Going barefoot and lying on the ground relaxes and restores our nervous system to its natural, optimal state. Gravity holds our bodies to the earth and grounds us with its negative magnetic, electrical frequency of around 7.8 Hz. By connecting our bare feet with the earth, our bodies are recharged with healing "earth energy."
Grounding helps with such health conditions as recovery from illness and injury, jet lag, exhaustion, inflammation, arthritis, weight issues, depression, chronic pain, and more. Time in nature is scientifically proven to rejuvenate our bodies, minds, and nervous systems. Our bodies receive more health benefits with our feet making contact with the earth. The ideal time to ground is for a good night's sleep at the end of the day. Grounding can be done in a park, backyard, garden, beach, forest, or any place with natural ground that is safe for bare feet. When going barefoot is not possible due to weather or otherwise, one can ground with trees.
Here we share ten ways to ground. Allow yourself 30 minutes. Some of the activities below may not be suitable for you. Please use your discretion, know your body, and ground in places safe for bare feet. This is not medical advice.
1 – Ground
Stand on the earth. Feel the energetic charge from your legs, ankles, and feet compared to the feeling of the earth. Notice the difference. Stand until you feel stable. You may visualize your feet "rooted" in the earth and gently sway your body like a tree, noticing the gravity that connects your body to the earth.
2 – Mountain Pose and Breath
Standing with arms facing outwards, start a nasal inhalation and slowly raise your arms until your hands meet over your head, and your in-breath is complete. Hold the pose for a count of four, reach higher and feel your full length from your backside to your front side. Raise yourself onto your toes. Then rotate the hands facing outward and slowly exhale while lowering the arms and feet back to their starting position. Afterwards, the lungs should be empty, so the following inhale will fill the lungs with nature's fresh air. Do it three times.
3 – Move
Shake your legs and feet, then shake your arms and body. Loosen up like a rag doll. Then sway your body back and forth (standing or inverted) for some intuitive flow movement. Let your body and gravity take over the direction of the movement. Your body may feel heavy at first, but keep swaying until it becomes effortless. Motion shifts emotion and releases tension in the body.
4 – Notice
Find a nice spot on the ground or in a tree, get comfortable, and pay attention to your surroundings with five plus senses. Notice all of nature and its inhabitants. Let your mind be held by your senses and enjoy. As you look, notice what needs tending to.
5 – Yoga / Qigong
Yoga, qigong, and other movement practices connect your body with earth energy and are wonderful to practice outdoors.
6 – Conscious Breathing
Lie down on the earth, directly or over a thin cover, and rest. After a few minutes, do a full-body stretch and scan. Notice the places where you feel any tension or pain. Bring your attention to those places and consciously breathe into them while releasing tension into the earth. As you breathe, feel the force of gravity on your body and breathe as if breathing in harmony with the earth itself.
7 – Mindful Walking / Slow Walking
Walk slowly and consciously of your steps, with optional synching of in and out breaths (3/4, 5/7, etc.). Or, walk slowly and pause along your path to observe nature with your 5+ senses. Great for rainy weather!
8 – Work/Garden
Tend to the earth. Give yourself a project where you stay low and connected to the ground. Gardening is excellent work. There's always something to do. You may make it a practice in mindfulness or gratitude for farmers. Work for 20-30 minutes.
9 – Tatami Time
Lie down on the earth and take in the life around you. This is a time to unwind and reset your nervous system fully. Sky-gaze, daydream, meditate, watch insects, breathe, nap, etc. Feel free to do nothing but enjoy being with nature.
10 – Gratitude
Bring your body on the ground into a child's pose with your head touching the earth. Let go and invite the earth beneath you to fully support your body as you allow gravity to take over.