Ground yo’ self earthlings!

You know that amazing feeling you get when you sink your feet into sand at a beach? Or walk barefoot on cool grass? Or sit on a warm, beautiful boulder? Do you ever wonder why these things make us feel better?

Well other than the obvious which is you’re not working, you’re out in nature and you’re breathing in clean air (hopefully) it’s because you are actually picking up negatively-charged electrons from the earth. (In this case, negative is actually a positive thing.)

Look, we are all trying to find ways to chill out, to calm down to lessen the anxiety that is known as parenting. It’s freaking hard you guys!

Now before you roll your eyes and think I’m a total hippy (kind of am) let me just say that I look at this more as connecting with this beautiful mother earth we have and gratefully accepting the energy she provides for us to help with grounding us. Yeah, that sounded totally hippy dippy but read on!

So let’s break it down!

What is grounding you say?

The short of it is that Grounding (also known as earthing) refers to contact with the Earth’s surface electrons by walking barefoot outside and receiving the transfer of energy from the ground into the body. Grounding has been practiced since the beginning of time when our ancestors walked around in bare feet or conductive leather moccasins or sandals. After the invention of rubber-soled shoes, a non-conductive barrier was placed between our bodies and our greatest source of electrons – the earth. As our direct contact with the earth fades through the routine use of synthetic flooring and shoes, we’ve lost our ability to get this natural energy. To counter this go barefoot when and where you can! Now listen, I haven’t gone so far as to start wearing earth shoes and mocassins. I’m not that much of a hippy…yet!

The science breakdown..Our bodies make their own electricity; atoms that are made up of positively charged protons, negatively charged electrons, and neutrally charged neutrons are floating around inside us. However, modern technology is capable of throwing that electrical energy off. Plus, continual exposure to pollutants and technology’s electromagnetic fields can cause free radicals (or unpaired positive ions) to build up in our bodies. Lucky for us reconnecting with our earth can bring us back to a balanced, neutral state. That’s because when we make contact, negative ions from the surface make their way into our bodies and release the free radicals we’ve been storing up.  These free radicals have been linked to premature aging, sleep disruption, inflammation, and disease.

The benefits! Grounding improves: 

• Sleep
• Inflammation reduction
• Pain management
• Stress
• Immunity

My journey in finding grounding came when I started to have loads of nervous system problems and autoimmune symptoms. I was searching for a way to feel better naturally. Western medicine said, take this drug, lay in bed, be a zombie. But my Eastern internal guide said, get out, walk even when it hurts you, change your diet even though it’s so very hard, find time to meditate and then I came across grounding and I just new that was something worth trying.

My husband and I would always talk about the times when I would “feel better”.  And those times were when we could head down to Sedona and I could gently walk and then kick my shoes off and lay on the red rocks under the sun. Or when we could get to an ocean and I could sink my feet in sand or just plunk myself in that beautiful, salty ocean water up to my neck. Again, it was those times I could attach myself to this earth somehow.

Now I know what you are going to say, “Well, the reason you felt better is because in those moments you didn’t have the stress of running around, working, cleaning the house etc… You were able to de-stress right?” My answer to that is, “Duh! That’s the point. That’s part of it for sure. You stop, you breathe, you meditate, you ground. It’s that simple. But I truly do focus in on and feel the energy through my feet and that in itself makes me feel considerably better.

How do I ground? 

Grounding in ocean water and sandy beaches are my fave but here’s what I do at 7300 feet. It’s basic. I go stand on the dang ground. Whether it’s on my flagstone path, or sit on a boulder, lean against a big tree or stand on my grass. My favorite is to lay down in the middle of my driveway. It’s dirt and gravel. Awkward when that UPS driver pulls up but whatever. And while I’m on the subject, let your kids go barefoot! Let them soak up that electron energy.

Listen if you think about the big picture this place is our home planet. We get to live here and are connected to every soul that walks this beautiful earth but we often forget that this gorgeous spinning ball of blue and green is our life force. So the take home is CONNECT! You will feel better.

Today in my neck of the woods, spring has finally sprung and it’s a gorgeous days to catch some vitamin d rays and go barefoot in the grass. I take it where I can get it so if you see me splayed out in my driveway, I’m not dead, I’m collecting electrons.

Ground yo’ self earthlings and go hug a tree!

xo, Sj