Ways to stay Grounded and Connected during an Action
Check-ins
We want to develop resilience and wellbeing through introspection and deepening our support networks (for arrestables and non-arrestables). Regularly checking in with each other during actions can help us to:
- Recognise, observe and explore our emotions
- Develop greater connection and a feeling of support and safety between each other
- Ground the group at times of heightened emotion
- Uncover and respond to the needs of the group
Self soothing techniques
Practice these techniques long before the action so become second nature and readily available when you need them in times of stress.
- Focusing on your breathing, observing your breath, first without changing it and then very gradually lengthening your exhales. Try to only focus on breathing out, trusting that breathing in happens naturally as and when your body needs it.
- Bringing your attention to your feet and feeling connected to the immediate ground under your feet, and through it, to the soil, the earth, the planet. You are part of a whole and you are connected to it, through your body and through your feet at all times. You are on safe ground.
- Bringing attention to your senses – 5 things you can see, 4 things you can hear, 3 things you can touch, 2 things you can smell, 1 thing you can taste.
- Broadening out your vision (Owl vision), looking as far around you as you can – all the way up to the sky, all the way down to your feet. All the way to your left and all the way to your right. Our vision sometimes contracts when we are scared and we lose sight of what’s important.
- Loosening your shoulders by pulling them up as hard as you can and then letting them fall down. Repeat a few times. Turn your head very slowly from one side to the middle, to the other side, to the middle again. Repeat a few times. We tend to tense around our neck and shoulders in times of stress, actively releasing this tension can help you relax.
- Shake out: Shaking is a normal response to tension in the body, shaking releases the tension and relaxes the muscles which has a direct affect on your nervous system. We love a quick shake out or dance break with a group mid action.