Happiness Break: How to Ground Yourself, with Yuria Celidwen

Connect to yourself and the land you stand on in under 10 minutes with this grounding practice led by Indigenous scholar Dr. Yuria Celidwen.

Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/mwkzku66

How to Do This Practice:

1. If possible, go outside and find some natural ground, like grass or dirt. If you're wearing shoes or socks, take them off and place the soles of your feet directly on the ground.

2. Bring your attention to the earth beneath you. Allow it to hold you, paying attention to how it feels — soft, firm, reliable. Imagine you're starting to grow roots from the tip of your toes, digging deep into the earth.

3. Visualize energy and wellness flowing through your roots to your toes, into the soles of your feet, your thighs and knees, then base of the spine and upwards into your chest, expanding the whole center of your chest. Take a full, deep breath and contemplate the openness you feel in your chest.

4. Look up towards the sky and open your eyes, allowing all of your senses to awaken to the sounds, smells, colors, and life around you. Feel their presence.

Today’s Happiness Break host:

Dr. Yuria Celidwen is an Indigenous studies, cultural psychology, and contemplative science scholar of Indigenous Nahua and Maya descent. She also works at the United Nations to advance the rights of Indigenous peoples and the Earth.

Learn more about Dr. Celidwen’s work: https://www.yuriacelidwen.com/

More resources from UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center:

• Listen to Dr. Yuria Celidwen on The Science of Happiness episode about listening to your elders: https://tinyurl.com/yr2ydk43

• Does Nature Make You More Mindful? https://tinyurl.com/4wcreu9z

• Why You Need More Nature in Your Life: ​​https://tinyurl.com/ye282e5d

• Being Around Nature Helps You Love Your Body: https://tinyurl.com/57d5ntxm

• How Modern Life Became Disconnected From Nature: https://tinyurl.com/yc6u73f9

• Listen to The Science of Happiness episode featuring podcast host Krista Tippett, on Being Grounded in Your Body: https://tinyurl.com/8t7rr4yy

Tell us how connecting to the earth beneath you made you feel by emailing us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or using the hashtag #happinesspod.

Find us on Amazon Music: https://tinyurl.com/28hcdfsd

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Leave us a 5-star review and copy and share this link: pod.link/1340505607

We're living through a mental health crisis. Between the stress, anxiety, depression, loneliness, burnout — we all could use a break to feel better. That's where Happiness Break comes in. In each biweekly podcast episode, instructors guide you through research-backed practices and meditations that you can do in real-time. These relaxing and uplifting practices have been shown in a lab to help you cultivate calm, compassion, connection, mindfulness, and more — what the latest science says will directly support your well-being. All in less than ten minutes. A little break in your day.