Get Down and Ground; The Benefits of Practicing Grounding
Life has been filled to the brim with stressors, maybe even more so over these past several years. With increased stress, many times we experience a sense of anxiety, tension, and feeling overwhelmed. Much of our anxieties are rooted in the past, remuniating about “what should I have done differently or better,” and in the future, contemplating the “what ifs.” These anxieties and stressors and thought patterns can keep our body in a reactionary “fight or flight” state. When we start to recognize these thought patterns that are pulling our minds outside of the present moment, we can utilize techniques, like grounding, to bring our focus back into the now and help us to connect with our sense of safety and well-being. So let’s dive in and talk about what grounding means, what it does for your body, mind and spirit, and some ways you can start grounding today!
Grounding is a method or technique to help you to bring your focus back to the present moment, to the now, which helps to create a calming frequency, or vibration, within our cells, and in our body and mind.
You may have noticed the words “frequency” and “vibration” and wonder “what does that have to do with my solid state body?” These terms, commonly used in 60s verbiage, have been scientifically connected to a resonance in all things, including our body, which is constantly vibrating at the atomic levels.
The second universal law of physics, the law of vibration states that
“All things in our universe are constantly in motion, vibrating. Even objects that appear to be stationary are in fact vibrating, oscillating, resonating, at various frequencies. Resonance is a type of motion, characterized by oscillation between two states. And ultimately all matter is just vibrations of various underlying fields. As such, at every scale, all of nature vibrates.”
In a Discussion of human resonant frequency, researchers have found “the human whole-body fundamental resonant frequency to be around 5 Hz.” The frequency of the heartbeat of Mother Earth, or the Schumann Resonance, resonates on average around 7.83 Hz. When we exist in nature, our body’s begin to sync up with the Schumann resonance, which boosts the body’s natural ability to heal and regulate itself.
Some stress can be positive when we are able to use it for motivation. But longer term and chronic stress states put the sympathetic nervous system into overdrive. We can even develop sensitivities to sensory input, mental health imbalances,and di-ease and inflammation within the body.
Practicing grounding on a regular basis can have a positive effect on the brain and nervous system, the cardiovascular and pulmonary system, the autonomic nervous system (“fight or flight” vs “rest and digest” states), sleep patterns and circadian rhythms, the functioning of our immune systems, and improves DNA replication by reducing mistakes during replication. Because of these effects on the body, we can also experience an improvement in our mental health, emotional reactivity, and our ability to connect with our MT GLASS, Self, and Source (or God, whatever you call It).
So, how do you start implementing a grounding practice? Good news, you can start today!
Going outside and being in nature is one of the most common ways to ground. We encourage you to take your shoes off so you can truly connect with the feeling of nature under your feet. In fact, taking off your shoes is an important step, because the rubber soled shoes prevent conduction of frequencies. Hugging a tree can be a great way to connect with nature. Gardening is also discussed frequently when it comes to grounding, as you’re not only connecting with nature, but also assisting in her growth.
If you can’t go outside try these methods of grounding:
Use a guided grounding meditation
Visualize and imagine feeling yourself outside and bring in all the sights, sounds, and smells of what it feels like to be outside
Spending time connecting with a potted plant. Go ahead and stick your hands in the dirt!
Viewing the things in detail around in your present reality can assist in grounding in the moment
Doing deep breathing exercises allows for you to connect deeply with your body and ground in the moment
Take a bath or a shower and imagine the water cleansing your body of stress and negative energy. Or go swimming in a pool, a lake, a river, or the ocean
The science of grounding is truly extraordinary and quite compelling. If you want more information, I highly recommend this documentary on YouTube, The Earthing Movie, and if you are interested in reading the research and peer-reviewed studies, you can find them at the Earthing Institute.
We encourage you to begin proactively adding a grounding practice into your daily self-care routine, and to also use these techniques as often as you need to help manage stress and anxiety.
In Episode 23: Get Down and Ground; The Benefits of Practicing Grounding, Shyra walks us through a beautiful grounding meditation, and this too is available in our freebies section of the Love Always, Self website.
“Look deep into nature and you will understand everything better”
-Albert Einstein