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Show Notes

In this short walking practice, I guide you through a simple, grounding way to co-regulate with the earth using movement, gravity, and sensory awareness. Designed to be done outdoors (or indoors if needed), this practice invites you to slow your pace, feel your feet making contact with the ground, and notice how the body responds when it’s in relationship with something larger and deeply supportive.

We explore downward flow, letting go of what you don’t need to carry, and gently receiving support back up through the feet, legs, and pelvis. There’s no right way to experience this practice — you’re invited to follow what feels supportive, release what doesn’t, and trust your nervous system’s timing.

This episode is an offering for winter walks, transitions between tasks, or anytime you want to feel more grounded, supported, and connected to the earth beneath you.

Timestamps

00:00 — Welcome & setting up the walking practice
01:30 — Slowing pace & noticing the rhythm of your steps
02:45 — Feeling the feet make contact with the earth
04:00 — Gravity, grounding & downward flow
05:30 — Letting excess energy move into the earth
07:00 — Making space for what wants to grow next
08:30 — Receiving support up through the feet and legs
10:00 — Bringing earth energy into hips and pelvis
12:30 — Orienting to place while staying connected
14:00 — Closing & releasing the active practice

Submit your questions for the Q&A [here]

Photos and links from this episode: www.mindandmountain.co/podcast 

Transcript: 

Sarah 0:16
Hello, co regulation Conversations. I'm here for another short ish practice with you, and today I wanted to do a walking practice. Here, it's zero degrees out and very close to solstice in the moment. And even given all of that, it feels very useful to bring in a little practice that invites you to step outside. I guess you could do this indoors if you wanted, and make a little bit of time to move and connect to ourselves and the earth with a walking practice. So I'm calling this CO regulating with the earth. And once you're ready, I'd invite you just to notice the rhythm of your body as you move, as you walk, and let's see if it feels Okay to slow the rhythm down a little bit. I'm it slow enough that you can really feel, really feel the way that your feet are making contact with the earth as you walk. You and you might find, as I invite you into that awareness, that your pace wants to slow even more

Sarah 2:38
so noticing the feeling, the sensations, the experience of the feet,

Sarah 2:52
as They step, as they move, as they make contact with the ground, even if it's through shoes or boots or whatever it is, even if it's through snow or sidewalks between us, underneath that there is actual dirt, actual Earth. And then out beyond that is the whole earth, the whole planet, with a lot of depth down below and so you might feel, as we're bringing these ideas in the way that energy potentially also has a downward flow to it.

Sarah 4:01
And maybe it feels nice to just really notice the way that your body, with the assistance of gravity, has that supportive connection with the dirt and the earth below.

Sarah 4:35
Just taking some time to notice how that feels, to recognize the connection through gravity and the gentle pull that the Earth has on your body, not so much that you can't move, because here we are moving as we need to. And. As we want to, as we can, but that little gentle tug that keeps us grounded keeps us supported we're

Sarah 5:27
if you have anything that you're aware of carrying right now energetically that you Want to allow to flow down through your body, using the assistance of gravity to just let it move on down through and into the earth, where there's potential for it To be composted, used transformed into something else, we can bring that idea in,

Sarah 6:10
see what that feels like, to allow it to happen,

Sarah 6:18
and maybe ways You can feel, or maybe also in ways that are beyond comprehension, are just happening in the background or below conscious awareness. You

Sarah 6:44
leaving some space behind in your body, some space in your system for whatever wants to grow there next I'm

Sarah 7:11
and then you might also, as you notice your feet and The way they're connected right now with the planet you

Sarah 7:25
you might have a sense for the potential feeling of like a shift in the way your body feels when it is in relationship with something bigger,

Sarah 7:47
like, literally something gigantic, like a whole planet might be able to allow our little human body to feel like it has some support in carrying what it has to carry, and maybe letting letting down the parts of the load that We have that we don't need to carry anymore. You Oh,

Sarah 8:30
yeah, seeing if that downward flow feels supportive, you might want to stay with this aspect of this CO regulation practice for a little longer and just deepen into the way that that downward expression can feel really grounding and supportive if

Sarah 9:02
you want to keep playing with this and add a little bit more on, the next place I'd invite you into would be feeling the way that as you Walk. There is also the potential to receive some of that earth support up into the bottoms of your feet, and maybe you breathe it up little by little, like on an inhale, breathing and allowing some of that supportive earth energy to move up into your feet, at the bottoms of the soles of the feet, and then maybe next up into the ankles. I'm.

Sarah 10:03
And then maybe into the lower legs, shins and the calves.

Sarah 10:19
On the next breath, maybe you feel it come on up into your knees, support the movement of your knees, the stability there we're

Sarah 10:43
and maybe you allow that earth energy to continue moving on up into your thighs, the muscles and the bones there and

Sarah 11:07
and then maybe it comes up into the joints of your hips,

Sarah 11:16
stabilizing and allowing for movement and

Sarah 11:29
and then, as you feel ready, we can invite that energy to continue moving on up the legs and pull itself in the pelvis and

Sarah 11:47
it's feeling that connection between Earth and your body,

Sarah 11:57
feeling it gather in the pelvis, maybe allowing for some space and expansion from the front to the back and from the side To side, feeling the bowl of the pelvis expand. As it's able to hold and connect with this energy that you're receiving from the earth you

Sarah 12:43
and now let's just see what it's like to continue with movement, continue with walking, maybe Let your eyes move around and notice where you are in time and space, and see how that feels when you do it alongside this earth energy practice, Maybe it feels a little bit different to locate yourself right now with this additional awareness of the different ways that we are connected with the planet,

Sarah 13:35
feel free to keep exploring this energy through the rest of your walk. Seeing what pace feels right and what wants to happen with your body and with this connection and energy that we've been exploring.

Sarah 14:00
And when you're ready, you can release the active practice. And it's up to you, if you feel like you want to keep connected with the way that energy feels inside your body, or if you want to just let it go, either way, we can trust that what feels right for you in the moment is the right thing for your nervous system.

Sarah 14:29
Okay, so enjoy. If you want to keep playing with this, if you have more walking to do, take really good care of yourself. Thanks for being here, and I'll talk to you next time you.