A Guide to Grounding
What is Grounding?
Grounding also called earthing, is a healing technique that involves doing activities that “ground” or reconnect you to the earth. This practice relies on connecting your energy to the earth’s energy.
Grounding is a simple science. Humans are bioelectrical beings that carry a positive charge, which can be built up in our bodies. On the other hand, the earth has a negative charge. When we connect with the earth’s charge through grounding, we discharge our excess energy, producing a healing effect on our entire being.
The Health Benefits of Grounding
Dispersing your excess energy through grounding has numerous health benefits for your body. Some of these include:
- Reduced inflammation
- Reduced cortisol (the stress hormone)
- Remedies anxiety and intrusive thoughts
- Increased energy
- Improved sleep quality
- Increased healing speed
- Decreased pain
- Restoration of balance to the body
Grounding and the Root Chakra
Along with the numerous health benefits the practice of grounding offers your body, grounding also benefits your energetic body by balancing and aligning your root chakra. Your root chakra extends to your legs and feet through the base of the spine, making it the chakra positioned closest to the earth. Because of this, being grounded is an essential need of the root chakra, because when the root chakra is grounded, it helps one feel calm, in control, and present.
Grounding Activities to Try
- Outdoor Savasana – Can you remember the last time you lay on the ground? Get that skin-to-earth connection by laying on the earth flat!
- Barefoot Walking – Walking barefoot is the easiest way to have a skin-to-earth connection and wake up your senses. Savor the feeling of soft grass tickling your toes, enjoy the warm sensation of sun-drenched dirt, and if you are near a beach, dig your toes in the sand.
- Swim in the Ocean – embrace your inner mermaid by taking a dip in a natural pool of water, such as the ocean or a lake. Feel the cool water, soft sand, and even the slimy rocks, against your skin.
There are plenty of fun activities you can use to ground yourself. Just remember to focus on the texture, feel, and even the temperature of the surfaces you feel during grounding to get the most benefit out of the practice. Also, keep your eyes open during your grounding activities as this encourages you to focus on the present moment.
Grounding Journal Prompts
- What natural landscape do you feel most connected to? You can choose anything from a grassy field to a rocky shoreline, the choice is yours!
- Try out different positions on your chosen landscape such as sitting, laying down, and or standing barefoot. Which section of your body craves the earth’s connection most?
- Try out grounding during different times of the day. When do you find the practice most beneficial? If it’s first thing in the morning, take note of that!
- Before grounding, take note of your mental and physical stress levels. After a session of grounding, revisit those levels to determine how they have changed.
- During a grounding session, which affirmation do you find yourself most drawn to? Write it down and use it as your own personal grounding mantra.
- Practice grounding daily for about a week. Once that week is up, check in with yourself to see if any aspects of yourself have shifted for the better.
