In case you’re not already doing it, earthing – which, simply put, is standing, lying, sitting or walking barefoot on the earth – can be one of the best free natural therapies you could do for yourself.
Like meditation, breathing exercises, yoga or exercising out in nature, earthing/grounding costs nothing – yet its impact on health issues can be significant.
Unfortunately, we block our body’s contact with the earth by wearing rubber-soled footwear like running shoes and trainers. So we’ve lost contact with the earth’s energy which helps keep our bodies balanced and less inflamed.
The new film “The Earthing Movie“, which premieres in London at the HEALTH OPTIMISATION SUMMIT (for more details on the summit see the end of this post) on 14 September, features Mariel Hemingway, Deepak Chopra, American heart specialist Dr Stephen Sinatra, actress Amy Smart and the man many would call the father of earthing, Clint Ober.
Bavarian priest and naturopath Sebastian Kneipp (as in KNEIPP the brand) was also a proponent of walking barefoot for health reasons.
What is earthing?
In a nutshell, earthing stabilises our own bioelectrical system, and when we make contact with it through bare skin (sitting on grass, walking barefoot on a beach) our bodies absorb free electrons from the slightly negatively-charged earth.
At the same time, the earth we’re standing on (or beach, rocks, fields, etc) “absorbs/balances out” positively charged free radicals in our bodies which we don’t actually want in us, restoring our system to a healthier equilibrium, and calming our immune system and inflammation at the same time.
INFLAMMATION…the root of most illness
I don’t do grounding nearly as much as I should, but I’ve started again this week while the weather’s still warm.
Normally, 30 minutes or so every day if you can is good, but longer is even better.
Just make sure you’re walking on clean ground (to avoid picking up a parasite infection like hookworm from animal excrement – if this is too gross, wearing leather soles might be the answer as they don’t block the grounding effect).
Side note: A couple of years ago, I had a small “surprise” medical emergency and a few days later, I was in the operating room. It wasn’t anything serious in the end, but it needed to be dealt with quickly and as I hate hospitals and have a needle phobia, I couldn’t wait to get out of there!
Afterwards, the anaesthetic hit me like a ton of bricks. I vomited for days and had a crushing headache (I never usually get them). I felt like I was on a boat, dizzy, really spacey, and not with it.
I think my usually clean system was in shock – I felt poisoned – so I took some supplements to help get the anaesthetic out of me and drank a lot of water.
On the third day, something inside me said “go into the garden and lie under that tree”. I lay on the grass, looking up at the leaves and the blue sky (it was summer), ants busy doing whatever they were doing among the blades of grass, the occasional cloud puffing by… then fell asleep.
When I woke up, my head felt clearer and I definitely felt less spacey. I got better very quickly.
Was it that 90 or so minutes on the grass, under the tree? It did feel comforting, “grounding”, and healing and I was relieved that the nausea and dizziness had both vanished.
All I know is that after barefoot beach walks or lying on grass for a while, I feel better. It’s as if ‘bad stuff” including stuff I’m maybe worried about drains out of me and I feel calmer and at peace. A bit like the kind of all-encompassing calm you get when you’ve just been swimming in the sea…except an “earthier” version. Less exhilarating but very peaceful.
Have you tried earthing?
THE EARTHING MOVIE – LONDON PREMIERE
Catch The Earthing Movie on 14 September at London’s Health Optimisation Summit (14 & 15 Sept)
London’s first Health Optimisation Summit is hosting the UK premiere of the Earthing Movie. Made by Sundance Award Winning Filmmakers Josh and Rebecca Tickell (Fuel, The Big Fix, Pump, Good Fortune), The Earthing Movie, is a new documentary that reveals that the answer to America’s biggest health crisis may be literally right under our feet.
Called “grounding” or “earthing,” it means connecting to the Earth. As the film reveals, the surface of planet Earth is negatively charged. This negative charge, when connected to human skin, reduces inflammation and contributes to other positive health effects.
Tim Gray, the CEO of London’s first Health Optimisation Summit says: “We can’t be more excited to premiere The Earthing Movie premier at the Health Optimisation Summit. This movie contains 20 years of research and life-changing information based on science, as well as real experiences from people with inflammation and the positive impact that grounding, nature, and earthing have in their lives.”