Maybe you have tried earthing, also known as grounding, but you may not have noticed or knew it before. For once you must have scrolled down the beach or sat in your backyard, and then you decide to take your shoes off and just feel the ground. As you sink your toes into the warm grass or bury them in the sand, it felt good, didn’t it? Well, there’s a reason for that. It’s not just a moment for peace, but it also boosts your health!
You may have understood the basic idea of Earthing, but as to specifications, Earthing or Earth healing is defined as the practice of obtaining the healing energy and properties of the Earth through merely touching it. Do not be skeptical as there are scientific claims and medical practitioners that can back it up, such as Dr. Laura Koniver of Summerville, S.C.
According to Dr. Koniver, understanding health benefits also means that we need to understand free radicals. You probably have heard of them, and you may have known that these are those that our bodies need protection from.
Free radicals are highly reactive atoms, molecules, or ions that have unpaired electrons are considerably intimately connected to inflammation. As we know, inflammation is linked to cancer, heart disease, immune dysfunction, aging, and cognitive decline. “Using your body in any way, shape or form can create inflammation, so even during something healthy like yoga, where we’re stretching and creating microscopic tears to the muscles, we’re still building up free radicals,” explains Dr. Koniver.
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It may be inevitable, but this is pretty normal because we are here on earth. It’s natural and normal, but we still need to combat these as free radicals can damage our bodies. Among the many methods that can help fight against free radicals, the most common and talked about method is through antioxidants which neutralize the damage. Though this is one useful method, Dr. Koniver still says that antioxidants consumption is but a single drop in the bucket compared to what Earthing can give you.
The science behind this so-called Earthing is pretty simple. You know, opposites attract. According to Dr. Koniver, free radicals that have been built up throughout the day are positively charged, and the Earth’s surface is negatively charged, so you can pretty much explain it to yourself now.
Dr. Koniver adds that this is a symbiotic thing or process. She further adds that if we can get vitamin D from the sun and oxygen from the trees, then we can also get healing electrons from the ground. In her words, “We are meant to build up free radicals and inflammation by the way we live our lives, and the Earth is our docking base.”
WHY EARTHING? THERE IS A VAST LIST OF HEALTH BENEFITS BEHIND THIS NATURAL HEALING:
Reducing inflammation by defusing excess positive electrons
Reducing chronic pain
Improving sleep
Increasing energy
Lowering stress and promoting calmness by reducing stress hormones
Normalizing biological rhythms including circadian rhythm
Improving blood pressure and blood flow
Relieving muscle tension and headache
Lessens menstrual and female hormone symptoms
Speeds healing- used in some places to prevent bedsores
Can eliminate jet lag
Protecting the body from EMFs
Shortens recovery time from injury or athletic activity
Reducing or eliminating snoring
Helping support adrenal health
Weight loss
If you want to start Earthing, the good news is that it’s extremely easy. It’s free and accessible to everyone. It can be practiced almost anywhere, anytime. No need to stress with instructions. Just take your shoes off and make sure that you are well exposed to the ground itself. If you want to wear socks, it’s okay. Dr. Koniver assures that you will still be able to get the necessary electron transfer. This transfer can be made through almost any point of the body as long as it has direct contact with the ground. So, if you are fond of taking a nap in a sunny field, do so! Write it off as a health benefit and see how awesome that would be.
Although Earthing can be done and practiced almost anywhere you want, Dr. Koniver still suggests that certain places are still better than others. “To me, if the healthy grass is growing outside over a layer of soil, it’s connected to the crust of the Earth, and that’s all it needs to be,” says Koniver. On top of the list are beaches due to their moisture from the ground which acts as a conductor. However, grass, sand, rock, dirt, soil, and other surfaces can give the same health benefits as well. Concrete that is laid over the earth’s crust can still do the trick though not as much as other natural surfaces would. Dr. Koniver says, “Concrete acts as a semiconductor so if you live in a city with no real access to nature, you can map out a little patch and kick off your shoes.”
To add more about the good news of Earthing is that there is no such thing as overindulgence. A few minutes is already beneficial but according to Dr. Koniver, 10 minutes a day would be the best minimum. She highly recommends that as much as possible, include and work as much barefoot walking into your day as possible. You can walk barefoot just to get to the main or even taking a quick stroll around the block.
What you just need to do is to kick off your shoes and sink your feet into some Earthy goodness. Ahhhh, what a beautiful day to be alive!
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