Ungrounded despite grounding – is this a mismatch?

[kakapo]

3 hours ago, Cobie said:

 

What does that mean “sung”?

 

 

 

I think he is referring to mental massage, letting the tension from every muscle and joint go, and completely relaxing the mind and body. 

[kakapo]

3 hours ago, Cobie said:

 

Why?  Why make yourselves unbalanced? 

 

 

Let's think about what it actually means to be in perfect balance with your environment.

 

Picture a rock floating through deep space. Eventually, that rock will cool down until its temperature is close to absolute zero. At that point, the rock is perfectly balanced with its freezing surroundings, but it certainly is not alive.

 

To be alive is to constantly fight against being in balance with your environment.

 

Think about how energy flows to make this happen. Plants harvest sunlight and store it as chemical energy. Then, we eat those plants to borrow that stored energy for ourselves.

 

We put that energy to work in all sorts of active ways:

 

To repair old cells and build new ones.

 

To keep our bodies warm.

 

To fuel our brains and muscles so we can think and move.

 

If we ever reached perfect balance with our environment, all of that active work would stop. Just like the rock in space, we would have no energy left to keep going.

 

Imagine pushing this idea even further and pulling in vastly more energy than a normal organism ever could.

[Apech]

3 hours ago, Cobie said:

 

What does that mean “sung”?

 

 

 

**"Sung the body"** (often just "sung") refers to a core principle in Tai Chi and Qigong, where "sung" (鬆, sōng) means a deep, controlled release of tension throughout the body.[1][3]

## Core Meaning
Sung goes beyond surface-level relaxation; it's about loosening joints from within, stretching tissues like rubber for elasticity without limpness or stiffness. This creates space for qi (energy) to flow freely, maintaining upright posture while feeling energized and alert.[2][5][1]

## In Practice
Visualize elongating your spine, opening elbows, wrists, hips, and knees outward to release bound tension down to the bones. Practitioners describe it as yielding to gravity and heaven, mentally and physically, like a baby's natural softness.[3][1][2]

## Benefits
Achieving sung improves flexibility, balance, and internal power (like "peng jing"), while reducing stress that blocks qi. It's foundational, practiced in stages from limbs to full-body-and-mind integration.

[justjoseph]

7 hours ago, Apech said:

 

**"Sung the body"** (often just "sung") refers to a core principle in Tai Chi and Qigong, where "sung" (鬆, sōng) means a deep, controlled release of tension throughout the body.[1][3]

## Core Meaning
Sung goes beyond surface-level relaxation; it's about loosening joints from within, stretching tissues like rubber for elasticity without limpness or stiffness. This creates space for qi (energy) to flow freely, maintaining upright posture while feeling energized and alert.[2][5][1]

## In Practice
Visualize elongating your spine, opening elbows, wrists, hips, and knees outward to release bound tension down to the bones. Practitioners describe it as yielding to gravity and heaven, mentally and physically, like a baby's natural softness.[3][1][2]

## Benefits
Achieving sung improves flexibility, balance, and internal power (like "peng jing"), while reducing stress that blocks qi. It's foundational, practiced in stages from limbs to full-body-and-mind integration.

You don't visualise anything, it is physical, if you visualise then you use the mind and you don't achieve song. The body should be put in the correct position then constantly released within that position. That is what song is. 

[Apech]

50 minutes ago, justjoseph said:

You don't visualise anything, it is physical, if you visualise then you use the mind and you don't achieve song. The body should be put in the correct position then constantly released within that position. That is what song is. 

That was from AI I confess.  Yes I agree no visualization.

[justjoseph]

14 hours ago, Apech said:

That was from AI I confess.  Yes I agree no visualization.

Good man for being honest. Rely your brain Apech lest you lose it.

Edited Wednesday at 12:18 AM by justjoseph

[Apech]

10 minutes ago, justjoseph said:

Good man for being honest. Use your brain Apech lest you lose it.

You haven’t seen the state of my brain.

[justjoseph]

58 minutes ago, Apech said:

You haven’t seen the state of my brain.

I haven't seen the state of my own.

[ChiDragon]

23 hours ago, Cobie said:

What does that mean “sung”?

