Earthing.

Feeling grounded.

What does that feel like?

Let me begin by sharing what it feels like to be ungrounded… unearthed…

When my little family decided to move from my Dandenong Ranges rainforest home in Australia, to the cute little city of Rennes in France, we decided to try out a different way of living.

We moved into a sixth floor apartment on the doorstep of the old city, so everything was no more than a short stroll away.

We didn’t need a car.

Life was much easier.

All the outside upkeep we had, was the very small balcony where my son and I grew flowers, herbs, tomatoes and strawberries.

We even put down some fake grass, to help it feel like we had our very own nature spot, and would often sit there in the afternoon for goûter (afternoon tea), as long as the guy beneath us wasn’t out on his balcony having a cigarette!!

It seemed like a nice little setup, and it certainly allowed us the cultural experience we’d hoped for.

The one problem was this subtle sense of feeling uneasy in my body.

To begin with, I just thought it was new mum tiredness.

But I noticed that when I was out at a park playing in the sandpit with my son or running barefoot on the grass, that feeling of unease was no longer there.

Within hours of returning home to our apartment, that uneasy feeling would return.

It wasn’t strong, but there was this feeling of being ungrounded.

Like my body wasn’t quite functioning optimally, but there was no signs to suggest there was anything to be majorly concerned about.

It was around this time that my mother-in-law sent me a link for a documentary called The Earthing Movie.

My mother-in-law, a gorgeous soul, was known for sending my husband and I links to all sorts of documentaries with ‘interesting’ alternative views.

Most of which I politely placed in my email bin.

But for some reason, curiosity got the better of me, and I thought ‘I’ll watch a bit of this one, and see what it’s about’.

A ‘bit’ turned into the whole movie, with me remembering something that had been so important to me in the past.

Something that was difficult to explore fully while living inside a sixth floor apartment!

Earthing.

Although, I’d never really placed a name on it… until now…

Earthing had been something that had been calling to me, since forever, being out in nature, feeling nature…

What is earthing? And how do you do it?

The simple premise is this:

By planting your bare-feet on the ground, your body will start to heal itself.

Now, for the conditioned, skeptical mind, this can sound way too simple.

If this is true, then why isn’t everyone doing it?

Because as a society we’ve been conditioned away from the most natural, and most powerful healing medicines – that yes, sometimes require a little of our time and presence – and instead, have turned to ‘experts’ to take away the symptoms with a pill or a surgery, so we can get on with life.

It’s so ingrained in our psyches, that we must consult a doctor when anything goes wrong with our body – we must seek help from someone else – so that’s what we do, often without a second thought.

(and is some cases this is absolutely necessary, however….)

Yet the truth is, the greatest healing often comes about through simple means.

Through helping our body come back into sync with itself… and with nature.

For we are organisms that live and grow and depend entirely on the Earth while we’re alive.

We eat food that comes from the Earth, so the Earth becomes us.

When we eat a plant, its nutrition nourishes us, its matter becomes our matter, and the wisdom of that plant grows within us.

Yet, we have completely isolated ourself from the very Earth that is us.

We’re so disconnected from it, that our bodies start to deteriorate, because one of the nutrients we need from Mother Earth, is energy.

Mother Earth is endowed with electrons.

These electrons are literally absorbed through our feet (or whichever part of the body that’s touching the earth).

As Author, Biomancer and Ecomantic, Dr. Azra Bertrand says, ‘Every time you we touch our body to the Earth, a surge of electrons rushes up into us, quenching free radicals, allowing regeneration, stimulating mitochondrial function, enlivening us.’

Yes, our body becomes saturated with these electrons, so fast, that it’s hard to measure.

And these electrons support the organs down to the tissues and the cellular function of the entire body.

All of the systems in the body go to balance – to normal – when you’re grounded.

Grounding pioneer, Clint Ober, and author of the book Earthing, was in the cable industry and learnt that just as cables need to be grounded before you run them into a house – to avoid electrical disasters – so too do people need to be grounded.

