Grounding
Simple, inexpensive and almost no downsides. Time to kick off your Sunday shoes!
Grounding (also know as “Earthing”) is the practice of touching your bare feet to the earth.
The idea is that whenever you come into contact with the earth’s surface, you’re able to tap into the healing energy that emanates from it at all times.
Sounds like a bizarre new-age health trend, right? Not quite. Grounding is an age-old evidence based practice with a number of impressive health advantages. Throughout history, our ancestors were grounding all the time. They slept directly on the earth, walked barefoot or wore shoes made from animal skin. As a species, we evolved close to the earth. It has only been up until the industrial revolution and the invention of plastics and the introduction of synthetic carpets on our floors, synthetic soled shoes etc that we began to move away from this fundamental aspect of nature.
Our connection to nature can nourish us and our disconnection to nature can create dis-ease. Could our disconnection from nature be responsible for the significant increase in chronic and inflammatory diseases in our society?
BEING BAREFOOT BENEFITS EVERYONE!
There is a lot of evidence to support the idea that walking barefoot on the earth is good for you.
According to studies in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine and the Journal of Environmental and Public Health, among other publications, walking barefoot can lower toxic stress, regulate the nervous system, boost the immune system, decrease the risk of heart disease and even lower the risk of diabetes.
According to author Rae Pica, an education consultant specialising in whole child development, children who spend time outdoors, barefoot may be happier, healthier and smarter!
“Among other things, it’s important to the development of the nervous system and to optimal brain development as well! Turns out the feet are the most nerve-rich parts of the human body, which means they contribute to the building of neurological pathways in the brain. Covering them in shoes, therefore, means we’re eliminating all kinds of opportunities for children’s brains to grow new neural connections.”
SO, HOW DOES IT WORK?
The human body acts like a battery. It is an electrical biofield and our brain, heart and neurotransmitter activity all rely on electric signals. We humans emit a positive electrical charge which is generated from our largely urban and indoor living conditions. The skin acts like a “conductor”, allowing the body to absorb the negative charge generated by the earth. This negative charge neutralises the positive electrical discharge from the body and this neutralising effect helps to reduce excess free radicals in the body, lowers inflammation and creates an ideal bioelectrical environment for the optimal functioning of all body systems.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?
You’ve no doubt experienced the positive impact of these bio-electrical impulses on your health. Think of that sense of peace and well-being you get from a walk on the beach or a stroll through a park while letting your bare feet come in contact with the earth. When the body makes use of the free flowing electrons coming from the earth’s surface, these are some of the health benefits that may ensue:
WHO ELSE IS GROUNDING?
Athletes in the Tour De France use grounding, via an earthing sleep bag for faster recovery and healing from injuries and muscle strain. NSW Blues State of Origin Coach, Brad Fittler also uses grounding as an integral part of the team’s training routine.
Can’t get outside? It is possible to practice grounding indoors using various products such as grounding mats, although being barefoot in nature is the simplest way – and also a great way to optimise your vitamin D intake from the sun while you’re at it!
Even short periods of being in contact with the earth during the course of a day can be very beneficial. So find yourself a patch of grass, dirt, sand or rock and get grounded!
