronic stress conditions, anxiety, and trauma, and I knew he could bring a wealth of wisdom to the topic.

Speaking of how and when he uses grounding techniques in his clinic, he explained: “They can be particularly helpful during periods of anxiety and stress when emotions become overwhelming. Grounding techniques activate the parasympathetic nervous system, counteracting the fight-or-flight response that is associated with feelings of anxiety and stress.”

He also noted other instances where grounding techniques are useful, including:

• Difficulty focusing
• Dealing with distressing or intrusive thoughts
• Times when negative thought patterns are spiraling
• Excessive worrying
• To calm the mind ready for sleep

Regular practice of these techniques, even for just a few minutes daily, builds the mental muscle memory that makes them more effective during challenging moments. When our minds and bodies are anchored in the present, relating to the task at hand, with the ability for calm thought and action, we are likely to make the best possible decision available, leading to the best possible outcome.

Rex Brangwyn

Grounding devices and ‘earthing’

While wellness grounding focuses on bringing awareness to the senses and surroundings to create a more balanced connection with the self and the environment, grounding using an electrical device works on a physical level by connecting the human body directly to the Earth’s electrical field. This is also sometimes called ‘earthing.’

If you weren’t already aware, our big, beautiful Earth has its own natural electrical charge. The concept behind earthing is that by making direct contact with this electrical current, known as a direct current (DC), we may experience certain well-being benefits.

Although very limited, some preliminary research suggests that direct contact with the Earth allows free electrons to enter the body, which then behave in the same way as antioxidants, reducing oxidative stress and potentially reducing inflammation. However, it’s actually very difficult to measure the transfer of electrons from the Earth to our bodies, and as such, there’s no robust experimental evidence I can offer to give a firm answer as to whether it really works or not.

Laura Koniver explains in a review article that “DC energy is also what the living human body uses to function, as everything from the beating of our heart to the movement of our muscles to our brain's ability to think operates using DC energy.” Koniver advocates for natural grounding techniques such as “swimming in the ocean, walking barefoot on the beach, running hands through the soil while planting a garden,” to connect to Earth's global electrical circuit.

Despite the fact that the concept of human health being supported by direct electrical contact with the Earth’s DC has been around since its first mention in Louise Kuhne’s 1892 book, The New Science of Healing, scientific evidence of its efficacy is still very much emerging. With this in mind, it’s worth keeping a critical eye open for bold claims, especially when they come from device manufacturers or affiliates.

Grounding devices

With our oftentimes hectic schedules and frenetic lives, it’s not always easy to get outside and walk with your feet on the grass, sand, or soil. However, over the last decade, technological developments have meant that there are now several types of products designed to simulate this connection.

• Grounding mats. Grounding mats come in various sizes that can be placed under your workstation for your feet or on your bed for sleeping.
• Grounding sheets. These are specialty bed sheets that have a conductive material woven into them and can be used like your regular bed sheets.
• Grounding bands. These are wearable bands that come in various shapes and sizes and can even look like jewelry. They are connected to a grounding port via a wire.
• Grounding shoes. Grounding shoes are a type of footwear designed with specially conductive materials in the soles.

These devices typically connect to the direct current of the Earth via a ground port in your electrical device. There are some that even require you to stick a rod directly into the soil outside in order to get the current running through your device. Again, it’s worth remaining skeptical about the claims surrounding these devices as the science is still somewhat on the vague side, to say the least.

Potential benefits of using grounding devices

While many manufacturers make bold claims about their grounding devices, I always think it’s important to know whether there is solid evidence that these grounding techniques work.

The devices on the market at the moment don’t have scientific trials to support their efficacy. But this small study, using grounding pads, offered some interesting findings. Twelve participants with complaints of sleep dysfunction, pain, and stress were grounded to Earth during sleep in their own beds using a conductive mattress pad.

The research period was 8 weeks, and at regular intervals during the trial, researchers measured the cortisol levels of the participants. The study found measurable improvements in the reduction of cortisol levels after sleeping on the grounding mattress pad. The participants also self-reported that they were sleeping better and had a reduction in their pain and stress levels.

However, while this might seem promising, the study was done over 20 years ago and with an extremely small sample size. For us to determine that the improvements were solely due to the grounding mats would be highly irresponsible, as the results could be due to the placebo effect, or a by-product of relaxation techniques.

