Yoga teacher Dominika Koprdova lives in Copenhagen and knows the need to find grounding in the hustle and bustle of urban life – today she shares her very own grounding tips with you. We hope her grounding rituals inspire you, and today we’re excited to give you ideas on how you too can re-plant your roots and come to rest. Enjoy reading, moving, and arriving. You can also especially look forward to your podcast and music tips!
Grounding tips from Dom
Do you know that feeling when you’re everywhere and nowhere at the same time? It’s quite natural to feel uprooted, rushing without direction and sense of destination sometimes, in the business of the days. That’s when my intentional grounding practices quite intuitively sneak into my days like it’s the body’s natural call for connection.
Just like trees that need strong roots delivering them nutrients for their well-being, humans also need to feel grounded in themselves, rooted in their bodies, carried by their social network, and held by the Earth to function with more ease. Grounding is a continuous process that, like everything else, is subject to fluctuations. But that’s when the intentional practices come in – knowing that things will perhaps never make 100% sense, but trusting yourself, inner deep knowledge and your gut is what we all need to be reminded of sometimes.
Here are my favorite practices that I use to remind myself of what is important to me, what I connect with, and what I return to when I feel uprooted. That’s how I find grounding.
Physical Practice
Physical yoga practice is my second language. The way I move and breathe reflects how I feel. And it works both ways! I feel that underlying peace and stability at that moment when my awareness drops into my body- into my skin, bones, and connective tissues. On my yoga mat, a space opens up for me to explore all of this.
I love deep long held yin shapes with my eyes closed. Those are sensational. To me, they give you time to feel gravity and allow you to really feel your body breathing for you. They help me a lot to find grounding.
Simple seated postures work wonders!
Find a crosslegged position and lean over to the side, finding a gentle side bend. Check in with the legs that are allowing you to walk, run and dance. With the arms that allow you to embrace yourself and others, with the spine that keeps you upright, and with the face that allows you to express yourself. Stay and breathe for 3-5 min and repeat on the other side. Finally, bend over your crossed legs for a seated forward bend and relax your entire body on your hejhej-mat.
I also love active forward folds
I also love active forward folds – they are introspective, require your full awareness and represent your inner power, your inner wisdom. Pay attention to your breath. As you inhale, your spine lengthens; as you exhale, you may feel more depth in your form.
Another tip is to take time only for yourself.
Away from do-do and go-go. While doing this, I like to listen to music, one of my favorite ways to come back to myself and feel all my feelings. While doing this, I like to listen to music, one of my favorite ways to come back to myself and feel all my feelings. I believe that being present with yourself no matter what is the name of the game. From more meditative binaural sounds to an upbeat madness, the music reminds me that the most human thing is to feel, connect and experience.
This is the music I like to listen to
Chihei Hatakeyama has very soft pieces like this one called Ferrum and James Blake has a whole album of just dreamy soundscapes that are beautiful! It is called Wind Down. Upbeat ones I can recommend anything by Fred!
I also listen to podcasts, journal the hell out of my messy mind and call my best friends. It’s these simple things, these micro-moments of life that matter the most. It’s what roots you down that uplifts you.
Podcast recommendations for you
As for podcasts, I love listening to On Being with Krista Tippett. He’s easy to listen to, but you still learn a lot and are inspired to see things differently. A beautiful episode is with the poet Ocean Vuong. It is called A Life Worthy of Our Breath. Ocean’s way of seeing the world is so poetic. In Silence and the Presence of Everything, acoustic ecologist Gordon Hempton defines silence as presence. Very much worth listening to. And the episode with author Ross Gay (Episode: Tending Joy and Practicing Delight) explains how to practice seeing more joy.
Have fun listening!
Thank you, Dominika from the whole hejhej team for your effort and thoughts on grounding, your music recommendations and podcast tips.
All pictures were taken by Dominika on her rather light hejhej-mat.
Find Dominika on Instagram here.