 

It means try to relax with no tension on the muscles.

[Apech]

22 minutes ago, ChiDragon said:

 

It means try to relax with no tension on the muscles.

With no tension you would collapse onto the floor.

[Taomeow]

 

 

Edited Tuesday at 11:59 PM by Taomeow

[ChiDragon]

14 hours ago, Apech said:

With no tension you would collapse onto the floor.

 

Yes, you would be a genius, that was why I said try.

 

Edited Wednesday at 11:09 AM by ChiDragon

[kakapo]

6 hours ago, ChiDragon said:

 

Yes, you would be a genius, that was why I said try.

 

 

 

 

Edited Wednesday at 12:48 PM by kakapo

[Kati]

On 17.2.2026 at 7:28 AM, Gerard said:

Grounding as in keeping the Qi down and making sure Earth Qi is rising (digestive processes and to counter act Wood controlling the Earth ---> Wu Xing theory) and to prevent Liver Yang Rising.

 

My previous post is to illustrate Kati what grounding really means. 

guess what i made some progress with grounding. my feet and legs feel like three trunks- when i do qigong and in general. of course some days it is a bit stronger or weaker.
but now i wonder, what can i do to feel the grounding also hip upwards? you guys seem to know a lot about this, do you have any ideas?

 

[Kati]

On 21.2.2026 at 10:26 PM, markern said:

Springforest includes visualization does it not? That in itself can be somewhat ungrounding. 

I would just drop the spring forest practices until this issue is resolved and temporarily focus on getting the grounding sorted first.

Consider if maybe you need some psychological work/therapy to help with this issue. My observation has been that for some people energetic solutions aren't always sufficient if the imbalances are caused by strong underlying psychological issues. Then it is often necessary to always work in a more psychological way. Talk therapy, bodywork or more self enquiry types of practices or nervous system regulation practices. Human connection is often needed to make things move.

Say for example that the reason you got ungrounded initially was because childhood trauma made you dissociate from the body or have a fight response in your nervous system (which is also ungrounding). If you then start doing grounding techniques that may sometimes be sufficient and can even help resolve the trauma but it may also be insufficient because the wounded parts of you simply refuses to let go of its protective strategies just because you do exercises that bring energy down. Those parts of you may not feel safe enough to allow you to get back into the body unless they feel more safe. And that feeling of safety may require talking to another person. Or at least looking directly at the psychological knot causing the ungroundedness.

Not saying this is the case but I think it is worth checking in with yourself about. 

If you want to get the grounding sorted you could do something like this:

Do an internal martial art like Tai Chi. It is very grounding. It both gets you deeply in contact with your feet and your stability on the ground and with your dan tien.

Do standing meditation. I find it to be supremely grounding.

Do deep earth pulsing. A very simple and gentle grounding qigong you can find instructions for on YouTube.

Do Damo Mitchells anchoring the breath practice. It is meant to really anchor your awareness and energy and breath in the dan tien. Which grounds you. He has two videos on YouTube with instructions.

Maybe add some squats and walks in the forrest.

Maybe do walking meditation.

You could also maybe add some more general practices like the eight brocades and five animals. They are not especially grounding but more overall balancing (which also means somewhat grounding). Just so not everything you do is super earth focused but a bit more "even".

You could also consider trying Primordial Qigong/Wuji Gong/Tai Chi for Enlightenment (different teachers have different names for it). I find Primordial to be both extremely grounding while also gradually awakening higher energy centers. It kinda awakens one to deep witnessing states and more "heavenly" aspects of practice while integrating that into the body and into life instantly. 

wow amazing thank you  for taking time to share all this helpful ideas

[Mark Foote]

On 2/24/2026 at 12:34 PM, Apech said:

With no tension you would collapse onto the floor.
 

Moshe Feldenkrais observed that people often hold their breath when they get up out of a chair. He saw the restriction of the movement of breath as a failure to realize physical equilibrium as the basis for movement; he explained how the movement of standing follows from a state of equilibrium and a shift in the center of gravity:

…good upright posture is that from which a minimum muscular effort will move the body with equal ease in any desired direction. This means that in the upright position there must be no muscular effort deriving from voluntary control, regardless of whether this effort is known and deliberate or concealed from the consciousness by habit.
 

