Carolyn Hansen: Earthing, grounding path to mental/physical immunity in a crisis

Earthing outdoors is the act of bonding with nature. Photo / Getty Images

A crisis, whether personal or extended globally, does not come alone. It comes laced with insecurity, uncertainty and the "fear of the unknown". With these negative emotions setting the table, stress and anxiety are sure to follow because these two traits are as much a part of being an "emotional" human, as peace and joy are.

However, just because stress and anxiety are authentic human emotions, it does not mean we must entertain or further empower them with our focus and energy.

When these two seemingly negative traits appear, they come bearing gifts that contain a message - the primary one being our need to engage in and focus on activities empowered to boost our wellbeing and reduce our emotional exposure to immunity killers and longevity stealers. And, we are not talking about unnecessary doctor's visits or pill popping.

What we are talking about is building strong mental and physical immunity by getting back to who we really are, and bonding and becoming "one with" Mother Nature, our unbiased provider and infinite nurturer.

The reality is, we have separated ourselves from our very source of healing abundance because many people have forgotten their intimate and empowering connection with Mother Earth. Yet, without her abundant "blessings," none of us would be here.

No one knows us better than Mother Nature. She has been with us from the moment we were conceived to taking our first breath, and continues to be the overall panacea that contributes in subtle but positive and powerful ways to our overall health and wellbeing.
She truly is the "great nurturer" and we would do well to have a personal relationship with her.

Grounding is the perfect place to start – often called "earthing", grounding is a powerful, alternative therapeutic practice with supporting scientific research. This research reveals a positive, often-overlooked environmental health factor offered each one of us when "grounding or earthing" – infinite access to the primordial flow of Mother Earth's electrons.

Grounding is not hard, nor do we need any specific items to do it. In fact, we will be eliminating items because outdoor earthing is simply the act of touching Earth directly without interference.

Walking barefoot in the sand is one of several ways to plug into nature's healing energies. Photo / Getty Images

Although grounding can also be achieved indoors using conductive systems to transfer Earth's electrons to the body from the ground, this article focuses on the advantages of grounding/earthing outside.

Earthing outdoors is the act of bonding with nature by putting our feet/body in direct contact with her healing energies and can be achieved through soil, water sand or any other conductive surface.

Why is this important?

Increasing evidence supports the idea that "Earth's negative potential creates stable internal bioelectrical environments for the normal functioning of body systems".

This means, not only does grounding/earthing work to shift our moods, relieve mental stress and lift depression, but grounding boosts our physical immunity and positively supports all bodily systems by putting us in direct contact with Earth, allowing the body to absorb and take advantage of this influx of free elections.

Electrons produced by antioxidant molecules are empowered to "neutralise reactive oxygen species/free radicals involved in the body's immune and inflammatory responses". That means when our bodies are in direct contact with Earth, the influx of electrons absorbed by the body goes to work immediately, neutralising damaging free radicals and reducing acute and chronic inflammation.

Unfortunately, our shift and evolution over the centuries towards modern lifestyles, although making our lives easier and more comfortable in many ways, have nearly eliminated our direct contact with this abundant supply of "healing" electrons offered so freely by nature. Because we increasingly turned towards insulated plastic or rubber-soled shoes and boots, we severely compromised our "electrical" connection. Rarely do we find ourselves barefoot any more.

Sadly, it seems what we gained in ease, comfort, and style, we lost in health, immunity, and longevity. Not a good bargain in anyone's book.

But the good news is, outside grounding and earthing is still as powerful and effective as it has always been, provided of course that we are "skin to earth", allowing these healing electrons direct access to our bodies.

Benefits reported from long-term grounding/earthing:
• Chronic fatigue is decreased, and we automatically feel more balanced
• Lowered chronic pain levels
• Improvement in quality sleep
• Reduced blood pressure in those with hypertension
• Relieved anxiety and depression.

In addition to the above, outdoor earthing/grounding offers us the opportunity to enjoy nature – the sounds, the smells, the textures, and fresh air. We can use our senses in ways that increase our love and bond with nature because we scan the beautiful scenery and breathe fresh air deeply, we can listen to the birds singing, the leaves rustling and animals communicating.

The activity of grounding/earthing and connecting to Earth's electrical matrix/electrons is a relatively new field of exploration that is being explored and further studied for the positive effects it has on inflammation, cardiovascular disease, chronic pain, and muscle damage.

"The central theory from one study is that "grounding affects the living matrix, which is the central connector between living cells".

Whether we are swimming in the sea, walking barefoot on the ground or grass, or shuffling in the sand – earthing/grounding is therapeutic and aligns our electrical energy with Earth's subtle but powerful healing electrons.

It is, without doubt, one of the best healing modalities towards increasing immunity, relieving depression, stress and anxiety, and helping all bodily systems work at peak performance and it's abundantly available, without prejudice right out our back doors.

• Carolyn Hansen is co-owner of Anytime Fitness.