barefoot healing

For a few months now I have been sleeping connected to the earth. And I'm not sleeping outside in a teepee! No, I have been sleeping in earthing body bands that I won in a "rawffle" at the David Wolfe Australia Tour this year. When I won, I personally collected my prize (a bag full of goodies!) from David Wolfe and in front of the whole audience, shook his hand. It was truly a glorious moment! (I absolutely love David Wolfe... it may be his hair?!)

 

I can hear you all asking, What in the world is earthing? And how can it help me? Well, before we are chemical beings we are electrical beings. And being earthed or grounded restores the natural electrical state of the human body. Most disease is thought to be rooted in inflammation, so for those living with a chronic illness, this is an effective way to reduce pain and inflammation, improve sleep, increase energy and revive health. Not to mention, protect your body from the damaging (the positively charged) electromagnetic fields (EMFs) that are all around you!

With earthing, you are connecting yourself to the earth's electrical field. You can do this simply by walking outside barefoot. The earth is negatively charged, just like the alkaline side of a battery. For many people, our bodies are overly acidic (and disease thrives in an acidic environment) due not only to our modern diet, but also our modern lifestyle, as we are constantly separated from the earth's alkaline negatively charged electromagnetic field. Our footwear, our transport and our dwellings mean that the soles of our feet never see - or rather touch - the surface of the earth, thus blocking our connection with the earth and it's electrical charge, which has been designed to facilitate vibrant health and wellbeing.

The good news is that the natural electricity the earth has to give our bodies can be absorbed through any point of the skin. And so, I sleep looking like I've been abducted by aliens in my trusty earthing body bands. When I first tried it I wasn't sure if it would help me at all. But I noticed a physical change straight away! During the first few nights my fingers and toes were all tingly (a sign that circulation is improving), my sleep felt deeper and more refreshing, and weirdly, my digestion and elimination seemed to improve (and I didn't change my diet during that time). I'm not saying if you don't do this you won't be healthy, but on the road to health and wellness, everything adds up over time. Being a person who lives with a chronic illness, especially where the central symptom is fatigue, I believe there is value in adding earthing into my holistic health regime. 

Clint Ober has developed devices to assist in us being earthed if we have limited access to the earth or live in places where it is not safe to go barefoot. You can use these grounding technologies as you walk or work or sleep. You can also naturally connect to the earth by walking barefoot outside, swimming in a lake or the ocean, gardening with bare hands, or if you can allow yourself to go there, hugging a tree!

For more ideas on why and how you can try earthing I encourage you to check out Sarah Wilson's blog post here.