My Top 5 Grounding Practices for working on Shakespeare

I’m always talking about the importance of grounding when it comes to performing Shakespeare. There’s something about the power of speaking those words at that volume that really requires you to get connected to earth, breath, and body.

I recently finished directing a staged reading of Henry VI Part 2, and even though it was quite ‘light’ in terms of rehearsal period and low in expectations, I am still physically recovering a few days after the performance. 

I identify as a HSP (highly sensitive person), which is reasonably common among actors and creatives, even if they don’t embrace the label. (It’s taken me a while to embrace the label, but that’s a story for another time.) Essentially what this means for me in terms of my creative practice is that I need to be quite conscious of how I’m using my energy, or my nervous system will be shot to pieces and I’ll burn out. 

Today when I sat down to write, I found that I couldn’t focus. Literally. I actually felt quite dizzy and my eyes couldn’t settle on the screen. In the past, I would have pushed through and exhausted myself trying to write something – which probably would have turned out pretty rubbish anyway. These days, I’m better at listening to my body. So I went to lie down for a while.

While I was resting, I felt like my body was about to float off into space. Unfortunately, this was not a ‘blissed out’ state, it was a ‘stressed out’ state. It was like my mind was completely disconnected from my body. I’ve experienced this before, so I knew what it was. My nervous system was overloaded and I was completely ungrounded. 

I didn’t feel consciously stressed in that moment. I had a few hours to myself, I didn’t have anything particularly demanding on my plate that day, and yet I still felt unfocused, like I couldn’t get my mind to work. It was a lingering feeling from having worked so hard on something for the last month, and finally trying to stop and collect myself. 

I know that this feeling will be familiar to many of us as actors. It’s so common to finish a project and feel completely depleted (or even be completely depleted in the middle of a project, especially if it’s something long term like acting in an ongoing TV series or a touring show). Yet we’re expected to get up and be able to still perform. Even if it’s just for an audition, or a rehearsal, we’re still expected to be able to keep going. 

This is why I find a regular grounding practice – even a small one – to be essential for me. It brings me back to myself. It clears my mind and it helps me be present. 

For me, a grounding practice is about my mind, body and spirit feeling at peace. Dare I say – at one. It could take me one minute, one hour, a whole day, or even a whole week. My goal throughout the practice, regardless of how long it takes, is to commit to listening to my body until I feel like I’m “home” again. 

  If you’ve never tried a grounding practice before (maybe you’re not even sure what it is or what it’s supposed to achieve), I recommend you give some of these practices a go on a day where maybe you don’t feel your most connected. Maybe you’re working on scene and it doesn’t feel truthful. Maybe you’re tired, or a bit bummed out by the state of the world, or just frustrated. Just give these a try. 

Here are my favourite practices to try when I feel ungrounded. I use these both after a big project and/or before I rehearse. Start small, and see how you feel. Make the practice your own. Don’t judge yourself. It’s a process, after all. 

1.     Eat Clean.

This might not even seem like a grounding practice, but for me, it is an essential first step when I notice that I’m out of sync with my body.. If my body is full of sugar, caffeine or heavy, highly-processed foods, it’s impossible for me to tune into my body, simply because my body is focused on dealing with all that shit. And if I’m trying to tune into what my body is experiencing and all I can feel is my pulse racing and my tummy rumbling, then I’m never going to get anywhere with the rest of my grounding practice.

Personally, eating clean for me means avoiding certain foods that I know my body doesn’t like, but it also means deliberately eating what I like to call “dirt food”. This is my facetious way of describing the foods that bring me down to earth, like salad, fresh vegetables, water with lemon juice, and herbal tea. They’re admittedly not the most exciting foods, but I can feel a difference in my wellbeing almost immediately when I eat them. I also try to make sure that I eat a proper meal at regular intervals rather than just snacking, which is known to help with circadian rhythms. If I’m being super good about the whole thing, I’ll also try to sit down and eat with no distractions… but hey, let’s be honest – that’s rare. 

No judgement. We do what we can.

2.     Unplug.

When I eat sugar, it feels like I’m bombarding my body with a bunch of mixed messages. “You can do this! I’m so excited! Let’s get up and sing and dance! Nope, you’re exhausted! Let’s go to bed!”

