Tone Your Legs and Strengthen Your Mind with this Earth Based Yoga Practice

Grounding Yoga Cover

“Maybe you are searching among the branches, for what only appears in the roots.

~ Rumi

Busy brain got you in tizzy? Try this 20 minute earth based yoga practice.

This yoga class video includes balancing tree pose, and grounding warrior poses. Poses that will offer you peace from the traffic of thoughts crowding the parkway of your mind. 

The Monkey Mind

In yoga we call this monkey mind.  “Monkey mind” is a buddhist term which means unsettled, restless, whimsical, inconstant.

As a monkey swings from tree to tree, so does our mind swing from thought to thought. And we are not always in control of the thoughts that come to the forefront of the mind. Some of them may not feel so hot.

One of the things I like to share with my yoga student friends is this little trick. If you find yourself in a “monkey mind”, focus on your feet connecting to the earth. Bring your attention and awareness to the whole bottom of your feet and how they plant on the floor with each step. 

The inside and outside edges of your feet, the ball of each foot, heel of each foot. 

How does your foot connect to the earth you walk on? 

Grounding

Focus there, as you walk, to help you get off the mind stuff. Ground down.

When we think of grounding, we think of getting out of our heads, calming the mind, being present and connected to what is happening right here, right now. 

Focusing on your breath can also help calm the mind.

Muladhara – The First Chakra

For a more holistic and spiritual perspective, activating the first chakra, muladhara, will help you ground. You will feel a sense of security, calm, and safety. 

The muladhara chakra lies in the tailbone. It is the color of a glowing red light. 

Imagine that light. 

It is called the seat of security. 

It is the foundation of all of the chakras that line up and down the spine. (there are seven along the spine making the color of the rainbow.)

Foundation

Let’s talk about foundation.  A foundation needs to be strong, secure, like the foundation of a building, so that everything stacks on top of that foundation does not fall down. 

If the first chakra, our foundation, is out of whack, we will feel scattered in our thoughts because the structure is not secure. 

We will feel anxious, and possible anxiety.

If you do not feel safe in your home for instance, your foundation, everything else you do will not function properly. You will be fighting against yourself in this battle to achieve your goals or feel good in your mind and body. Cleaning your house and making alters may help this problem. Also adding red to the rooms you hang out in will access the root chakra.

But you may need more than that to erase those scattered thoughts.

One way to balance the first chakra is to practice standing poses and balance poses that allow you to focus on the connection of the feet with the earth. 

Being connected with nature can also help you feel grounded. Placing your bare feet on the grass, digging your hands in dirt or soil, hugging a tree or holding a rock are all ways that you feel connected with the earth.

Another way to ground is to eat root foods that are picked from the earth. Root foods like beets, potatoes, carrots, even making a warm stew. In fact I’m going to try this yummy looking recipe tonight. I will tell you how it goes! 

Finding Balance

The yoga sequence in this video will help you focus and find balance in your mind.

Remember, we all feel off kilter every now and then. If you never have, you might be a robot, or one of the very lucky few? (I don’t know, check for an “on” switch.) 

The key to happiness is finding the balance. This doesn’t mean you have to be in constant balance, it means making those adjustments to find your center. 

Do this practice. Don’t even think about it. Just do it and let the results happen on their own. 

Be present with yourself and observe your thoughts. Be kind to what you discover.

See if you can catch negative thoughts and flip them into positive thoughts! But don’t get mad at negative thoughts just because they decided to show up.

Whatever arises to the surface is just there to be cleansed.

Be well and let me know what you think!

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Grounding Yoga Pin 01


70 thoughts on “Tone Your Legs and Strengthen Your Mind with this Earth Based Yoga Practice

    1. We hope you enjoy our yoga classes Julia.There are beginner classes and intermediate ones. Hoping you can find what works for you.

  1. I did my first yoga earlier and my body got out of balance I think because of my weight but I’ll keep trying until I’ll make it the right position HAHAHA.

    1. I was the same way when I first started. Just take it easy and do some modifiers if you feel that a pose is too hard. You can also always rest – maybe child’s pose if you need to.

    1. Yes! And guess what, if you are a mother or a runner, yoga is a perfect compliment to your lifestyle! This is where you get to tune into yourself and really see how you are inside. This video will strengthen and stretch your legs. Yoga is not only my lifestyle but my therapy! Try it with your kids too! Namaste Deborah!

  2. I’ve actually started doing yoga again every day since the UK went into lockdown! 🙂 Forgotten how much I love doing it

  3. I need to start doing some yoga, to help me stretch my body. Since the lockdown I didn’t do much exercise and my muscles need some stretching.

  4. Great routine. I have been doing Yoga since the lockdow started and it has helped me have a clear mind nd beign focus on simple things. I love Yoga!

  5. I have been trying yoga for a couple of months and I feel great every time I do, although isn’t easy. My main point is to find balance in my mind as said in your article once I am dealing with anxiety. I think Yoga has helped me a lot with that issue.

  6. This post is very informative and very encouraging! Thank you for sharing. I saved your YouTube video and can not wait to try it out.

    1. Omg! First I love your name!! I have some good comment coming up that I can’t wait for you to see!! Second. Thank you so much for following and subscribing! I’m so glad you feel inspired!!!Catch you on the flipside Beehive Mama! And did I ever tell you you’re the “cats pajama’s” Lol. Namaste Friend!

  7. See if you can catch negative thoughts and flip them into positive thoughts! But don’t get mad at negative thoughts just because they decided to show up.” I really love this. And I enjoy this class more than I have ever any yoga before. Thank you.

  8. Now, it’s the best time for me to exercise as I am home with nothing else to do. Thanks for sharing.

  9. I love incorporating yoga, but I had stopped for a few weeks. Now, with everything going on, I’ve added it back in! I can’t believe how much it does for your legs!!

  10. We’ve been lockdown for 3 weeks now and I am happy to found out your yoga free classes it’s really helps me to ease my boredom and at the same time to calm myself from these stressful days.

  11. Thanks for this video. I started during Yoga in my Quarantine time. Yoga is the best thing to do if you are not going to gym

  12. This is very interesting and especially, knowing about the monekey mind. Finding balance is important as well when it comes to yoga. Thank you for sharing this informative post 🙂

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