By: Alyson Lundstrom
(Originally Published on ZeroMe APP)
Can dirt fix all our problems?
Maybe not.
Can dirt help alleviate some of them?
Couldn’t hurt.
Science has shown that the barefoot hippies- happy, carefree, and visibly less stressed than the rest of us- might have been on to something all along.
What Is Grounding
Earthing, Forest Bathing (Shinrin-yoku per the Japanese), or Grounding is as uncomplicated as it sounds. You need the following things to successfully complete a grounding session: your feet and some dirt. Optionally a soft breeze blowing through the trees, a butterfly floating carelessly in the wind, and a babbling brook.
Grounding is the principle that bodily contact with the Earth’s natural electrical current stabilizes our physiology, resulting in decreased inflammation, pain, stress, and improved blood flow, memory, energy, and sleep patterns.
This practice can be done with simple barefoot walks through your yard or a hiking trail or simply kicking your shoes off while sitting outside.
Let’s say you're not a nature lover, bugs are your nemesis, you have seasonal allergies, and you need more scientific data to back up the claim that grounding can fundamentally be free therapy.
Grounding is quintessentially the same concept that is applied to electricity and the reason you ground your jumper cables before reviving a dead car battery - it facilitates a physical connection between the ground and the equipment- where you are the equipment.
Humans are bioelectrical by nature that carry a positive charge, whereas the earth carries a negative charge. When we make direct contact, excess energy is expelled and voila, it produces a healing effect at a cellular level correcting what science has deemed “an electron deficiency syndrome” brought about by an evolving lifestyle away from natural opportunities to have contact with the earth.
What Does Grounding Do For Your Body
Research has shown that this electrical exchange between our body and the earth plays a nurturing role to both animal and plant kingdoms and becomes a sort of “electrical nutrition” whose transfer of free electrons into the body can result in sometimes instant physiological changes.
Scientists have documented “earthing” therapy acting as a natural analgesic (the planet has been the original painkiller all along!) encouraging better blood flow and clinically reducing fatigue.
While some of the research done with grounding has been anecdotal, plenty of published research follows clinical studies and measurable blood markers.
The bottom line- or top of the dirt- is that it never hurts to reconnect with Mother Earth.
Tips For Being One With The Earth
While you don’t need much to make an electrical connection with the earth, here are some helpful tips to make the most of your time outside.
Look for natural conductive surfaces like gravel, grass, stone, and sand to wiggle your toes in.
If the weather is unfavorable, look into a Grounding Mat that will do the job inside.
For maximum earth connection, lay down in the grass. A few deep breaths won’t hurt while you’re there.
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