From head to toe, focus on how each part of your body feels. Feel the hair brushing against your ears, the tightness of your jaw, the stiffness of your shoulders. Notice the weight of your arms and the heat of your hands. Pay attention to your breaths, the sensation of your stomach moving in and out. Feel the weight of your legs and your feet firmly against the ground. Feel the weight of your presence and root yourself in the Earth. You are grounded. You are mindful of yourself. 

According to News in Health, the idea of mindfulness is “being completely aware of what’s happening in the present – of all that’s going on inside and all that’s happening around you. It means not living your life on ‘autopilot.’ Instead, you experience life as it unfolds moment to moment, good and bad, and without judgement or preconceived notions.” In modern society, concepts such as mindfulness are integral in understanding one’s mental state and personal boundaries. Mindfulness is the ability to deal with these difficult mental conditions by living in the present moment to overcome negative feelings. Freshman Arsha Bhamidipati says, “A lot of people expect everyone to be okay with everything, especially teenagers. They go through a lot of stress throughout high school, middle school, college. It is hard to keep up with your [mental health].” Despite the challenges many people face with mental health, it is vital to maintain a constructive head space. Sophomore Aditya Bankoti states, “Without good mental health nothing else will appear meaningful in your life. Not being mentally sound restricts all other forms of health.” 

The state of mental health is constantly changing. A bombardment of emotions can lead to drastic fluctuations that may feel unending. Mindfulness is critical in stopping the spread of these emotions. Specifically, mindfulness helps with negative feelings such as anxiety, pain, and depression. It also aids in the sleep process, ultimately clearing the mind and allowing calming dreams instead of nightmares. However, the most significant sensation that mindfulness removes is stress. Greater Good Magazine says that “according to neuroscience research, mindfulness practices dampen activity in our amygdala [the amygdala is part of the limbic system for emotion and behavior] and increases the connections between the amygdala and prefrontal cortex. Both of these parts of the brain help us to be less reactive to stressors and to recover better from stress when we experience it.” In a world heavily permeated by stress, understanding that mindfulness creates a less stressful environment could be key in creating a healthy state of mind. Senior Shanthi Hall comments, “We are so focused on all the little things that happen in our everyday lives. It is kind of like a whirlpool – everything is happening around you and you forget to step back into that peaceful space where you are not as concerned with all the little things that you will not remember in the future.” The tools for regulating stress and the overall mental state can be found in mindfulness techniques. 

Grounding is a major aspect of mindfulness. The term grounding refers to a practice primarily centered around distracting oneself from challenging negative emotions and memories in order to focus on the present moment. A Healthline article on grounding techniques depicts three main categories of grounding. The first category is physical. This classification uses the five senses and various tangible objects to remove negative feelings. Techniques like exercise, savoring food and drink, and the 5-4-3-2-1 method are part of this section. In the 5-4-3-2-1 method, a person lists five things that can be heard, four things that can been seen, three things that can be touched, two things that can be smelled, and one thing that can be tasted. Using the five senses, this physical grounding technique is extremely effective. The second category is mental. Mental grounding is the act of redirecting thoughts away from negative emotions. It includes mental exercises such as anchoring phrases, memory games, and counting backwards. The third category is comfort. Soothing oneself may involve listening to music, practicing self-kindness, and sitting with a pet.  

As an aspect of mindfulness, grounding techniques aim to establish the present moment when major events such as nightmares and overwhelming emotions threaten to overwhelm rational reason. As such, it is helpful when attempting to manage feelings and focus on work. While grounding refers to distancing oneself from negative emotions, Healthline describes earthing as “a therapeutic technique that focuses on realigning your electrical energy by reconnecting to the earth.” The most effective way to reconnect with the earth involves the outdoors. Physical contact with the earth – walking barefoot on grass, submersing oneself in water, or lying on sand are the easiest ways to naturally connect. Earthing indoors requires an increased amount of effort and equipment. In today’s modern world, grounding instruments such as mats, blankets, and patches are available to aid the process.  

The final aspect of mindfulness is meditation. According to Mayo Clinic, “Meditation can give you a sense of calm, peace and balance that can benefit both your emotional well-being and your overall health. You can also use it to  relax and cope with stress by refocusing your attention on something calming. Meditation can help you learn to stay centered and keep inner peace.” Meditation focuses on breathing, reflection, and introspection. Although many people understand meditation as llamas performing yoga, it is a process that helps focus attention and reassemble a scattered mind. Hall says that “meditation can help you day to day, and that [effect] can build up over time.” 

Grounding, earthing, and meditation are methods of mindfulness that establish safe spaces to feel emotions. Junior Aedan Brookshire says, “We have this idea that hav[ing] an emotion at the wrong time [means that] you need to suppress it and that is not true. If you are going to suppress it, suspend [the emotion] until you are in a healthy environment to deal with it.” As challenging emotions creep into everyday life, mindfulness techniques work to relive these feelings and ground oneself within reality.