Journey Through the 5 Elements: Earth
Over the next few weeks, we will explore the five elements – earth, water, fire, air and ether. When we begin to reconnect with nature, and the elements that make up all that is natural, we can begin to bring healing and balance back to our bodies and minds!
During this journey, I also invite you to use your senses and actually experience each of these elements in nature. Spending some time outside, feeling the grass under your feet, or the sand between your toes, the wind in your hair and the sun on your face. As we began to learn when we explored our energy centers, the 7 chakras, there is something healing and balancing about reconnecting with the natural world. When starting your journey on reconnecting to the elements, I invite you to get reacquainted with nature. Being outdoors has been proven to improve wellbeing, from lowering blood pressure to boosting the immune system, improving mental health and enhancing longevity.
Connect to the Earth
In our modern lives, it is so easy to lose connection to the earth. We spend much of our day inside, whether we are commuting to work in a car, spending the daylight hours glued to our office desks and keyboards, and wearing socks and shoes for much of the day; all of these activities and habits create a disconnection between the body and the earth. The longer we’re disconnected from the earth and the outside world, the more we forget our interconnected role within nature. Thus, the more we tend to focus on ‘I, me, my’ – the ego.
The more we feed the ego by focusing on our own wants and desires and seeing ourselves as separate from the world around us, the more stressed and isolated we tend to feel. When we’re disconnected from the earth and nature, we’re disconnected from our own true nature. The more we are disconnected, the less free we feel; we begin to feel trapped and anxious in our day to day lives.
Reconnecting to the earth element is more about doing less than adding more. Simplifying, letting go, and getting back to our most primal selves can serve as a way to feel grounded and earthed again.
In this elemental series, we’ll look at how we can use the five senses: touch, taste, sight, sound and smell. Plus, specific yoga postures and breathing techniques to start cultivating more of each element within us. Throughout this journey, remember that you are the elements, so it’s really more a case of remembering what it feels like to connect to them.
Touch: Earthing
Earthing is the practice of literally connecting your body to the natural earth. Also known as ‘grounding’, this simple technique has been found through to lower levels of inflammation, enhance the immune system, help wounds heal quicker, and gently treat chronic inflammatory conditions.
The earth’s surface contains negatively charged particles, whilst modern items such as phones, wifi, and computers all contain positively charged ions. These positively charged ions are generally detrimental to health and wellbeing. By disconnecting from phones and reconnecting to the earth for a while, we reduce the build-up of positive ions in the body, and neutralise the amount of charge the body has. This often leads to greater mind-body health, and a sense of feeling more emotionally ‘grounded’ too.
Taste: Sweet and sour
The earth element is linked to the sweet and sour tastes, which both help to nourish the body, build tissues, provide an emotional sense of comfort, as well as helping the body absorb vitamins and nutrients efficiently. The ‘sweet’ taste doesn’t just refer to sugars though, so if you’re looking to feel more grounded, try adding more sweet foods to your meals in the form of rice, basil, cashews, dates, milk, bananas, melon, beetroot, sweet potato, cardamom and cinnamon. Sour foods include grapefruit, lemon, lime, pickles, tomatoes, bread, vinegar, and garlic.
Sight: Forest Bathing
Reconnecting to the earth element and feeling more ‘grounded’ can be as simple as walking in nature and really noticing your surroundings. Rather than plugging into a podcast or checking your phone, notice the colors of the trees, notice how the light filters through the leaves, or how your surroundings change from season to season. Doing this is a form of Shinrin Yoku, known as ‘forest bathing’ or ‘nature therapy’, and can be deeply restorative for the nervous system. From a yogic perspective, the color red is linked to the root chakra and the earth element. Increase your earth energy by wearing red, or focusing on a red object as part of your meditation practice.
Sound: Schuman Resonance & The ‘Lam’ Mantra
Different frequencies can elicit either grounded, calm states of mind, or energized, focus feelings. The Schuman Resonance is a very low sound frequency, and is apparently the frequency emitted due to the vibration of the earth’s rotation. Listening to this frequency can be an effective way to shift perspective and bring awareness back to the fact that we are all a part of planet earth. Another sound that can help elicit more earth energy is the mantra ‘Lam’, which is the bija or ‘seed’ mantra for the root chakra. Chant this mantra with a relaxed, low voice as part of a japa meditation.
Smell: Using the sense of smell more often
The sense of smell is linked to the earth element, and is actually one of the first senses to develop within us. Without realizing it, we actually use our sense of smell a lot. From subconsciously smelling the pheromones of loved ones, to using our sense of smell to tell whether something is edible despite it having been in the fridge a little past the sell-by date….
Smell is very much a primal sense – just look at how much animals use it – and reconnecting to our own sense of smell is a great way to re-awaken our earthiness. Pause for a moment and notice what you can smell around you right now, stop and smell the flowers on your next nature walk, or pick a favorite scent and meditate upon it.
Yoga postures: Feet, legs and hips
Here is a short yoga practice to help you feel more grounded:
Prep Poses
Child’s Pose
Hero Pose
Yogi Squat
Forward Fold
Asana Poses
Candle Pose
Mountain Pose - feel the feet and the contact it makes with the ground
Standing Splits
Downward Dog
Goddess Pose
Side Lunge
Runner’s Lunge
Cool Down Poses
Seated Forward Fold
Seated Head to Knee Pose
Constructive Rest
