Grounding is an umbrella term for a set of tools to reduce anxiety. (But turns out, grounding or “earthing” is the idea that an important factor in health is walking around barefoot. There’s some cool scientific research behind it. The more you know, I guess!)

I digress! When a negative thought pops into our mind, our brains (specifically our amygdala) perceive the thoughts as real, physical danger, so our bodies react to that thought accordingly. You might get sweaty, or your heart might race. So, if you start feeling those anxious feelings, you can use a grounding tool to calm yourself down, avert your mind from negative thinking, and bring yourself back to the present moment. A few excellent grounding techniques including: using your five senses to notice five things in your environment; sitting in a chair and noticing how the chair feels against your body; and holding an object in your hand and feeling the ridges and corners of said object.

However, my favorite grounding technique takes the word “grounding” very literally. It’s a great tool for relieving tension, which is generally a physical sign of stress or strong emotions that we’re feeling. We can also use grounding to get rid of another form of tension, which I will call “misplaced energy.” Bear with me here, but sometimes we pick up other people’s moods or vibes. If someone is very sad, you might feel that heaviness in your body. If you talk to someone who is very angry, you might feel that in your body as well. This grounding technique gathers up all that tension and tightness from your stressful day and other people’s stressful days, and releases it out of your body.

So, how do you ground? You begin by sitting in a chair with your back straight and your feet planted firmly on the ground. Then, you imagine a golden cord running down your spine and into the center of the earth. As you take a deep breath in, you gather up tension and tightness in your body; as you breathe out, imagine pushing that tension and tightness down your grounding cord and into the center of the earth. Your own vibrant energy is returned to you, and the negative vibes of other people are healed and returned to them. You can ground anytime, anywhere—even if you’re in line at a grocery store or sitting in your car. You can also sit and ground for 20 minutes in a more meditative style.

You can check out the full script below or download it here.

Grounding Exercise:

Plant your feet flat on the floor and place your hands comfortably in your lap. Get relaxed and comfortable in your chair. Turn your attention inward, focusing on your breath. Take a deep breath in, and a deep breath out…now take another deep breath in and a deep breath out.

Grounding is an excellent tool to help you remove tension and tightness from your body. Here’s how you can ground. Imagine that there is a cord of golden light running from the top of your head, down your spine, and out of your tailbone into the earth. This is your grounding cord. Now, widen this cord of golden light so that is forms a pool around you. Imagine this beam of light going all the way down in to the center of the earth and imagine it connecting to the center of the earth. When you release the energy down your grounding cord, it is neutralized and recycled in the center of the earth. If the energy that you release is yours, it will be neutralized and returned to you in a healthy, neutral form. You therefore do not lose energy, you just recycle it and it comes back to you in its purest form. When you are releasing other people’s energy from your space down your grounding cord, it is also neutralized and released back to them. This is healing for them.

Now, spend a moment noticing any tension or negative feelings in your body. This tension might have a color. Or it might simply be tightness in your shoulders, neck, and head. Where did this tension come from? Sometimes this tension comes from an interaction with someone who is highly irritable or feeling a great deal of sadness, and their energy jumps from their space into yours. You might have caught this tension from your drive to work today when somebody cut you off. Maybe you had a busy day at work today and you’re feeling stressed. Sometimes, you don’t know where this tension comes from, but it’s there and that affects your mind and your body. Most of the time, tension in our bodies is not our energy. When we carry around our own energy, it feels good and right in our body. Other people’s energy doesn’t sit right in our body.

Be aware of your body. If you’re experiencing any tension—fear, discomfort, pain—take a long, slow deep breath, and when your breath is in, hold it, and gather up the negative feelings, breathe into this tension. When you release, you will drop this energy down your grounding cord, imagining a flow of energy away from your body, down to the center of the earth. Take a deep breath, gathering up the tension, and  1, 2, 3, release. It’s okay to make breathing noises, and yawning is encouraged. Take another deep breath, gather up the negative tension and energy, and now release your breath and release that energy. Let’s do this a few more times. Take a deep breath, gather up the energy, and now let your breath out, releasing the energy into the earth. Take a deep breath, gather up the energy, and now let your breath out, releasing the energy into the earth. One more time, breathe into other people’s energy that is in your body and your space, the irritations of other people’s bad days, the impatience of the man at the stoplight this morning, whatever it is, breathe into it, inhale all of it, collect the uncomfortable energy, and exhale, releasing it now, down the grounding cord into the center of the earth where it will be neutralized and returns to its rightful owner. Notice how you feel.

Now, you can stretch, yawn, bend over at the waist and tangle your hands and let go of energy that is built up around your head, neck, and your shoulders. The only energy that belongs in your space is yours, and yours is pure and perfect.

It is easy to ground any moment of the day. If you are feeling tense or noticing the energy of others around you, you can simply and easily ground. Just channel the energy out of you and into the earth and it will return to you recycled and pure. You can ground anytime, anywhere.