How To Stay Grounded in Life
Hey loves, stopping by with ways on how to stay grounded in life. These are ways that help me stay grounded.
1. Create positive and uplifting vibes
2. Practice gratitude
3. Add more laughter in your life
4. Earthing/grounding
5. Surround yourself with people who love and care for you
6. Practice Self Love Daily
7. Give your body immune boosting/antioxidants/anti inflammatory foods and herbs
8. Give your body detoxing herbs/teas when needed
9. Minimal to no processed foods, artificial sugar, oil, salt, junk food, etc in your diet
10. Sleep
11. Move your body
12 Healthy eating habits. Plant based/vegan works for me. Everyone has to find an eating lifestyle that works for them.
Of course, I am not a doctor or nutritionist. I am sharing what has worked for me. As always, do your research and run anything by your doctor before adding it to your regimen. Let’s get started it, shall we?
Create Positive & Uplifting Vibes
How you start your day really makes a difference. You can create a morning routine that resets your day on the regular.
Here is a snippet of my morning
Make the bed
Drink water with lemon in the morning ( I prepare my lemon water at night and let it sit on my nightstand in my hydro flask.
My hydro flask is fill with 32 ounces of water. It makes it so easy and convenient.
If you want to accomplish a goal easily, you put things in place to try to make it easy and convenient)
Pray
Do a guided meditation
Listen to a motivational or inspirational podcast (feed your mind positive info)
Journal -Think of at least 3 things that you are grateful for and jot them down
Do a quick workout. If you don’t have 30 minutes to work out, no problem. Youtube has so many 10 minutes exercise videos you can knock out quickly. No excuses.
Take an eucalyptus shower. Do the hot/cold water method. End your shower with cold water. When you make your morning showers or bath relaxing & special, they can be a refreshing way to reset from the previous day.
During my eucalyptus leaves shower, there is classical or jazz music playing in the background, the diffuser is on, aromatherapy candles are lit, etc. I like to set a relaxing scene.
I have beautiful uplifting conversations with myself during my shower or spa/herbal baths,. I speak positive affirmations. I love on myself.
Next, I do Mirror Work. I continue speaking positive affirmations from the shower or bath in the mirror. I add a jade roller or facial massager to the mix. I feel so uplifted after this.
I enjoy spa or herbal baths in the evening. They help you to unwind, relax, and detox any negativity from your mind of the day.
Oil in diffuser or light a candle
soft music in the background or high beat (whichever you prefer)
open your blinds and let the sunshine through
read a couple of pages out of the current book you reading
Start your day off with a healthy breakfast. A smoothie is quick. It is an easy way to get a bunch of nutrients and herbs in your body at one time.
Tip: If you drink coffee, try to flavor it with healthier alternatives such as unsweetened almond milk, vegan creamer, vanilla extract, or cinnamon.
Also: if you are looking for a coffee alternative, try dandy blend. It has the look, texture, & roasted smell of coffee with a lot of healthy benefits. It is my go to unless I am enjoying a morning date with my husband. Coffee & vegan muffins are our thang. So, I have coffee at least once a week with him.
Do I have to get up earlier to to start my day? Yes, but while raising four kids, I learned a long time ago how to utilize my morning when everyone else is asleep. I found myself losing who I was an individual. I had to find time for me.
Also, working as a case manager and therapist, I learned the importance of taking time out for myself in the morning before I tend to everyone else.
When I start added these uplifting moments to my daily routine, I became chill and relax throughout the week. It was like each day I reset the day for a better day.
Practice Gratitude
Another way to ground yourself is to practice gratitude. I talked about journaling in my morning routine above. Sood (2016) discussed how practicing daily gratitude provides happiness & boost immune support.
Chowdhury (2020) mentioned how practicing gratitude detoxes negative emotions.
Journaling is one way I practice gratitude. I like to get comfy with my barefoot blanket on the chaise in my bedroom with some Mozart playing in the background.
I have lavender oil in the diffuser, a nice cup of tea & getting lost in gratitude by journaling grateful moments to the rays of natural light coming in.
Journaling and I go way back to when I was a child. Journaling is therapeutic for me.
