On my healing journey, I’ve come to realize that one of the most important things I can do is connect to the Earth. Nature has so many wisdoms, so many cycles, and so much love to offer. While I sit outside and do nothing but observe and listen, I see the beauty of nature. Everything in nature has a specific purpose and it all comes together to create a balanced relationship and world for all living things.
Healing can be so difficult, but no matter what, I know I can always bring myself back by grounding myself and connecting to the Earth.
Because I live in the desert for now, I don’t have the luxury of being able to walk barefoot in the dirt and absorb the healing energy from the Earth. So, after doing some research, I came across one of the best things to ever be created– Earthing mats.
What Is Earthing?
Earthing is the practice of connecting your body to the Earth, allowing the Earth’s electrical energy to flow through your body. In essence, earthing is walking barefoot on the soil and forming direct contact with the Earth.
Our planet is a great source of negative energy to bring us back into balance after being overstimulated from the positive energy of our bustling lives and technology.
There are some ways to practice earthing but it’s usually by walking barefoot and using an earthing mat. Although it’s more beneficial to go outdoors and ground by walking barefoot, using an earthing mat can be helpful as well.
As I mentioned in one of my recent posts, everything is energy. Our bodies have certain frequencies that they vibrate at, just as everything does. Our brains, hearts, and neurotransmitters all give off electrical signals. Because the Earth has its own frequency, it only makes sense that our bodies absorb that energy and frequency just as they do with everything around.
Benefits Of Earthing
Earthing has some great benefits that can improve your overall well-being.
1. Reduces inflammation
Inflammation is caused by a lack of electrons in your tissues, which is known to trigger many diseases and is an underlying issue to many health issues. Because the Earth’s surface produces free electrons, our free radicals are neutralized, reducing inflammation in the body. The free electrons work as natural antioxidants to reduce chronic inflammation. Antioxidants make sure that an exposure to too many free radicals in our body doesn’t get out of control, causing chronic inflammation and aging.
2. Reduces stress and improves sleep quality
As we all know, stress is a silent killer and can mess with your quality of life. Chronic stress causes an overproduction of the stress hormone, cortisol, which can dysregulate the nervous system and cause your body to be in fight-or-flight instead of rest and digest.
A 2015 study showed that earthing, especially during sleep, normalizes the day-night cortisol rhythm and reduces stress. Their study involved 12 subjects, all who experienced pain and trouble sleeping, that slept on earthing mats for 8 weeks. The results showed that their cortisol levels normalized, sleep improved, and their pain and stress levels decreased.
In addition, being outside in nature reduces stress and balances cortisol levels. As I previously talked about in my blog all about frequencies, the Earth does have a frequency that she vibrates at. This frequency is known to produce theta waves in our brain, which helps us relax and destress.
3. Reduces pain and improves immune response
In a 2012 study, eight healthy subjects were tested after completing workout routines every day for one week. The results showed that the subjects who participated in grounding had a decrease in white blood cells, a shorter recovery time, and reported less pain than the ungrounded participants. This concluded that grounding the body to the Earth alters immune system activity and pain.
Again, the surface of the Earth produces free electrons that act as antioxidants in the body, strengthening our immune response.
4. Shifts the autonomic nervous system from sympathetic toward parasympathetic activation
The autonomic nervous system controls unconscious processes such as, digestion, blood pressure, heart rate, etc. The sympathetic nervous system controls the body’s response to a perceived threat and activates our “fight-or-flight” response. The parasympathetic nervous system controls the body at rest and activates our “rest and digest” response.
So, the sympathetic nervous system activates during periods of stress. This does increase the production of cortisol, the stress hormone. This is very normal, but only becomes an issue when our bodies are in that constant “fight-or-flight” state. This can cause nervous system dysregulation making our bodies feel unsafe, and that comes with many health issues that I will talk about in my next post.
In order to keep stress down, we want to try and stay in that “rest and digest” response.
A 2012 study showed that subjects who grounded for just 40 minutes had significant improvement in their heart rate variability compared to the ungrounded subjects. Their improved heart rate variability went way beyond what was showed in basic relaxation techniques. They concluded that earthing is a technique that can be used to bring heart rate down, activating the parasympathetic nervous system when the sympathetic nervous system is heightened.
More Benefits
- Improves mood
- Improves wound healing
- Decreases fatigue and tiredness
- Increase energy levels
- Disease prevention
- Improves blood flow
- Increasing your spiritual awareness and connection with source
Ways To Practice Grounding/Earthing
Grounding outdoors is favorable because being out in nature can just be a healing experience in general.
Grounding outdoors includes:
- Walking barefoot on dirt and grass
- Pressing your hands into the dirt and grass
- Gardening with your bare hands
- Swimming in a natural body of water
- Lying on dirt, grass, or sand with a bare body part
Because this is not always accessible for everyone, there are many options for earthing indoors as well. This company has high quality earthing mats, shoes, bed cover mats, pillowcases, blankets, and socks. I have purchased my earthing mats from here and I sleep on my earthing mat every night.
So, Is It Worth It?
In short, yes. There are such great benefits to earthing and keeping ourselves grounded. Enhancing our connection with nature and her cycles can only help us on our healing journeys. As humans, we have become so technologically advanced, and our lives have become so fast-paced that we forget to slow down and connect.
Connecting with nature means connecting with yourself. So, make the time for that connection and give your body the very thing it wants and needs to heal.
Let me know what you think in the comments below! And, don’t forget to follow along below!