…When the center of gravity has really moved forward over the feet a reflex movement will originate in the old nervous system and straighten the legs; this automatic movement will not be felt as an effort at all.

(“Awareness Through Movement”, © 1972, 1977 Moshe Feldenkrais, p 76, 78)

 

 

To help his students learn how to stand without holding their breath, Feldenkrais taught three simple exercises that could be done while seated on a chair: first, he said, lean the upper body forward and backward; second, tip the upper body from side to side; and third, with the torso, neck and head held in a straight line, circle the top of the head around the base of the tailbone.

 

(D. L. Bartelink, “No Special Effort”, and the “Best of Ways”)

 

 

The thing about Tai Chi is that it is a single-weighted art. The weight in a given pose in the form should be through one leg to the floor, and in the opposite arm and hand. Each movement shifts the weight to the opposite leg and arm.

 

Coordinated-bilateral exercises are specifically designed to use both sides of the body and more body parts simultaneously to perform bilateral movements while crossing the midline of the body [2, 28]. Coordinated-bilateral movements engage both hemispheres of the brain and may facilitate cognitive development of cerebellum and prefrontal cortex [29, 30]. Budde et al. [2] found that the coordinated-bilateral exercise in physical education (PE) lessons led to significant improvements in children's attention assessed with d2 Test of Attention.

 

(Impact of Coordinated-Bilateral Physical Activities on Attention and Concentration in School-Aged Children; Heidi Buchele Harris 1, Kai Schnabel Cortina 2, Thomas Templin 1, Natalie Colabianchi 1, Weiyun Chen)

 

A thing which I have found helpful, and which you might try:  when you feel that you are rooted in one leg and weighted in the opposite arm, open that opposite arm as though pulling the body around a pole.

Doesn't take much pull, to cause a Feldenkrais-like "reflex movement" turning the body in the opposite direction, to the next pose. It's a lot like pressing the arm against the wall, and then when you step away, the arm rises without willing it to rise.

Sometimes I feel that opening that opposite arm is pulling me into the ground of the leg with the weight, before the turn.


 

Edited Wednesday at 10:47 PM by Mark Foote

[Kati]

On 21.2.2026 at 10:26 PM, markern said:

Springforest includes visualization does it not? That in itself can be somewhat ungrounding. 

I would just drop the spring forest practices until this issue is resolved and temporarily focus on getting the grounding sorted first.

Consider if maybe you need some psychological work/therapy to help with this issue. My observation has been that for some people energetic solutions aren't always sufficient if the imbalances are caused by strong underlying psychological issues. Then it is often necessary to always work in a more psychological way. Talk therapy, bodywork or more self enquiry types of practices or nervous system regulation practices. Human connection is often needed to make things move.

Say for example that the reason you got ungrounded initially was because childhood trauma made you dissociate from the body or have a fight response in your nervous system (which is also ungrounding). If you then start doing grounding techniques that may sometimes be sufficient and can even help resolve the trauma but it may also be insufficient because the wounded parts of you simply refuses to let go of its protective strategies just because you do exercises that bring energy down. Those parts of you may not feel safe enough to allow you to get back into the body unless they feel more safe. And that feeling of safety may require talking to another person. Or at least looking directly at the psychological knot causing the ungroundedness.

Not saying this is the case but I think it is worth checking in with yourself about. 

If you want to get the grounding sorted you could do something like this:

Do an internal martial art like Tai Chi. It is very grounding. It both gets you deeply in contact with your feet and your stability on the ground and with your dan tien.

Do standing meditation. I find it to be supremely grounding.

Do deep earth pulsing. A very simple and gentle grounding qigong you can find instructions for on YouTube.

Do Damo Mitchells anchoring the breath practice. It is meant to really anchor your awareness and energy and breath in the dan tien. Which grounds you. He has two videos on YouTube with instructions.

Maybe add some squats and walks in the forrest.

Maybe do walking meditation.

You could also maybe add some more general practices like the eight brocades and five animals. They are not especially grounding but more overall balancing (which also means somewhat grounding). Just so not everything you do is super earth focused but a bit more "even".