In fact, he claims we need to be grounded as much as we need air and sunshine!

For without it, we start to get sick.

We humans absorb a tremendous amount of electric charge through all of the electromagnetic devices we use; phones, computers, wifi, wiring in our homes, and on it goes.

If we’re not earthing ourself on a regular basis, those charges are not being neutralised.

Some people have as much as 20 volts on their bodies, which is not good for a person.

We need to have negative charge.

Lucky for us, the Earth has a built in system to ground our bodies.

The surface of the earth is electrically conductive, so wherever you are, you’re collecting electrons that came from the Earth.

And the really cool thing is, that all we need to do is plant our bare feet on the ground, to tap into the negative ion reservoir of the planet we live upon.

We can actually use reading metres to see that when a person stands on Earth barefoot, they become a conductor for the Earth’s energetic frequencies.

So this is not just some woo woo idea!

There are actually 21 studies – peer reviewed – that have shown the effectiveness of earthing.

Problem is, as a society we accidentally disconnected from the Earth.

We started spending more time inside.

We started wearing shoes to protect our feet, not realising that we were disconnecting ourself from the Earth’s charge.

A charge that is necessary for the optimal functioning of our body.

Many people have become so fearful of stepping on sharp glass or a bee, that they don’t dare leave their house without shoes on.

Safety aside, shoes have become a fashion statement!

Yet, shoes haven’t always been such a big part of our culture…

In 1960 synthetic materials were invented, and the first thing that happened with this, was putting synthetic rubber on the soles of shoes.

People started wearing sneakers.

Just look around…

95% of people now walk on the Earth, insulated.

Cut off from the magnetic field of the Earth.

Clint Ober believes that, ‘This is the single thing that happened that probably caused the proliferation of inflammation related health disorders, far and above anything else.’

He says ’The most destructive invention that man ever made, the synthetic sole shoe’.

Think about it…

We wake up in an ungrounded bed, we walk around in an ungrounded house, we put on our shoes which disconnect us from the Earth, we drive to work/school in an ungrounded car, and then we stay inside all day, and we do all this, without any grounding.

The best thing you can do as soon as you wake up, is get outside and stand on the Earth barefoot for 15-minutes.

Earthing yourself.

Consider it your daily pill for health and longevity.

What do you do, if you live in a really cold environment where it’s impossible to spend large amounts of time barefoot, or you live a busy office-desk lifestyle that makes if tricky to get outside?

You can buy earthing pads and bed sheets, so you can be earthing while inside.

Personally, I prefer to feel the grass between my toes, but we all need to work with where we’re at, right?

Ok… so…you get what’s going on now when we stand on the ground bare foot…

What are the benefits of earthing?

Apart from generally just feeling better – both emotionally and physically – and feeling more connected….

Your nervous system starts to regulate, your brain waves slow down, bringing you out of trauma loops, so that addictive impulses and worry patterns start to dissolve.

After being grounded, people sleep better, seemingly incurable diseases start to heal, pain and swelling reduce…

How is this possible?

Well, as Cardiologist, Steven Sinatra, says, ‘Chronic inflammation is behind many illnesses and diseases.’

We have so much inflammation in the body, which causes so many complaints in the body.

Yet here’s the thing…

As Clint Ober says:

‘If the body is grounded you can’t have inflammation.’

I won’t go into all the scientifis talk here, for that, you can watch the movie.

But in a nutshell…

When people are sick, earthing reduces inflammation, so the person can work with a significantly increased immune system.

As soon as you get grounded the first thing that happens is that you quiet the sympathetic nervous system so the adrenals can recover.

Adrenal fatigue is the precursor to many issues including weight gain.

You need to get the pain, anxiety, irritability and overwhelm out of the body, and then the body can do what it does best, self-heal.

Good health is not something we need to make happen.

When we plug back into our source, into Mother Earth, then we sync up with our natural rhythms and flow.

We receive healing medicine into the core of our very being, so that all systems can function well.

Now, just in case you’re wondering…

This whole ‘earthing’ idea isn’t new.

There are athletes around the world that use earthing to increase performance and decrease recovery time.

Before an event, they’ll stand 15 minutes barefoot on the grass to charge themselves up.

We need electrons for energy, right?

Not only does earthing give them better energy and endurance so they perform better…

If they fall or hurt themselves, they don’t experience inflammation.

See, much lower recovery time!

Now let’s look at a study done on 26 premature babies in intensive car units…

Scientists found the heart rates of the babies who were connected up to grounding wires, stabilised, and their vagal tone – a critical measure of infant health – increased by 67% with earthing.

Earthing was also tried on children with autism.

They found these children had less meltdowns and they learned more than they did without the grounding.

It was also found that there was half the level of need for discipline, in schools that have grounded rooms.

Pretty awesome, hey?

There is also science showing earthing as a cure for depression.

No doubt, this is why in my 20s – when I was suffering from severe clinical depression – I would regularly escape from Melbourne to the Dandenong Ranges.

Just being in the rainforests up there, walking among the trees; it grounded me.

It helped me come back to centre.

I came from a home where there was a lot of emotional abuse.

I remember as a child, painting myself with mud.

Upon reflection, instinctually, what I was doing was helping to bring my emotions back into balance.

To help me reconnect with that pure part of myself, that was untouchable from the mis-treatment of others.

Even with my clients now, when they’re learning to tune into their inner voice, it can be hard with all the ego energy flying about.

There’s so much disconnection going on, that can’t seem to ground into themselves.

But when people go out in nature, and plant their bare-feet on the earth, it’s much easier to listen to that inner voice.

Earthing really does help pull you back into yourself, so you can connect with yourself.

Your whole self.

So you’re not dizzy with the negative energy that life can throw at you.

We all get pulled into this disconnected way of living, and one of the easiest ways of helping us come back into ourself, is to go and connect with the Earth.

Put your bare-feet on Mother Earth so she can fill you with healing energy.

So you can come back into harmony.

Reenter into communication with the very soil the birthed you.

We evolved being very connected to the soil.

Papers show that touching soil is helping to make your immune system stronger.

One of the biggest experiences of suffering, it around being disconnected.

Disconnected from what?

Mother Earth.

When my little family moved to the United Kingdom late last year, I said to my husband, we’re getting a place with a backyard that has lush grass so I can do my earthing.

Now?

I aim to step out onto the grass barefoot every day.

When the weather permits, I take my laptop and my books out onto my makeshift outside office, kick off my shoes, and spend a few hours earthing myself, as I work.

And you know what, that uneasy feeling I had in France?

It’s no longer there.

My body feels, that gradually, it’s coming back into sync.

Coming back online.

Returning to it’s natural way of being.

My son goes to forest school now, so he is constantly playing in mud, climbing trees, really immersing himself into nature, and it’s so fascinating how children seem to be more at ease, more at one with themselves, more earthed, when they’re invited to play in this kind of environment.

Does it surprise me?

No.

We are electrical beings.

We need to be earthed, daily.

We’re bombarded by a world that overstimulates us, and pulls our bodies out of balance.

It exhausts us.

Is depletes us.

And a a result our body starts to suffer.

In order to recalibrate our mind and body, start simply.

Let your bare feet kiss the Earth.

Allow yourself to take in the electrons it needs to come back into balance.

The simple act of putting your feet on the Earth can give you so much emotional and physical healing.

You’re literally sucking the life energy up through your feet into your body, from your mother.

Mother Earth.

Let her nourish you.

Let her support you.

This week I invite you to try it.

Because you can.

Earthing is always available to you.

It costs nothing.

So get your feet on the ground.

Just give it a go, and then do it some more.

And see what happens.

Earthing is a real healing modality with tons of medical literature behind it.

All you need is a curious, open mind.

The rest will reveal itself to you.

And if you’d like to join with me to help re-robe Mother Earth, please know that a percentage of all profits from my online school Getting Naked go to the charity Just One Tree.

So when you study self-love with me, you’re planting trees at the same time.