Earthing, also known as grounding, is a therapeutic technique that involves making an electrical connection to Mother Earth.
Earth has a negative charge and when our feet or body touch the earth, we discharge our excess energy, producing a healing effect at cellular level. I grabbed this explanation written by an earthing pioneer, Clint Ober.
"Our innate immune systems use white blood cells (known as neutrophils) to release reactive oxygen molecules (commonly known as free radicals) to oxidise and destroy pathogens and damaged cells. Free radicals have an electron imbalance that makes them electrically charged - in their quest to find a free electron and neutralise, they can attach to, or steal an electron, from a healthy cell, damaging it in the process. The damaged cell then needs to be removed, and the immune system sends another neutrophil to process it, starting the entire cycle over again.
This is how chronic inflammation (which causes chronic pain and promotes many health disorders) is set in motion. This entire response is compounded by the fact that free radical-generating substances are present all around us: in fried food, alcohol, tobacco smoke, pesticides, air pollutants, and even the sun’s rays.
The earth has an infinite supply of free electrons, so when a person is grounded, those electrons naturally flow between the earth and the body, reducing free radicals and eliminating any static electrical charge. The reason grounding is so powerful is it reduces and prevents inflammation from occurring in the body, which in turn prevents inflammation-related health disorders.”
In modern times we have become disconnected from the Earth. Most of us do not walk barefoot or sleep on the ground as we did in the past. This physical disconnection is thought to contribute to many physical ailments including inflammation, fatigue, pain, stress and sleep disorders. Grounding may help to overcome these symptoms.
The easiest method of grounding is to whip off your shoes and stomp barefoot around the garden or the beach, or any piece of open ground, enjoying the sensation of the earth beneath your feet. Add to this effect by placing your hands into the ground too.
Other ways to ground are to practice yoga or engage in regular physical activity, especially swimming in the sea or taking an Epsom salt bath.
