As strange as it sounds, the ground under your feet is powerful medicine. That is because of Mother Nature’s natural endowment of “electrical nutrition,” a virtually limitless supply of free electrons that gives the ground its negative electric charge. This overlooked resource nourishes living beings – including you, me, other animals, and plants as well.
Researchers are now discovering systemic healing benefits when the Earth’s energy becomes absorbed by the body. Among other things, it appears to restore and stabilize the bioelectrical circuitry that operates your physiology, harmonize basic biological rhythms, reduce inflammation, pain and stress, and improve sleep.
The earthing story is absolutely fascinating. Modern lifestyle has disconnected most humans from many aspects of nature, including our planet’s healing energy. Except for recreational time at the beach or pool, we rarely venture out barefoot. We no longer use footwear or bedding made of hides that allows conduction of the Earth’s energy. Instead we wear insulating rubber- or plastic-soled shoes. We sleep in elevated beds. Many of us live and work in buildings high above the ground.
We are disconnected from the Earth and its primordial energy, a departure from nature that may be a totally ignored cause of inflammation, pain, fatigue, stress, and poor sleep.
The research on earthing, also known as grounding, is less than 20 years old, but provides intriguing evidence of significant physiological shifts in the direction of a revitalized and healthier functioning body when individuals reconnect. The benefits are generated simply by regularly walking barefoot outdoors or, while indoors, sleeping, working, or relaxing in contact with a variety of conductive products − bed sheets, floor mats, body bands, patches, or pillowcases − that are connected by a wire to the Earth.
In recent years, chronic inflammation has been recognized as the leading trigger of pain and most major health disorders, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, arthritis, Alzheimer’s, and cancer. Earthing appears to extinguish the flames of inflammation through the transfer of antioxidant electrons from the surface of the Earth into the body where they neutralize destructive, inflammation-causing free radicals.
“The potential benefits from the Earth’s energy on the brain, heart, muscles, immune and nervous systems − and in turn the whole body and the aging process — are massive,” says cardiologist Stephen Sinatra, co-author of the Earthing book. “Medically, this is a big deal!”
In 2013, earthing was listed among the top 10 spa trends of the year by SpaFinder Wellness. To learn how earthing can contribute in a practical way to a spa, beauty, and wellness business, keep an eye out for future our future articles over this phenomenon.