The Hidden Superpowers of Grounding

Why the solution to healing may be right beneath our feet

Have you ever walked barefoot along wet sand at the beach or on a field of rain-moistened grass? Do you remember feeling some tingling in your legs or feet, or even a sense of wellbeing and warmth rising up into your body? That sensation is the result of barefoot contact with the surface of the Earth, which brims with natural energy.

Because the earth is an electrical planet, we are bioelectrical beings. Our body functions electrically.

This is just one reason why it is important to connect to the earth, a concept known as grounding.

Are you grounded? Or is your energy untethered like a helium balloon in the sky? When is the last time that you really felt connected to the earth? What does it even mean to be grounded, and why is it important?

I recently had a conversation with Melissa M. Racho, Ph.D , about grounding and its implications for well-being and restoration.

We discussed how being grounded means that you are present in your life, rather than caught up in the past or the future. I remarked that grounding seems to keep my energy in my body, which helps with not only energy levels, but emotions, chronic pain, and even sleep.

Dr. Racho replied, “When it comes down to it, being grounded means that you have security, stability, and control in and over your life.”

Being grounded, also known as “earthing,” means being prepared to meet life’s obstacles, instead of shying away, ignoring them, and pretending that they don’t exist.

It also means that we are more in tune with our spiritual nature and even higher dimensions.

This perplexed me when I first started grounding, because I was almost always out of my body, floating among the stars, exploring the astral plane, and basically anywhere but present in my own life.

That’s fine for a little while, but if we live our life too disconnected from present reality, we may begin to see that we are more checked out than checked in.

What is grounding?

Grounding is a restorative and therapeutic technique that involves connecting yourself back to the earth. It might sound strange the first time that you hear of it, but it also makes sense.

If the earth is filled with electromagnetic impulses, why would we think that we are separate from it?

It’s more than just “hocus pocus.” Grounding relies heavily on earthing physics, and science has shown that the earth’s electrical charges can have effects on our body.

The science behind it

Recent scientific research has explored grounding for inflammation, mental health, nerve pain, muscle damage, and chronic pain.

One study showed that grounding contributes to a living matrix, which acts as the central connector between living cells.

Electrical conductivity facilitates this living matrix as an immune system protector to prevent the damaging effects of oxidative stress.

This means that, through grounding, we can rebalance and restore our bodies, and the natural defenses of the body can be restored.

Another study tested the effects of grounding on muscle damage. Researchers measured participants’ pain levels and white blood counts before and after grounding.

The results showed that grounding after moderate exercise reduced muscle damage and pain. Additional blood work of participants showed decreased inflammation markers which suggest that grounding may positively influence healing.

Four ways to ground

There are many ways to ground. All of them emphasize reconnecting our bodies and spirits to earth through indirect or direct contact.

1. Laying on the ground

This is a simple way to connect with the earth. You can lay on the bare ground in a park, forest, beach, field, or yard.

In college, I used to ground by laying in an open field, next to the local greenway. It was clean, safe, and free.

Even animals ground. Have you ever seen an animal vigorously and joyfully rolling on the earth? It’s the same principle of connecting to the earth in order to heal and rejuvenate.

2. Barefoot walking

Have you ever noticed how children love to go barefoot in the summer? Or how shoes and even sandals suddenly feel too restrictive in the summer heat?

Try grounding by walking directly on the earth. It’s simple, accessible, and it feels wonderful, like acupressure for the soles of your feet, stimulating different energies.

Try it in dirt, sand, grass, or anywhere that will allow your skin to make direct contact with the earth.

3. Water immersion

Much like direct contact with the earth grounds us, submerging ourselves in water can also calm and connect us to the earth.

Try floating or wading in an ocean, lake, or river.

Alternately, one of my favorite ways to ground is to put my feet in a creek or riverbed. The cold water, soft earth, and smooth rocks all provide a relaxing experience unlike any other. Just remember to be careful.

4. Using indoor earthing products

If grounding outside isn’t readily accessible to you, there are other ways to ground.

Earthing mats are thought to establish a connection between the earth outdoors and our bodies while inside. They also claim to limit or reduce electric and magnetic field exposure. If you’ve seen one of these, you may notice that they look like a yoga mat, except that they have a controller that connects them to the electrical fields in the earth’s surface.

Earthing shoes are designed to let electrons flow freely between the ground and your feet.

The idea is that the permeability of the cotton, hemp, or leather from which they are commonly made allows a connection to the earth, which is blocked by standard rubber-soled shoes.

Earthing bands are adjustable, elastic bands that can be placed on the wrists, ankles, or arms. Some people like to wear these while doing desk work, cleaning, and cooking.

Earthing sheets give your body long blocks of time to be grounded to the earth’s energy, so that you wake up refreshed and feeling rejuvenated. These sheets typically have a grounding wire designed to plug into the ground port of your wall outlet, which is meant to connect you to the earth while you sleep.

Why try grounding

People (myself included) have reported improvement for several conditions such as:

Chronic pain. The study on grounding for exercise recovery found that those who used grounding reported lower pain levels.

Sleep disorders. Study participants experienced an improvement in sleep time and a reduction in sleep disturbances with grounding therapy.

Anxiety and depression. In another study, it was shown that even one hour of grounding therapy can significantly improve mood.

Some health professionals believe that the benefits of grounding therapy may come from feeling like you’re reconnected to nature. Sometimes the simplest things bring us the greatest health benefits.

Note: Conditions like chronic fatigue, pain, anxiety, and/or depression may have underlying medical causes that need to be addressed. Visit your doctor for these types of conditions first.

Final thoughts

Grounding is a therapeutic technique that focuses on realigning your electrical energy by reconnecting to the earth. We all have the power to reconnect to the earth’s healing energy, and the solution may be right beneath our feet.

With love and gratitude, Aurora

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Disclaimer: This article is not intended for the purpose of providing medical advice. All information, content, and material of this website is for informational purposes only and are not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider.