There’s a running joke on the internet that the cure to everything: burnout, heartbreak, 3 AM anxiety, is to “touch grass” or grounding. But beneath the meme is an ancient idea finding its revival. Once the domain of yogis and barefoot philosophers, grounding has become wellness’s latest fixation, looping through explore feeds and therapy circles alike.
In India, though, the concept has always lived in our homes in the most unassuming ways. We walk barefoot across tiled floors, breathe through suryanamaskars and light incense before beginning the day. Yet even in a culture entrenched in ritual, disconnection feels stronger than ever.
What it actually is
Remember when your mum scolded you for coming home muddy and barefoot from the park? Turns out that “getting dirty” is a non-negotiable in adulthood. In the simplest terms, grounding is the practice of reconnecting; whether that’s with the earth beneath your feet, your breath, water or your body’s signals that it’s time to slow down.
Grounding can be as simple as standing barefoot on grass, lying on the floor with your palms open or breathing deeply before the first notification of the day. For some, mornings offer the stillness required to tune in; for others, the best time is whenever chaos peaks.
Therapists use grounding as a sensory anchor for anxiety or panic. It’s been linked to lower cortisol levels, improved sleep and reduced inflammation, but the real draw is far simpler: it reminds us what it means to be human in a world that’s constantly buffering.
Richa Raheja, a trauma-informed breathwork facilitator and counsellor, puts it succinctly, “Grounding is the skill of coming back to the here-and-now. It trains attention away from rumination and nudges the body away from fight-or-flight mode and interrupting anxiety spirals. We use it as a first-line, portable tool for panic and overwhelm. Evidence on grounding is early but promising for sleep/autonomic balance. Some methods I always recommend are longer exhales with your feet on the floor, naming three things you can see, feel and smell, touching cool water or ice, two barefoot minutes outdoors or carrying a small comfort anchor like a scent or stone.”
Tailoring your calm to your chaos
“I think grounding is a deeply personal practice,” says Ravya Arora, a Delhi-based health and fitness educator. For someone like her, whose routine oscillates between workouts, shoots and client sessions, grounding looks like quieting down. “Sometimes it’s breath-work at sunrise, sometimes it’s pacing down after a run and feeling my heartbeat slow. Grounding doesn’t have a cookie-cutter mould.”
Think of grounding as an antidote to sensory overload, a pause button for an overstimulated nervous system. India’s older philosophies have always advocated similar pauses. In Ayurveda, balance between mind and body begins with the gut and breath. In yoga, grounding through asanas and pranayama is how one returns to clarity. The modern version simply translates that wisdom into bite-sized practice: portable calm in a world that rarely pauses.
Dipping your toes in
Karishmma Chawla, a Mumbai-based functional-medicine nutritionist, gives us some super quick ways to ground yourself: “Even a few deep breaths, or visualising light flowing through you into the earth can anchor you in clarity. Someone constantly on the move might only manage five deep breaths twice a day, while another person might have time for yoga, meditation, or walking barefoot.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: vogue.in
