Grounding Practices for Mental Health: Finding Balance Amid Stress

Every year on 10 October, World Mental Health Awareness Day reminds us to pause, reflect and care for our mental wellbeing. Mental health is an essential part of overall health, yet moments of acute stress, overwhelm or ongoing psychological pressure can leave us feeling disconnected or frozen.

Judy Hirsh Sampath, yoga therapist, yoga teacher and mentor, offers five simple practices to support the nervous system and help us reconnect with our heart, breath and body. These practices are designed to help navigate stress with awareness, gentleness and self-compassion.

For a deeper exploration of mental health practices, visit Judy’s original article here: Mental Health Practice – Yoga United.

Step 1: Grounding and Awareness (2 minutes)

• Sit or lie comfortably.
• Close your eyes if it feels safe, or soften the muscles around your eyes if you keep them open.
• Bring awareness to your breath, deepening it slowly. Notice where it moves freely and where it feels stuck.
• Scan your body—brow, eyes, mouth, jaw, shoulders, hands, rib cage, diaphragm—simply noticing tension without judgment.

Step 2: Protective Postures (2–3 minutes)

• Place your hands over your chest, or over your face/head if drawn to protect yourself.
• Wrap your arms around your body or press them gently on your head—embody a sense of protection.
• Inhale into the chest, expanding in all directions. Slowly raise arms to a V shape if possible, then exhale and release, returning hands to your heart.
• Do as much or as little as feels safe. Let your hands cradle your heart.

Step 3: Expanding and Opening (3–4 minutes)

• Gradually open arms wider and, if standing, widen your stance.
• Inhale and exhale smoothly, noticing any catching or resistance.
• Lie down if you can, curling on your side or spreading out on your back. Breathe into your belly, imagining the diaphragm as a trampoline rising and falling with each breath.
• Explore playful micro-movements—small jumps, shakes, stretches, or imaginary tumbling. Let your body remember play and ease.

Step 4: Finding Joy (2–3 minutes)

• Pause wherever you are. Notice where you hold tension.
• Recall a tiny moment of joy—an image, a sound, a feeling—and breathe it into your body.
• Let the sensation expand gently, naming it silently: “This is joy. I am safe. I am OK.” Even a fleeting drop of joy can ripple through your whole body.

Step 5: Heart Check-In (2–3 minutes)

• Place your hands over your heart. Tap or rub gently in a self-soothing way.
• Breathe into your chest, reconnecting with your heart space.
• Find a present-moment affirmation: “I am here. It will not always be like this. My heart can hold it all. My body knows how to heal.”

From Mat to Life

These practices can be done in just a few minutes or expanded into longer sessions, helping integrate calm and awareness into everyday life. Start small, notice what resonates and return regularly to care for your nervous system and emotional balance.

At the upcoming SOAS BWY Summit on Saturday 1 November at the SOAS Gallery, University of London, Judy will lead a practice calling on the vagus nerve, to show us how to choose an appropriate nervous system response when we feel the charge of overwhelm or overload – bringing grounding, heart-centred awareness and playful joy directly into daily life.

Join Judy alongside leading yogis and researchers to discover how ancient practices can help us thrive in our age of overload. Get your tickets here.