As the holidays approach, many people tend to become stressed. Here’s a quick and easy way to release tension and center your focus.
When you were a child your parents might have reprimanded you for stamping your feet, telling you it was rude, or to settle down. You may feel vindicated to learn that instinctively you were onto something good, because stamping your feet releases stress and centers your energy.
You can stamp your feet anywhere, but the best place is outdoors on the ground, preferably in bare feet. Stamping your feet on the ground connects you with the calm energy of the earth and literally grounds you, but stamping your feet on the floor works to good effect, too. Stamp gently and mindfully, and be sure to stamp both feet. Stamping only one foot affects the energy on one side of your body, but not the other, causing imbalances. Stamp your feet in alternation, left-right-left-right, ending the stamp with the opposite foot with which you began. You’ll be able to sense how many times to do it by how centered you feel.
When you’re feeling confused, or overwhelmed, stamp your feet. When you feel frightened, or insecure, stamp your feet. After you meditate, undergo a healing, or have had a massage, and need to focus so you can drive or otherwise function, stamp your feet. The waves of energy of each gentle stamp travel from your feet up to your head and back down to your feet, focusing your energy and bringing you back to earth so you can take constructive action.
Condensed from Chapter 35 of “Naturally Powerful: 200 Simple Actions to Energize Body, Mind, Heart, & Spirit” by Valerie Wells, published by Perigee/Putnam