From the very limited amount of scientific data available, the use of grounding devices may potentially help to:

• Improve sleep quality
• Reduce pain levels
• Decrease stress hormone production
• Normalize cortisol rhythms

During my interview with Rex Brangwyn, I asked him about the potential merits of electrical device grounding, and this was his response: “There is some evidence of them helping with sleep and stress issues, but the trials are small and potentially biased. These kinds of devices might be worth trying, but I imagine the placebo effect is strong with them, and I wouldn’t feel ethically right recommending them to my patients without letting them know about the lack of scientific evidence.”

Key differences: mental grounding vs. electrical grounding

Aspect	Primary focus	Method	Main potential benefits	When to use	Scientific support	Cost
Mindfulness grounding	Calming the mind	Awareness exercises	Reduced anxiety and increased awareness of the present moment	As a daily practice or during stress, anxiety, or overwhelm	Strong evidence in psychology	Free
Electrical device grounding	Connecting the body to Earth’s electrical field	Physical contact with Earth or grounding devices	Reduced inflammation and improved sleep	As a regular practice or during sleep	Limited and potentially biased research	If you are barefoot on the Earth, it’s free; if you buy a device, they can be very expensive

How to choose what works for you

Personally, I’m an advocate for experimenting and finding out what works best for you. Here are a few pointers that might help you on your journey:

• Start with accessibility. Mindfulness exercises are always freely available, and from my professional perspective, I think they are a great place to start. Electrical devices often require you to be in a specific environment or use specialized equipment, which can get very expensive.
• Think about your specific needs. No two bodies or minds are the same. If your main concerns are with spiral thoughts, stress, and anxiety, then perhaps looking at mindfulness grounding might be more immediately helpful for you. If it’s sleep or inflammatory issues that are troubling you, using an electrical grounding device may be worth exploring.
• Trust your own experience. Pay close attention to how you feel both during and after different types of grounding practices. The way your body responds is going to be the best indicator of what works for you.

Safety considerations

It would be irresponsible for me not to mention that there are no safety studies regarding grounding devices or long-term studies that investigate their efficacy.

Although grounding devices might complement other therapies, they cannot replace prescribed medications or treatments, and they absolutely do not treat or prevent health challenges.

Anyone with existing medical conditions or using medications should consult a healthcare professional before incorporating electrical grounding devices into their routine. This is especially important for people with electronic devices implanted in their bodies, as grounding devices may potentially interfere with them.

If you decide to go down the electrical device route, you should track your well-being while using them and if you notice any adverse effects at all, stop using the device immediately.

Can you combine both types of grounding for better results?

There’s no reason why you can’t combine these two methods, however, there is extremely limited research into how well they do or do not complement each other.

As I’ve not used electrical grounding devices myself, I can’t give an opinion on how effective they are used alongside my regular mindfulness practice.

In my opinion, the best way to try both types of grounding together is to use traditional methods like the 5-4-3-2-1 technique whilst sitting on the grass, or the beach.

During the summer months, and when I travel for retreats, I teach yoga classes outside, and my students have often reported powerful benefits from the combination of yogic mindfulness and grounding by being barefoot on the Earth during the class.

I also asked Rex Brangwyn to offer his thoughts on combining the two different grounding techniques. He noted:

Wellness grounding techniques can work very well with consistent practice, so that the nervous system can learn to quickly calm and regulate. Having regular rest periods with your body on the Earth or a grounding mat may enhance this. I do feel it’s important to mention again that the effects of the grounding mat may or may not be the main factor in the relaxation.

Rex Brangwyn

Bottom line

Grounding is a term that is highly subjective and open to many interpretations. But using the mindfulness tools that are often grouped in with grounding techniques can offer valuable tools for navigating our often chaotic and overwhelming world.

From my own perspective as a yoga teacher and mindfulness practitioner, I’ve seen how quickly some of these methods can transform my and my students’ experiences. In just a few minutes, a stressful experience can transform into a much calmer and more connected one. But, it does take practice, and it isn’t a magic wand that you can simply wave over stress and anxiety and expect it to disappear.

As with any new skill you learn, you need to practice grounding techniques for them to become effective. I’ve found that even a few minutes a day can build up our capacity to stay in the present and find balance even when life feels particularly challenging.

As a final note, I want to emphasize that while these grounding techniques can be powerful tools for wellness, they cannot replace professional mental health care. If you are struggling with anxiety, panic attacks, depression, or other mental health concerns, please know that you don’t have to do it alone. Reaching out for help from a qualified healthcare provider is extremely brave and an important step towards recovery.