Guide

Grounding and Planting

If you feel unsettled at any point — a rush of emotion, tension, or energy that feels like too much — you can stop and ground yourself. Place your hands, palms facing down, at the sides of your hips, and let the earth take what is uncomfortable. This is the same posture you will use at the end of a belief change, to plant the new belief beneath your feet like a seed ready to grow.

The grounding posture

Stick figure standing with knees soft, palms facing down at the sides of the hips, dashed lines running down the legs to two marks on the ground — showing energy grounding into the earth. — The grounding posture: palms to the earth, energy running down and out.

From the Wu Chi standing posture, bring your palms to face the earth at the sides of your legs, roughly level with the crease of the leg or under the hip. In this way you connect with the downward flow of the gallbladder meridian and use it to ground and earth yourself.

This brings your focus downwards and can settle any disruptive or uncomfortable energy sensations as you work through the method. As you practise this, you may notice your legs becoming heavier, more "planted," and your awareness and energy sinking, as if providing you with a strong foundation from which to step forward.

Stand (or sit, feet flat on the ground) and soften your knees.
Place your hands at the sides of your hips, palms facing the earth.
Send whatever is uncomfortable — excess energy, emotion, sensation — down through your legs and into the earth beneath your feet.
Remain until you feel steady, relaxed, and ready to continue.

If you feel unsettled mid-process

Please note that at any time throughout the procedure, if you are feeling discomfort or there is an excess of uncomfortable energy, you can stop and use the grounding position to settle yourself and clear the excess energy before you continue. I have witnessed clients clearing quite traumatic memories, or noticing heaviness and fear rising to be cleared. Please just trust the process and trust in your fundamental well-being; go at your own pace, taking breaks if you want to ground at any stage of the process. You do not have to push through, but commit yourself to seeing it through and let it be easy.

If too much uncomfortable energy builds, you can ground it by placing your hands, palms facing down, at the side of the hips to the earth, until you can relax back into the sensation. If pictures, memories or painful emotions surface, do not try to change or manipulate them — just stay with the feelings until they clear.

Resistance and uncomfortable sensations are a normal part of undoing old patterns — a stress response, tension, heaviness, even a headache or a felt "wound" at the heart or solar plexus. None of this means something is wrong. Be courageous, stay grounded and soft, and allow the process.

Planting a new belief

Stick figure standing with knees soft, palms facing down at the sides of the hips, dashed lines running down the legs to two marks on the ground, with a small green sprout planted between the feet. — Planting: the new belief sent down into the earth beneath your feet, like a seed.

Once a belief has landed, use the same posture to plant it. Place your hands at the sides of your hips, palms facing the earth, soften your knees, and send the belief — plus any excess energy — down the legs, planting it into the earth beneath your feet. Remain until you sense the belief has landed and you feel grounded, ready to get on with your day.

You will get a sense here of energy "landing" and sinking to earth. Your feet, and perhaps legs, will start to feel connected to the earth and may feel more solid, ready to step forward into the rest of your day. Plant the belief underneath your feet like you were planting a seed ready to blossom and grow, experiencing the lovely feeling that may bring. Without doing this we can be left feeling a little top-heavy and unbalanced, so be sure to take your time completing this important step.

Why this works

Stick figure standing with knees soft, a dotted line running down the centre of the body and out through the legs to the ground, showing energy flowing down to the bubbling-spring point at the feet. — The bubbling spring: where the body's energy meets the rising energy of the earth.

This posture builds on the Wu Chi standing posture used throughout the method: feet rooted, weight sinking through the balls of the feet — the "bubbling spring" point — into the earth. The bubbling spring is the point where the water element of the body connects with the rising energy of the earth; activating it and intending the connection is enough for the pathway to open and flow.

Softening the knees, relaxing the legs, and letting your awareness sink is what lets excess or uncomfortable energy travel down and out, rather than staying lodged in the body.