Funnily enough, I feel similarly when I get on social media. My mind starts racing. The messages are just slightly different: “Wow, that’s so inspiring! Arghhh why aren’t I doing something cool like that? I should go and work on that right now! Oh no actually, I should work on that other thing! Wait, no, I need to go on YouTube and watch the trailer for that new movie coming out!”

We all now that this is overstimulation, but most of us are too addicted to notice. And of course, it’s typical to want to scroll when you’re not feeling the best. But… You. Need. Some. Quiet. Your brain needs a break so it can slow down and pay attention to what your body is experiencing. 

If you’re a big social media user, this step might be hard for you. So again, start as small as you need. Even just staying off social media for one hour (or five minutes!) 

If possible, try to step away from your computer as well. If you have work to do, see if you can take a break for a while. Try writing in a notebook or even just dictating a note into your phone so you don’t have to stare at a screen. If you really can’t get away, just wait until after you finish work to start your grounding practice. 

As part of my unplugging, I like to sit quietly with no stimuli for ten minutes. No music, no screens, and ideally no people. I literally set a timer and tell myself I can get up again when it goes off. Even when I’m busy or I feel crazy, it’s hard to justify saying no to ten minutes of quiet. And it always makes a huge difference. 

3.     Try Intuitive Movement.

So now we’re getting into the more artsy stuff. I personally love to dance, so I put on my favourite music and just let myself dance in whatever way feels good. Sometimes it’s not even really dancing, it might just be wriggling my toes or stretching my shoulders – whatever my body needs. It’s a great opportunity to just listen to my body and see what it needs. Again, often it’s only for about ten minutes at a time. Whatever feels achievable. If I’m low energy, then I just move gently. If I’m feeling a lot of feelings, I can get crazy with my movement and let the emotions move through my body. 

Apart from giving you the chance to check in with yourself and nurture yourself physically, it’s also a fabulous exercise for actors because it challenges us to just move authentically, even if it feels awkward or weird. We have to let go of whatever think movement or dance “should be” and just let whatever happens, happen. Music is also such a powerful tool for accessing emotion, so if emotion comes up, let it. I’ve been known to cry, yell, and bang my fists on the ground during intuitive movement sessions. It might sound batshit crazy but man does it feel good. 

A simple alternative if this feels too whacky for you is to do some yoga – but be your own instructor. Instead of switching a yoga video or going to a class, unroll your mat and just listen to how your body wants you to move today. 

4.     Breathwork.

This is taking us into even more ‘artsy’ territory. If you think intuitive movement is weird, breathwork is going to blow your mind. 

It might sound like just sitting and breathing – and it can be if you want – but often breathwork helps us access and process stored emotions. It can be highly powerful, especially for actors, but if you’ve never done it before, you may like to attend a class facilitated by a professional so you can be guided through it safely.

Personally, I like to keep breathwork pretty simple when I’m just trying to ground myself at home, so mostly I focus on using Ujjayi breath to begin with, and then moving to sighing, then vocalisations to let out any stored emotion or energy. This can be pretty intense so I sometimes only do it for a few minutes. I’m an advocate for keeping things manageable – it’s not always useful to dive into intense breathwork 

If you’re willing to give it a try, you could take a look at Yoga with Adriene’s video on Ujjayi breath here or Alexandra Roxo’s embodiment meditation here. Keep in mind that breathwork can sometimes stir up past trauma, so please make sure you are supported before you begin this journey. 

5. Go to Ground.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the other options I’ve listed here, this is possibly the simplest and most effective thing you can do to help ground yourself.

Literally connect with the ground.

There are a few ways you can do this: firstly, take your shoes off and walk around barefoot in nature. If there’s no nature around, just start by taking your shoes off. Walk around your space and pay attention to the sensations in your feet. There are up to 200,000 nerve endings in your feet, so take a second to listen to what they are telling you. 

And last but not least, connect your body to the ground – and to itself – by getting down into child’s pose for a few minutes. This position helps you breathe deeply and is calming to the nervous system. While you’re there, notice the sensations of your palms and forehead connecting with the ground. This is simple but so, so powerful.

… and that’s it! Those are my favourite techniques for getting back to myself. I’ve utilised at least three of these today, so I hope you try at least one! Let me know if they are useful to you in the comments below.

xo

Sarah