4 Ways to Practice Gratitude
Journaling
It is something about putting pen to paper. Writing down grateful moments or things helps put your mind in a positive state. You become content too.
Practicing gratitude through writing is a ritual to add to your routine.
It gives you control over your time and your focus. You are not just going through your day.
You are intentional. You may take your gratitude moment up a notch by adding your favorite beverage. You are intentional.
Gratitude App
Gratitude: Diary, Vision Board-It gives you a digital space to practice gratitude. To get your thoughts flowing, it provides you with prompt reminders.
It sends you daily inspirational quotes/
You can create a vision board with images to inspire goals
Meditation
You can use meditation as a time to reflect on grateful moments.
Gratitude Jar
Gratitude jar helps to provide an opportunity to be intentional with your time because you have to set aside some time to do this.
It is a simple process. However, since it is a process, it takes practicing gratitude a little farther.
The whole process of writing grateful moments down and putting them in a jar is therapeutic.
You can keep it in plain view as a reminder that you have moments in your life to be grateful for.
Add More Laughter in Your Life
Mayo Clinic Staff (2021) talked about how laughter may improve the immune system (on a long-term basis) due to it the positive thoughts that come with laughter. Positive thoughts cause neuropeptides to activate.
Neuropeptides tackle stress symptoms and other illnesses of the body.
Whereas, negative thoughts cause a chemical reaction in the body that can cause stress symptoms. Stress tackles the body negatively, especially the immune system.
More benefits of laughter from Mayo Clinic Staff are:
Stimulate the organs such as heart, lungs, muscles, etc while activating endorphins
Reduce Pain
Uplift Your Mood
Earthing/Grounding
Earthing/grounding is a simple but yet beneficial thing to do. Earthing/grounding involves transferring Earth’s Surface Electrons (energy) from the ground to the body through walking barefoot outside.
Chevalier et al. (2012) explained some benefits of earthing/grounding such as better sleep, reduce pain, help against chronic stress, reduce inflammation, and many more.
All of those benefits are great, and they contribute to a healthy body overall including the immune system.
It is very therapeutic mentally also. Being out in nature creates a relaxing state of mind.
Surround yourself with People Who Love and Care for You
It is important to not have negative people or energy around you. It is not healthy for your mind or body. Negativity wrecks havoc on your health. I am thankful for the people who are in my circle. These pictures provided in this blog is from a South Padre Island’s trip with husband.
Practice Self Love Daily
Practicing self love daily is healing to your mind and body. It helps you create a positive and nurturing personal environment for yourself. It reminds you of how important you are on a daily basis. It causes you to want to take better care of yourself mentally and physically.
Some Daily Self Love Activities I participate in are:
Eucalyptus leaves showers, Self love Baths, Mirror work, Self love Talks, Meditation, Journaling, Dancing, Cooking, Earthing or Grounding, Relaxing time with acupressure mat, etc.
For more self love activities I participate in, check out my last blog post on How To Know Your Worth
Give your Body Immune Boosting Foods/High in Antioxidants/Anti-inflammatory/Herbs/Teas
When grounding, it is important to also give your body the needed nutrients and tools to function at its best. It is important to create a system where you are cleaning out the junk and replacing or replenishing your body with nutrients and tools to help your body work at its optimal level.
With all the different types of viruses and illnesses we are faced with it, it is very important now to help our bodies by boosting the immune system.
Also, with free radicals coming into our body with everyday living that tackles our healthy cells & creates an environment in our body for illnesses and diseases to live, it is important to give our bodies antioxidants.
Antioxidants help protect the healthy cells in our body from the free radicals (eatright.org, 2020).
Chronic inflammation also causes illnesses. Anti-inflammatory foods/herbs are also great additions to immune-boosting and antioxidants foods & herbs.
Tools such as:
Immune-boosting foods
Ginger
Mashhadi, Ghiasvand, Askari, et al (2013) discussed a study where it concluded that ginger is anti-inflammatory & contains antioxidants. They also talked about how ginger has anticancer ingredients such as gingerols, shogaol, and paradols.
