Earthing: Nature’s Free Anti-Inflammatory

Earthing: Nature’s Free Anti-Inflammatory

Do you ever notice how after walking on the beach, or stepping in the shallow waves you feel relaxed and even sleep better that evening? Well it’s no coincidence. This is, in short, the concept of earthing. Now to be completely honest with you, the first time I heard about the practice of earthing, I thought it was some new age type hoax. It all sounded too easy to be true! 

Earthing is simply standing on the natural earth barefoot, being in contact with the earth’s surface charge, which is also known as grounding. This will naturally discharge inflammation in the body. This discharging of inflammation comes with many benefits that include; reducing inflammation, reduction or elimination of chronic pain, reduced stress, improved blood flow, increased energy, improved sleep, and healing faster from injuries or surgery. 

Still cautiously approaching the idea, I decided to get some more information about this for myself. I wanted to understand how it actually worked. The person who initially told me about this practice recommended the book below as a solution to what must have been a very puzzled look. I ordered the book and started pouring over the information right away. 

I was astonished by the plethora of scientific explanations, much to my surprise! In this book they lay out how and why the practice of earthing works, as well as personal stories from Clint Ober (one of the authors), a cardiologist, and a scientist, along with loads of other fascinating facts and observations. Get your copy HERE:   

So now that we know what it is, how exactly does it work? From the beginning of time people have been walking, sitting, and sleeping on the ground. As humans advanced so did everything around them. This includes shoes. Early shoes were made from animal skins, which was almost the same as being barefoot. (as far as earthing is concerned). These shoes allowed free ions to still enter and exit the body through the feet into the ground. Quite amazing when you think about it! 

Man, then invented rubber and plastics. These soon became commonplace for soles of shoes as they were cheap and easy to manufacture. These synthetic materials block the exchange from the earth, blocking the healing effects as well. Consequently, shortly thereafter we see a major spike in all sorts of health problems from allergies to autoimmune disease across the globe. 

People are electrical beings and the earth is an electrical planet. (when you get down to the atoms and ions of it). The exchange of positive and negative ions is taken from the body through the soles of the feet to the earth, and vice versa. This is a well-kept secret that tremendously helped my chronic knee pain, IBD pain, and overall inflammation in my body. Now I’m not saying this was a fix all for me, but I certainly have noticed a difference in my knees swelling, and I do sleep better. It’s a helpful and positive step in the right direction. 

Now maybe you live in a high-rise apartment in a large city and all the open earth around you is either covered in concrete or the grass you do have nearby is treated heavily with pesticides. Not to worry! Just because you can’t stand on the earth in the traditional way of earthing, you can still practice! You can achieve this through earthing mats and sheets. These work by using electricity through a grounded outlet. It pulls the charges away from the mat or sheet through the wire and into the ground. The ground can then send ions through the wire to the mat or sheet. (check your outlet first, if your space was built before the 1950’s it might not be grounded). You can find many examples of these mats and sheets online, just make sure it’s coming from a reputable source! 

I have a mat that I use for my feet when sitting on the couch, one under my laptop on my desk, and a sheet for when I sleep. 

Here’s the sheet and mat I have: