What on EARTH is going on ?
As I have told my students many a time in my lectures, the endocrine and nervous system of the body teach us one important thing: WHAT FEELS GOOD IS DOING GOOD!
As a kid growing up on African soil, I certainly did not need big science-y words or research to convince me to take my shoes off and run on the earth bare feet, or touch a tree, or wade through streams or lie down on the grass and let the sun kiss my skin. I did it because it felt natural and instinctive and GOOD. As a child of the pre-internet era the majority of my time was spent outdoors , effectively earthing / grounding myself and the pay off was that I was healthy and happy.
With adulting however comes a certain amount of skepticism and we lose trust in the feedback from our body, meaning we need a little more convincing.
So here it goes…
A lot of good research spanning decades now shows that earthing the body could be one of our most potent anti-inflammatory tools to date, and has even suggested earthing as an effective strategy against Covid 19. (1)
An expansive body of research proves that simply placing your body in direct contact with the earth places it into a healing state.
There is a natural electrical circuit running through and connecting all living things on earth.
As the body is mostly water in its make up , it is highly conductive which means that as soon as you come into contact with this energy grid it passes through you too.
And when it does your natural healthy state is reinstated:
it improves our HRV (heart rate variability) which is an excellent indicator of health
it increases blood flow to cells to bathe our cells in life giving oxygen
it boosts the production of immune cells
it shifts our brain wave patterns away from stress
it improves sleep
it boosts our metabolism
and alters the inflammatory responses
and leads to an overall more balanced hormonal system! (2)
Let’s face it , most of us don’t get much earth contact time on a day to day basis. As I write this it is a cold and wet autumnal day in the UK and the last thing I want to do is take my shoes off and run around outside. Walking around bare feet is generally frowned upon, well here in Europe at least. Though I must say back in South Africa it is actually entirely acceptable to go out without shoes on.
In reality the vast majority of us work indoors and are not able to get outside as much as we need. Add to that we are living and working in highly electrified environments in front of, or in contact with electrical devices that actually put a strain on our nervous and hormonal systems , meaning we need the grounding more than ever.
To me the power of earthing is most evident when my blonde long haired son steps off of his trampoline. His electrically charged hair, that is standing on end around him like a lion’s mane, falls immediately flat again the moment he steps off of the trampoline and makes contact with the ground.
We have normalised very abnormal conditions (as far as the body’s requirements for health go). There was a time that electrical currents and the playing with them was approached with much awe and fascination. There were two books that fell into my lap quite synchronistically - and I will tell that interesting tale in another article - that focused my attention on the power and influence of an electrified world on our well being.
The first is The Invisible Rainbow, which I consider a must read for everyone, and the other was the Biography of Mary Shelley, (the authoress of Frankenstein). It is fascinating to learn how much she was influenced by early experimentation with electricity in the creation of the infamous monster.
It was through these two books, my personal observations in my own body, reading through the research and listening closely to my patients that I realised we are dealing with an electrical epidemic!
AND we are living completely disconnected from the one thing that can keep us protected from this electrical scaffolding we have enclosed ourselves within. It is no wonder the rates of chronic illness, underpinned by chronic inflammation, are exponential in their diagnoses. In my practice my patients are more than ever stressed, anxious, managing chronic illness or experiencing hormonal imbalance (which is a symptom of nervous system dysregulation) , so I have had to acknowledge that the electrified world we live in together with our disconnection from the natural earth current may be playing a role.
So here is what I do about it :
“The woods were my Ritalin. Nature calmed me, focused me, and yet excited my senses.”
Richard Louv
Earthing / Grounding sheet. There are many out there and I am sure that they all work the same, but I elected to buy from the company that was one of the first and has a very well established record and lots of happy customers with good reviews. You can see what I use here , for personal ease and preference I sleep on their organic fitted earthing sheet, but they have various options.
By sleeping on an earthing sheet I am banking 8 hours (hopefully) a day of contact time with the natural energy grid of the earth. To me this is efficiency at its best.
Elctro Essence is an Australian Bush Flower Essence that uses the healing potential of botanicals to restore the body’s electrical harmony. I personally like to use this when I have had high exposure to radiation for example after x Ray / MRI, travel involving magnetic scanners, flying, or a long day in front of the computer. Safe for all of the family and easy to use. Just 7 drops on the tongue as needed.
I intentionally schedule time in nature. I am without doubt that being in nature is our best medicine when it comes to managing our body’s electrical state. It is so powerful and so underused as a medicine. I, as an anxiety sufferer, know that nothing will shift the horrible visceral discomfort of anxiety like time in nature. Is it the increase in oxygen ? is it the earthing ? is it the vibration ? is it something else ? who knows and who cares, it works! If you are serious about being well and feeling good then you have to make time in nature a priority. Whether its a city park, a small backyard, a walk in the woods or a dip in a river/lake/sea - we are nature, we are not separate, the natural world is what we come from and where we will return one day, we need to spend time in our natural habitat as often as we possibly can.
“Earthing is simple, basic, and powerful. We regard it as a genuine missing link in the health equation, something with astounding potential to do much good for humanity.”
REFERENCES:
1. Grounding – The universal anti-inflammatory remedy. Stephen T. Sinatra a 1, Drew S. Sinatra b, Stephen W. Sinatra Step c, Gaetan Chevalier Biomedical Journal Volume 46, Issue 1, February 2023, Pages 11-16
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2319417022001706?via%3Dihub
2. Practical Applications of grounding to support health Laura Koniver Biomedical Journal Volume 46, Issue 1, February 2023, Pages 41-47
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2319417022001585
COPYRIGHT AND DISCLAIMER:
To the best of my knowledge all information is accurate at the time of writing.
Nothing written here is intended to replace medical advice or guidance and is for information purposes only.
All images and words are the property of Taryn Jacobs and may not be used or replicated without permission.
Some links to products or services may be through an affiliate scheme or similar HOWEVER I will never link to anything that I do not have personal experience with, own or use on my own family.