You could also consider trying Primordial Qigong/Wuji Gong/Tai Chi for Enlightenment (different teachers have different names for it). I find Primordial to be both extremely grounding while also gradually awakening higher energy centers. It kinda awakens one to deep witnessing states and more "heavenly" aspects of practice while integrating that into the body and into life instantly. 

yes i had some trauma. i thought i dealt with all of that. hmm what would be a sign that i moved on? please dont respond like a wise master with "you will know, when you will know"   i thought i was past my trauma, because i feel a lot better and also my legs feel very grounded even when i dont do qigong. they feel like tree trunks. but after reading all the answers from everyone, i am not so sure anymore. .. hmm i guess i have to be ok with not-knowing and adjust the practice. 

that primoridal qigong sounds really interesting. are there some teachers who have online courses and wrote some books? which one are you practicing. 

yes SFQ involves visualization- i check often in my practie if i am grounded, when i use those.

thank you thank you thank you for putting all this togheter. it will take me some time to try all these things out.

 

[markern]

2 hours ago, Kati said:

yes i had some trauma. i thought i dealt with all of that. hmm what would be a sign that i moved on? please dont respond like a wise master with "you will know, when you will know"   i thought i was past my trauma, because i feel a lot better and also my legs feel very grounded even when i dont do qigong. they feel like tree trunks. but after reading all the answers from everyone, i am not so sure anymore. .. hmm i guess i have to be ok with not-knowing and adjust the practice. 

that primoridal qigong sounds really interesting. are there some teachers who have online courses and wrote some books? which one are you practicing. 

yes SFQ involves visualization- i check often in my practie if i am grounded, when i use those.

thank you thank you thank you for putting all this togheter. it will take me some time to try all these things out.

 

I'm not a wise master so not replying as one comes easy:)

Hard to give definitive signs that can make you certain. But I can say a few things.

Having been in the world of yoga, qigong, alternative spirituality and self help workshops where people work on their traumas and trying to wake up etc for over 20 years one of my clearest observations is that trauma healing often takes a really long time if it was sufficiently severe. From what you wrote you sound more like you are in the moderate trauma category and that makes it much more likely you have gotten through most of it.  But unfortunately for a lot of people they spend well over 10 years going from method to method and doing superhuman amounts of therapy and bodywork and workshops and yet still struggle to get to the core. Many do seem to get there though and for a lot of people I think the missing component is often a consistent practice of something like qigong and meditation to work alongside therapy and you've got that aid so your odds are better IMO.

As for signs I guess a "regulated" nervous system and lack of strong "triggers" is what most people in the "trauma healing world" would point to. Do you have strong fight, flight, freeze or fawn reactions that are out of proportion to the situations you find yourself in? Having mostly harmonious interpersonal relationships would be another sign. And I would say having a fairly stable self worth even when you objectively mess up would also be a strong sign. Feeling very grounded when not doing qigong would be good sign of trauma healing too:)

Bruce Frantzis says something in his bocks about how when using the dissolving method to dissolve blocks and trauma it is common for a major block to apparently dissolve only for it to resurface in more subtler ways when the right triggers are there. Then you dissolve that too and yet again there may be even subtler triggers showing up and so on until it is fully dissolved. He writes something I think about how to try to make sure blocks are dissolved fully but I can't remember it anymore.

Frantzis dissolving method is a very good trauma healing method IMO. You keep scanning deeper and deeper looking for stuff you missed. Makes it easier to find things than if you just concentrate on the breath or white light or a mantra or something like that. Jane Alexander, SFJane on this forum, wrote the book Possessing Me about using those practices to heal unusually severe trauma. She has some old posts about it too. 

Michael Winn has a video on primordial and maybe a pdf on it too. I think he maybe calls it enlightenment qigong. Andrew Fretwell has an online teacher training about it so I presume he has basic online courses about it too. He calls it WujiGong. Andrew is a nice guy. I recommend learning it from him. Though what else he teaches mostly comes from the HealingTao tradition of Winn and I think there is much better qigong/alchemy around than that. 



 

Edited Friday at 08:46 PM by markern
Wrote the wrong word