It’s time to take off socks and shoes and get out into welcoming nature to try grounding. It is one of the best and simplest holistic therapies that offer a range of health benefits. It doesn’t only improve our physical but mental health as well. It’s a perfect way to feel yourself connected to Earth.
Let's discusses how going barefoot can help in relieving chronic pain, stress and promotes a better night’s sleep.
What is Grounding?
Grounding, also known as earthing, is a way to directly contact the earth’s surface to tap into its amazing natural energy source. By connecting to the surface, the human body can absorb earth’s energy, a source of antioxidants with many benefits for our health and wellbeing.
It defines as a process of heading outside barefoot and letting our skin connects with the earth. So no matters whether you wiggled toes on the sandy surface or take a stroll across a field, earthing allows you to reconnect with Mother Nature in the best way possible.
How Grounding Can Improve Health
Earthing is simple science. We, humans, are bioelectrical beings that carry a positive charge, build up in the bodies. Our earth carries a negative charge, so when you contact it, your body discharges excess energy, producing a healing effect at the cellular level.
Although there are not many studies backings grounding, research shows a measurable improvement in our blood chemistry, immune response, pain, and inflammation.
One of the significant research reviews suggests the earth is a living matrix with a central connection to all living cells.This living matrix is simply held together by electrical conductivity, acts as an immune system defence.
In some other smaller study exploring how earthing affects heart health, almost 10 well volunteers had grounding patches placed on hands and feet. In this study experiment, blood measurements of all volunteers were taken before and after grounding to perceive changes in red blood cell fluidity.
The results showed a drastic decrease in blood cell clumping after following up grounding, indicating this holistic practice is beneficial to our heart health.
This holistic technique has been studied for its exceptional pain-relieving abilities. For example, one study used multiple grounding patches and mats to comprehend how it affects post-exercise muscle damage. The results concluded creatine kinase, pain levels, and white blood counts before and after grounding. The results were positive in reducing muscle damage and pain, indicating grounding had a positive influence on our body’s ability to heal.
How Grounding Linked to Anxiety, Depression, and Inflammation?
Our immune system uses neutrophils (white blood cells) to release a stream of oxygen molecules, known as free radicals, to destroy damaged cells and pathogens. But, unfortunately, those free radicals in our body have an electron imbalance that makes them electrically charged— in their search to find other free electrons and neutralise.
Sometimes, during this process, they get attached or steal from our healthy body cells, which results in damage. That damaged cell becomes necessary to be removed, and for that, the immune system sends another white cell, and the process continues. So due to all this, our entire chronic inflammation process gets in motion. But the good news is, our earth has abundant free electrons to help neutralise the free radicals.
So, whenever we follow the grounding approach, those electrons flow naturally between our bodies and earth, help reduce free radicals, and abolish static electric charge. This is one reason why grounding is an effective way to reduce and prevent inflammation from occurring and keeps us healthy by eliminating the chances of inflammation-related disorders.
Benefits of Grounding
Here are some wondrous reasons why you should touch earth regularly.
· Improves Sleep
Yes, grounding is effective when it comes to improving better sleep at night. It works by normalising our stress hormones and also reduce hot flashes. According to a study, individuals with sleep disorders were told to sleep under a good cotton sheet with conductive carbon threads interlaced into it. That sheet was connected to an electric wire that led to a metal rod placed on the surface outside. The results were reduction pain and stress.
· Improves Heart’s Health
It’s the best technique to improve heart rate variability. According to a study, individuals wore patches on their palms and soles, then had blood-work done. After this experiment, the results concluded that those people had less red blood cell clumping after this technique.
· Reduces Pain
An exclusive study has demonstrated that when we ground, electrons from the surface contact our skin, and primarily with the whole body, acting as natural antioxidants. Those electrons protect our cells, tissues, and other organs from oxidative stress.
· Improves Mood
Those people who practice this technique tend to be much cantered, calmed, balanced, and strong-headed. In addition, according to a study, it improves mood, reduces depression and stress in those individuals who received grounding therapy.
How To Be Grounded?
Here are the following grounding techniques to observe the effects.
· Feel Feet
For healing, the researchers behind the Earthing movement recommend staying barefoot on the Earth for at least 20 minutes, twice a day.Walking barefoot has the added benefit of massaging acupuncture points in your feet like in reflexology.
The second thing is to no matters whether sitting or standing; you need to place all awareness on the lower bottom of your feet. You need to pay attention to all sensations to feel better connected to the ground.
If you want to give grounding a try, imagine having roots under your feet, just like tree roots. The long roots present at your feet base, which will remain flat on the surface during visualisation. Just let those roots go right down into the surface to connect with earth— the deeper, the better!
Colours also play an important role in grounding, such as red, brown, terracotta is the best options. Just imagine these colours surrounds you whenever you think of getting yourself grounded.
How to Change your Polarity?
You may need a stainless-steel spoon for this process. Often our polarity gets tipped upside down, and there could be multiple reasons for that. Our earth has a north polarity, while our feet bottom has a south polarity, and as you know, north and south get attracted, help us grounding to the earth. Due to multiple factors, sometimes our polarity gets flipped on body easily, so we can't function properly after getting north polarity in our feet. But by spooning your feet, you can get your south polarity back. You can simply create figure 8 on your barefoot.
Spiritual Point of View on Grounding
Spiritual grounding allows us to remain connected with the present with the 3-dimensional self on earth. This technique uses our physical body as a good conductor of the earth’s energy.
Grounding defines as a practice that helps you focus on positivity, remove unwanted memories, flashbacks, and all negativity that keeps pulling you away from achieving your goals. It draws your focus to the things happening at the physical level, either in your current surroundings and your body. It stops you from being trapped by your own blur thoughts, making you feel depressed and stuck.
Grounding instead helps you stay in your present, less worry about what may happen in the future, and let you focus on yourself to improve and grow over the things that push you back.
To clear our thoughts and control our complex energy system, we need to be grounded to experience the difference. So, just like trees, we may need to send energetic roots to the surface if we want to hold ourselves steady and balanced.
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