By Sayer Ji
Contributing Writer for Wake Up World
The civilized man has built a coach, but has lost the use of his feet. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Feeling “grounded” is an increasingly uncommon experience in this day and age, and it should be, considering we no longer regularly touch the ground with our bare feet, as nature intended.
It is no great mystery that the human foot was designed, over countless millenia, to be in direct contact with the Earth, the literal and symbolic ground of our being. And the Earth is no inert substance, but rather a living and breathing entity (of which we are but a mere part) capable of infusing us with its life, ‘singing the body electric,’ as Walt Whitman once mused.
Indeed, the Earth breathes life into us through a continual stream of free electrons…
“It is well established, though not widely known, that the surface of the earth possesses a limitless and continuously renewed supply of free or mobile electrons as a consequence of a global atmospheric electron circuit. Wearing shoes with insulating soles and/or sleeping in beds that are isolated from the electrical ground plane of the earth have disconnected most people from the earth’s electrical rhythms and free electro”
— James L Oschman, Can electrons act as antioxidants? : A review and commentary
The effects of which James Oschman speaks are not simply theoretical. There are a wide range of measurable changes in the body associated with this “grounding” including changes in pulse rate, respiratory rate, blood oxygenation, perfusion index, and skin conductance which have been clinically studied.
Grounding has also been shown to reduce delayed onset muscle soreness, lowers and synchronizes cortisol levels during sleep, reduce inflammation, modulates neurological function, and reduce oxidative stress.
A new study published last month in the Journal of Environmental and Public Health covers this topic in greater depth, and is well worth the read.
I also encourage you to take a look at Juil.com, a relatively new range of earthing footwear. By including copper conductors within their footwear, Juil offers a natural conduit between your feet and the earth’s surface, helping to release built-up free radicals and supporting your health andwellbeing.
About the author:
Sayer Ji is the founder of GreenMedInfo.com, the world’s largest, evidence-based, open-source, natural medicine database.
If you've ever found value in our articles, we'd greatly appreciate your support by purchasing Mindful Meditation Techniques for Kids - A Practical Guide for Adults to Empower Kids with the Gift of Inner Peace and Resilience for Life.
In the spirit of mindfulness, we encourage you to choose the paperback version. Delve into its pages away from screen glare and notifications, allowing yourself to fully immerse in the transformative practices within. The physical book enriches the learning process and serves as a tangible commitment to mindfulness, easily shared among family and friends.
Over the past few years, Wake Up World has faced significant online censorship, impacting our financial ability to stay online. Instead of soliciting donations, we're exploring win-win solutions with our readers to remain financially viable. Moving into book publishing, we hope to secure ongoing funds to continue our mission. With over 8,500 articles published in the past 13 years, we are committed to keeping our content free and accessible to everyone, without resorting to a paywall.
