During the month of June, I have been able to step my meditation game up by adding two techniques to my daily routine, grounding and deep breathing. 

Granted, it’s only been eight days so far, but I feel more energized than I did in May. 

I usually do about ten minutes of each exercise, daily, depending on how I’m feeling that day. 

When participating in grounding meditation, I take multiple steps to ensure that I am focused on whatever I need to be at that moment. 

First, I stand up and plant my feet on my ground, usually in the grass outside, and I concentrate on sending all my negative energy down into the Earth through my feet. 

Next, I try to imagine the Earth taking all my energy with loving intention, pulling out all the leftover bad energy that may be built up from the day before. 

At this point, I like to remind myself that the Earth is really good at neutralizing negative energy and that it’s okay to put all that negativity somewhere else if it’s helpful to me. 

I also like to remind myself that I am strongly grounded on the Earth and that my energy should be working to stabilize itself through all the energy that was extracted. 

Finally, I try to imagine all of the good energy that the Earth is giving me through my feet planted on the ground and what I can do with all of it. 

I try to think about the healing energy that the Earth may be trying to give me and try to stay open-minded about what other energies I might need. 

When I get the sense of literally being grounded to the Earth, I know that I am protected for the day from bad energies. 

This helps me personally fight off the negativity that just comes with daily life. 

After about ten minutes of the grounding exercise, I’ll sit down and work on my deep breathing techniques. 

I usually change avenues at this point and sometimes go back inside and light incense. 

Instead of focusing on my energy, I like to try to just be thankful for whatever comes to my head. 

I hate trying to just be void of thoughts while meditating because I honestly can’t do it and have never been able to. 

I used to find this infuriating because it seems like other people can clear their minds so easily and quickly. 

With that being said, I focus on breathing in and out, deeply, and remembering to be positive about any thoughts that come to my mind. 

At some point, I like to try to clear my mind as much as possible because I can really lose focus on even just being thankful for the day. 

My boyfriend taught me a really helpful trick to help me fall asleep at night when I can’t stop thinking, but I like to use it in this situation too. I try to imagine a bottle cork in the water, and the point is to try to get the cork to be still in the waves. 

This takes me so much concentration when my mind is full and is really helpful to anyone that may struggle with anxiety.

I love deep breathing exercises, and they’re so easy to do practically anywhere whenever you’re feeling overwhelmed or anxious about a situation.