Craniosacral therapy is a gentle body therapy which is recognized and supported as a complementary therapy method by the vast majority of supplementary insurance companies.
5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Method
The 5-4-3-2-1 grounding method is about our own grounding, our connection to the earth. It's about our breath, our sensations, and our life.
The method was significantly shaped by psychotherapist Yvonne Dolan and serves to help one become fully present and reconnect with one's own strength in hectic or stressful situations. But what does it actually mean to be fully present and in one's own strength? What might initially sound like hocus-pocus or empty talk is actually quite simple:
It's about our attention and our focus. Where is our attention and focus currently directed? What else is going on in the back of our minds? In everyday life, we're often not in the present moment, but caught in endless thought loops. At breakfast, we're already thinking about lunch, and at lunch, we're already thinking about dinner. While we eat, we plan the weekend, mentally complete to-do lists, or get lost in various scenarios. We're therefore in a constant state of fight-or-flight.
Even if we are sitting comfortably on the couch eating chips, for example, our system is on high alert and in fight-or-flight mode... much like we are being chased by a hungry lion.
The 5-4-3-2-1 method consciously directs attention to the senses. We begin to reconnect with ourselves. This calms the central nervous system, making the state of alert biologically unnecessary. Breathing becomes calmer, the body relaxes. A feeling of safety, stability, and inner security arises, entirely without complicated techniques. This process is also medically measurable through our pulse, respiration, and muscle tone.
Do the exercise on your own
5 things to see
Pause for a moment and feel your breath. Observe your surroundings. Identify five things and look at them curiously, as if you were seeing them for the first time. This could be a leaf, a piece of furniture, a picture, a landscape, or anything else. Observe, explore, and describe them.
4 things you can feel
Feel three things in your surroundings: a piece of clothing, the sofa, a stone, a tree, whatever you have around you at the moment.
Listen to 3 things
Listen around you. What do you perceive? What do you hear? Listen to the sounds like a microphone that doesn't judge, but simply records. Simply take in the tone, the noise, the sound.
Two things smell
Take a moment to sniff around your surroundings. What scents do you encounter? Let the scent work its magic on you. Perhaps coffee, perhaps perfume, perhaps the scent of the forest—whatever it is that presents itself to you.
Taste one thing
What tastes do you have in your mouth? Perhaps you've eaten or drunk something, or just brushed your teeth. Explore the taste and consciously perceive it.
In pairs or in a group
Each person can take turns telling the group about an object or thing they see, hear, feel, smell, and taste. The group takes time with each described item to share a sensory experience. Experience has shown that this can be very fun and playful, depending on the situation, and facilitates a shared sensory experience.
In this sense, I wish them, I wish you, many exciting and sensual experiences in the present moment and in your strength.
Heartfelt,
Jan Rieder