January 2026 Newsletter: what are our staff’s grounding practices?

In the depths of Pittsburgh’s iciest and snowiest week this year, it might be a strange time to imagine pomegranates, olives, or bountiful harvests. But Tu B’Shevat, the Jewish holiday of the fruit trees, gives us a moment to reflect on our natural world and the beauty it provides us.

On Thursday, January 29th, we will be celebrating Tu B’Shevat through experiencing nature and contemplating our commandment to enjoy the fruits of the land at a forest meditation with the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, followed by a tea and snacks seder and reflections on this holiday. This program is grounding; it invites you to inhabit a different state of mind in a familiar setting by centering gratitude, self-insight, and the world around us. This program adjusts the balance of time spent inside the Frick Environmental Center and outside on gentle, level trails based on the temperature. This week’s forest bathing program will take place fully indoors. Learn more and register by clicking here!

There are limitless ways to access this sensation of feeling present in your body, space, and mind. We thought this week we’d share some of the ways the 10.27 Healing Partnership staff practice grounding themselves in the moment. We hope these examples can inspire you to think of the ways you naturally bring yourself back to the present.

Emery: It’s very important to me to stay in touch with my friends and communities online; it’s one of the ways I feel like I’m in a vibrant and interconnected community. However, sometimes being so “available” makes me feel like I don’t live in my body and present moment, but like I’m in a million different abstract places and ongoing conversations at once. It can feel hard to be truly alone. When I need to feel grounded, I try and make space between myself and my phone or laptop or whatever else has things like email, discord, or texts coming through 24/7. Even just watching TV on my screen rather than my phone can start to make me feel like I’m alone again in a way that is centering and feels relieving to my brain.

What role does connection or solitude play in your grounding practice? 

Maggie: When I’m feeling scattered and stressed out, I have a little routine I do where I envision what items I have in my pantry at home that I could make dinner with that night. It gives me something concrete to focus on when my mind is going a million different directions. Focusing on each item slows me down and reminds me of the tactile sensations of ingredients and cooking, and it’s pleasant to figure out the puzzle of what to make.

What small practice can you do anywhere to help slow your mind down?  

Ranisa: When I need to feel grounded, I do a lot of walking. While I know music and podcasts work really well for some people, for me I need to focus on what’s going on around me, like the sounds of nature or of my shoes hitting the ground. Those physical sensations and the feeling of walking itself make me feel more like myself and clears my head.

How can you bring awareness to your body or surroundings when you’re feeling overwhelmed? 

James: I call this method “hotdog therapy.” When someone is feeling panicky and feels like their brain is running away with them, I think that it’s important that we take care of some really basic physical needs first. Have you had carbs, fat, and protein today? We have the perfect food that lets us get these important things into our bodies fast—the hotdog! We jump too quickly to complicated or deep strategies for “fixing” our feelings, when it’s crucial that we start with acknowledging our body and brain’s base needs. Eat a hotdog, then reassess.

When you are feeling intensely and starting to spiral, what are the basic needs that you might be overlooking? What reminders can you keep around you or give yourself to get those needs met? 

Click here to see the RAIN technique. What tools or strategies have others created that you might resonate with? 

Executive Director

10.27 Healing Partnership