Centering/Grounding Practices: Encouragement through all the Changes

I am sending lots of love and encouragement amidst all that is happening.

Here are some centering/grounding practices that I find helpful...

• Connect to your body. Do a body scan. Go from the crown of your head down to the soles of your feet or from the soles of your feet to the crown of your head. How are you feeling in each part of your body? Where is the tension? Where is the ease?

• Connect to your breath. Notice each inhale as it comes into your body and each exhale as it leaves your body. Slow down your breathing (4 count inhale, 4 count pause, 4 count exhale - or whatever works for you).

• Connect to nature. Get outside. Feel the sun and breeze on your skin. Put your bare feet in grass. Hug a tree. Smell flowers or herbs.

• Connect to community. Call your people. Visit your people. Talk to your people. Listen to your people.

• Read sacred texts. Read texts that encourage you and guide you. (This could also include pulling cards - affirmation cards, tarot cards, divination cards.)

• Write/Journal. You have books in you. You have writing projects in you. Write your way through all the things. I also love morning pages (see The Artist's Way). Journal whatever is on your heart and mind. Stream of consciousness is fine. I like to journal about dreams, visions, gratitude, feelings (physical and emotional), and anything else that is on my mind.

• Pray/Meditate. Whatever prayer and medication looks like to you. A silent and/or spoken practice of naming what needs to be named, calling in what needs to be called in, casting out what needs to be cast out, giving and receiving peace and protections.

• Body work. Massages. Stretching. Yoga. Running. Kickboxing. Dancing, etc.

• Energy work. If you have access to energy workers (e.g., reiki).

• Therapy/Counseling. If you have access book a therapy session (or series). [See

If you have additional centering and grounding practices that you find helpful, share them in the comments.

Gratitude, always to my beloved communities - from my inner circle of family and friends to La Belle Vie Writers. These communities are mirrors, anchors, sanctuaries, beautiful spaces of love, joy, and encouragement through all of the changes.

In love and solidarity,

Kathryn

THANKS FOR READING!

Linked-In Statement:

I am Dr. Kathryn Sophia Belle, and I did all the things Black women are told we are supposed to do – all the degrees, certifications, successful career, marriage, and 4 children. I had it all. And I felt trapped by all of it! So, I liberated myself. Now I live on my own terms, doing what I love – from reading, writing, speaking, and coaching, to embracing my sensuality and sexuality with lovers and in Black Kink spaces! On Substack I share my core pillars of transformation in my life to motivate and encourage you on your liberation journey, while also building beloved community.

Author Bio:

Dr. Kathryn Sophia Belle is a philosopher, published author, and public speaker. She is also founder/owner of La Belle Vie Academy (with signature program La Belle Vie Writers) offering coaching, course suites, and community for High Achievers, Exit Strategies, Happily Unmarried, and Erotic Empowerment! After earning her doctorate in philosophy, she worked in Academia for 20 years (2003-2023). Her scholarly specializations include African American/Africana Philosophy, Black Feminist Philosophy, Continental Philosophy/Existentialism, and Social/Political Philosophy. She is author of Beauvoir and Belle: A Black Feminist Critique of The Second Sex(Oxford University Press, 2024) and Hannah Arendt and the Negro Question(Indiana University Press, 2014, also available in French: éditions Kimé, 2023). Current writing projects include a new book about Audre Lorde’s philosophy and her own memoirs.