Today is Earth Day – an annual celebration to honour and protect our planet’s environment.
It’s a great opportunity to connect with nature in all its forms. Spending time in nature has a powerful effect on our wellbeing. Even a few minutes in a natural environment can positively shift our mood.
It’s also a good way to ground ourselves. Grounding is about feeling fully present in our bodies and connected to the earth. This is deeply calming for our nervous systems. The more rooted we are in our physical body, the less stress and anxiety we experience. And the more we feel our environment is able to support us, the more easily we can relax, moving into our healing rest-and-digest mode. When the world seems chaotic, grounding helps us to feel stable.
The benefits of earthing
One of the best ways to ground is a simple technique known as earthing. Being barefoot or placing your body in direct contact with the Earth has been shown to have numerous health benefits. By allowing a transfer of negatively charged ions from the Earth’s surface into the body, earthing positively affects our bodies’ bioelectrical and biochemical processes. Research shows that it can reduce inflammation, pain and stress and improve blood flow and sleep.
Earthing restores our primordial connection to the Earth, which has been lost over time due to developments in human lifestyle. In Western society, we no longer regularly walk barefoot or sleep on the ground. This simple yet powerful technique brings us back to our natural balance. It improves our wellbeing and helps to create a feeling of calm. And it’s also a wonderful way to appreciate our natural environment – today and every day.