Leech (2018) on Healthline also discuss benefits of ginger. They are:
Ginger includes medicinal properties
Ginger may help reduce infections
Ginger may be use to reduce nausea
Ginger may help with digestion
Ginger may help with weight loss
Ginger may help improve cholesterol levels
Ginger may help with the function of the brain
You can cooked with ginger or juiced it. I add ginger root to my juices when I use my juicer.
Green juice & Ginger shot
Ginger root, lemon, green apple, kale (rotate the green veggies), cucumber, & sometimes garlic.
If I don’t add it to my juice, I will make a quick ginger shot.
Ginger shot includes ginger, lemon, and cayenne pepper.
There are ginger shots you can buy at the store.
Turmeric
Bedosky (2019) explained benefits of turmeric. Well, actually the benefits of the ingredient of curcumin that is found in turmeric. Some are:
Turmeric is an anti inflammatory
Turmeric may help against heart disease
Turmeric may help to manage or prevent diabetes
Turmeric is high in antioxidants
Turmeric may help with the health of the skin
Taking black pepper with turmeric helps your body absorbed the turmeric. You can cook with it, add it in juices with black pepper or buy supplements. You can also get shots of it at the grocery store.
Garlic
I gots to have garlic. Yes to garlic. It adds flavor to food. It provides a ton of benefits to the body.
Garlic is a major staple in our household. It has been for years. I eat it raw. Give me a couple of cloves a day. Yes, sometimes I used tp have the scent of garlic coming out of my pores lol. The benefits outweigh it though. Later on I learned, liquid chlorophyll helps with the odor. It is a natural deodorizer.
According to Leech (2018) on Healthline, they provide some benefits such as:
Garlic includes medicinal properties
Garlic is high in nutrients and low in calories
Garlic can help with certain sickness & ease the common cold
Garlic can help decrease blood pressure
Garlic helps improve cholesterol levels
Garlic contains antioxidants
Garlic may help detoxify heavy metals in the body
Garlic may help with bone health
Foods high in Vitamin C
Green leafy vegetables (such as kale, spinach, broccoli, etc.), color bell pepper, oranges, Strawberries, Papaya, Tomato, etc
(fun fact: color bell pepper has more vitamin C in it than oranges)
Adequate levels of Vitamin D
Many people talk about vitamin c when it comes to boosting the immune system. Vitamin C plays a significant role. There is another vitamin that plays a big part in boosting the immune system too.
It is vitamin D. Vitamin D is known to strengthen the immune system to decrease chances of colds, flu, etc.(www.umms.org., 2021).
Studies show that inadequate levels of vitamin D cause the body to be susceptible to infections (Aranow, 2011).
Foods high in Antioxidants
Dark leafy greens veggies, Blackberries, Blueberries, Pomegranate, Sweet potato, Carrots, Walnuts, Pecans, etc
(you have to be careful with the nuts and pecans because the calories can run up quick)
Anti inflammatory foods
Broccoli, Berries, Cherries, Whole grains such as oat & quinoa, Mushrooms, Peppers, Dark chocolate, almonds, nuts, avocados, etc
(Be careful with almonds, nuts, & avocados because calories can add up quick)
Probiotics
Tempeh, kimchi, kombucha, etc
Herbs & Teas
There are so many herbs. Here are a few. Ginger, turmeric, garlic, oil of oregano, rosemary, holy basil, cinnamon, enchineaca, astragalus, burdock, elderberry, milk thistle, dandelion, etc
Most teas are high in antioxidants and contain immune-boosting properties. You can find almost all of the herbs above in tea form. Here are a few more. Black tea, White tea, Peppermint tea, Chamomile tea, Rooibos tea, Rose hips, Hibiscus Tea, etc.
Dandelion, Burdock, Nettle, & Milk Thistle teas are some detoxing teas. Liquid Chlorophyll can be used as a detox & natural deodorizer.
Green tea Matcha Powder has a lot of benefits. For the purpose of this blog on detoxing and boosting the immune system, I will mention these two. It is high in antioxidants and may have detoxing benefits.
These herbs and teas are not all consumed at the same time. It depends on what I need at specific times. Buddha Teas have a variety of teas to choose from. They have tea bags & loose-leaf teas. Loose-leaf teas are said to be better and of higher quality.
