What is Grounding?
First off, what is grounding? If you’ve been following me over on Instagram, you likely have seen me talk about grounding extensively. As I always like to say, I’m not a doctor or an expert, of any kind, but I will definitely point you to some doctors and experts related to grounding. I’m simply a grounding-obsessed human that wants to share her knowledge and love for grounding. Grounding is also referred to as Earthing, so you may hear me use those terms interchangeably. In my non-doctor explanation, I like to say that the earth is negatively charged, and we as humans are positively charge. When we come together, we essentially neutralize each other. But, in our modern world, we are extremely disconnected from the earth. We are not outside nearly enough, and when we are, we are using rubber-soled shoes that are still disconnecting us from the earth. When we are inside, we are around so many other positively-charged devices. It is hard for us to ever get back to neutral! But, if we can ground ourselves, there are so many benefits we can see! Let’s talk about some of those.
What are the Benefits?
Well, the list of benefits is pretty lengthy. Let me tell you some ways it has helped me! Since my car accident in 2011, I have had back pain, and often flare-ups that make me “throw my back out” – on top of that, I have since had a baby who I wear a lot, breastfeed, bedshare with, and get my body in all sorts of weird positions, which used to cause some back pain, until I got into regular grounding. Since then…no back pain! Inflammation, female cycles, sleep quality…all areas I have seen improvement in. Food intolerances? Those seem to be gone too! Here you can read my friend, Soul Bloom’s post, that shows the long list of benefits. Varicose veins? Pain? Allergies? It’s been studied and shown to cure or significantly improve all these areas! Also, check out The Earthing Institute to learn more!
How Do You Do It?
Now, how do you actually do it? Well, take off your shoes, and go outside! Walk barefoot in the grass, or sand, or on concrete (as long as it’s not sealed…a garage or unfinished basement, or sidewalk works great). Don’t want to go barefoot? Touch the ground. Touch the grass, or the concrete, or even touch someone else who is grounded…another person, or a pet. We do this daily! But, if for some reason you can’t do that, or it isn’t safe to do so, or you want even more grounding, we also ground indoors, via grounding mats. We have a grounding mat for our bed, and grounding mats for by my computer when I work (there are so many grounding devices you can get!). They connect to only the grounding portion of your home outlets, giving you the many benefits of being grounded, while indoors!
Grounding Resources
If you want to learn more about grounding, I have some resources for you!
Grounding Books
Earthing by Clinton Ober
The Earth Prescription by Laura Koniver, MD
From the Ground Up by Laura Koniver, MD
Grounding Documentary & Podcasts
The Earthing Movie
Clint Ober on the Science Behind Grounding – The Darin Olien Show
Docking Our Bodies to the Earth; Intuition and Grounding with Dr. Laura Koniver – The Joyous Health Podcast
Kids Who Explore Mamas Edition
This is a podcast I help host with Kids Who Explore, where we talk all about getting outside with kids. Here is an episode where we talk all about Grounding/Earthing with the wonderful Dr. Laura Koniver!
Now, Go Get Grounded!!