When we are stressed or anxious, we get lost in the thinking mind and are often caught up in the past or the future. Grounding helps us locate ourselves in space and time. By connecting to the ground beneath us, we are gently drawn into contact with the earth and we practice being “here.” By connecting to our bodies, we are brought out of the thinking mind and back into the present moment and we practice being in the “now.”

The autonomic nervous system (ANS) of the body helps us to respond to danger and challenge and come back to a sense of calm and connection when the threat has passed. Dysregulation refers to when our ANS gets stuck in a stress response even when there is no longer an immediate threat. We can learn practices to help our ANS get unstuck, find more balance, and experience more peace.

Somatics refers to how we relate to our body. So many of us feel disconnected from or overwhelmed by the body and find ourselves stuck in stress responses that we can’t think out way out of. Somatic practices help us build bridges of connection between the mind and the body.

In the same way that the earth is full of cycles and rhythms, so is the human body. As we seek to complete stress cycles in the body and find balance in the autonomic nervous system, the cycle of the sun and earth through the seasons offers us shared inspiration, metaphor, and support.