Minimal to no processed foods, artificial sugar, oil, junk foods, etc in your diet
These foods increase inflammation in the body. Chronic inflammation causes illnesses in the body.
Plant-based Eating
Eating plant- based has been healing within itself for me. Minimal to no processed foods, oil, and artificial sugar has made a big difference in strengthening my body. Here are some
What I Eat In A Day, What I Eat In A Day 2, What I Eat In A Day 3,
Sleep
Sleep is important for optimal health. Olson (2020) discussed how during sleep, proteins called cytokines are activated by your immune system.
They help you sleep and also help reduce inflammation and infection in the body. When you are running off of lack of sleep, the activation of these proteins may be reduced.
Antibodies that fight infections are also reduced with lack of sleep. Our immune system needs our bodies to sleep (Olson, 2020).
Move Your Body
Exercise can help ground you, relieve stress, and boost the immune system.
During exercise, the production of different kinds of white blood cells is activated. Macrophage is one of the white blood cells that is highly activated during exercise. It goes through the body and removes harmful bacteria & viruses (DeYoung on communitymedical.org. 2020).
As I mentioned in my morning routine, a quick workout will work. If you don’t have 30 minutes to work out, no problem. YouTube has so many 10 minutes exercise videos you can knock out quickly.
Everyday free radicals find their way into our bodies, stress finds its way, things don’t always go as planned, etc. In conclusion, staying grounded is an ongoing process.
It is an overall process. When you include the mind, body, and soul on your journey, you get optimal benefits. Let’s wrap this post up. Here is the process:
How to Stay Grounded in 12 Ways.
Create positive and uplifting vibes
Practice gratitude
Add more laughter in your life
Earthing/grounding
Surround yourself with people who love and care for you
Practice Self Love Daily
Give your body immune boosting/antioxidants/anti inflammatory foods and herbs
Give your body detoxing herbs/teas when needed
Sleep
Move your body
Healthy eating habits. Plant based/vegan works for me. Everyone has to find an eating lifestyle that works for them.
Until next time
Sources:
Antioxidants- Protecting Healthy Cells. Retrieve from https://www.eatright.org/food/vitamins-and-supplements/types-of-vitamins-and-nutrients/antioxidants-protecting-healthy-cells
Aranow, C. (2011). Vitamin D and the Immune System. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3166406/
Bedosky, L. (2019). 12 Scientific Health Benefits of Turmeric and Curcumin. Retrieved from https://www.everydayhealth.com/diet-nutrition/diet/scientific-health-benefits-turmeric-curcumin/
Boost The Immune System. Retrieved from https://www.umms.org/coronavirus/what-to-know/managing-medical-conditions/healthy-habits/boost-immune-system#:~:text=Vitamin%20D%20is%20one%20of,infections%2C%20especially%20with%20respiratory%20infections.
Boost Your Immune System With Exercise. Retrieved from https://www.communitymedical.org/about-us/News/Boost-your-immune-system-with-exercise
Chevalier et al. (2012). Earthing: Health Implications of Reconnecting the Human Body to the Earth’s Surface Electrons. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3265077/
Chowdhury, M. (2020). The Neuorscience of Gratitude and How It Affects Anxiety & Grief. Retrieved from https://positivepsychology.com/neuroscience-of-gratitude/
Leech, J. (2018). 11 Proven Health Benefits of Ginger. Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/11-proven-benefits-of-ginger#_noHeaderPrefixedContent
Leech, J. (2018). 11 Proven Health Benefits of Garlic. Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/11-proven-health-benefits-of-garlic#section1
Mashhadi et al. (2013). Anti- Oxidative and Anti Inflammatory Effects of Ginger in Health and Physical Activity: Review of Current Evidence. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3665023/#ref13
Olson, E. (2020). Lack of Sleep: Can it make your sick? Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/insomnia/expert-answers/lack-of-sleep/faq-20057757
Sood, A.(2016). To Improve Your Health, Practice Gratitude. Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/improve-health-practice-gratitude/art-20270841
The Mayo Clinic Staff. (2021). Stress relief from laughter? It’s no joke. Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-relief/art-20044456
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