Grounding: The Golden Ticket

When I was little and growing up in my suburban hometown in Oklahoma, I remember walking to our local 7-Eleven with my sisters in the summer to get Icees, candy and watermelon Bubblicious. More times than not we would see people walking into the store barefoot, likely stopping in to get ice, drinks and snacks for their day at one of the nearby lakes. I always secretly wanted to do the same thing, but we weren’t allowed to run around barefoot; only ‘those people’ would ever have the audacity to walk around with grocery store feet (if you’re from a small southern town you know that’s a thing!)!

So while I was curious and a little envious, I was also conditioned to judge those people. And while it may not be the most sanitary choice one could make, ironically they were probably some of the most grounded people in town.

It’s become almost trendy to talk about grounding, or earthing, but it is the most accessible and effective way to improve wellness and is readily available to every single person and critter on earth. Gaia provides us with electrons (aka antioxidants), which positively affect cell function and work remarkably well to reduce pain, inflammation and anxiety, and improve sleep and immunity.

There is quite a bit of published research on grounding, including this publication if you’re a rabbit hole person like me. 

Before shoes and mattresses were invented, we were in constant contact with the earth. Even when shoes became a thing, the soles were originally made out of leather which allowed for conductivity. But in the 1950s, insulated rubber soles were introduced and cut off the energetic exchange between us and the earth. And now we have the added burden of wireless devices and WiFi which emit positively charged ions (aka oxidants or free radicals). Grounding provides a negatively-charged ion transfer to neutralize the positively-charged oxidants, but we have to be intentional about it.

p.s. please turn your WiFi off at night while you’re asleep!

Grounding is so important that before any energy session, it’s one of the top things we must get in place before doing any deeper work. It’s nearly impossible to balance a person’s energies if they are in an ungrounded state.

The input points and pathways for this energetic exchange with the earth’s electrons are some of the same points and pathways we work with in energy medicine. The Kidney Meridian, whose first point is at the balls of our feet, is the pathway for yin energy from the earth to travel up through the body. The Stomach Meridian, whose endpoint is on the second toe of each foot, is the pathway for yang energy from the heavens to travel down through the body. Even scientists are starting to acknowledge these energetic pathways and their role in grounding the human body.

Just as our bodies need water, nutritious food, proper rest and movement, I am a firm believer that being grounded is one of our basic needs.

I would also dare to say that if every person that is experiencing pain, anxiety, ADHD or a sleep disorder spent 20 minutes a day grounding, their symptoms would dissipate over time.

Is it a quick fix? No. Does it start working immediately? Yes. 

As with exercise, you’re not going to get solidly grounded by going outside once. But over time it can really build your resilience and lighten your load.

Leave your shoes, phone and sunglasses inside and go outside. Listen to the noises you hear. Notice the smells you smell. Take in the bright sunshine or the glowing sunrise/sunset. Notice the temperature of the earth beneath your feet. Take some deep breaths and recharge your battery.

How Energy Medicine Works

Mental, physical and emotional stress can cause us to experience things like pain, neurological and mood disorders, addictions, and chronic and tough-to-treat ailments like digestive issues, hormonal imbalances and autoimmune conditions. Toxins in our indoor and outdoor environments add to the burden.

While we may not be thriving while experiencing uncomfortable symptoms, the body is simply prioritizing vital operations like heart, lung and kidney functions to keep us going until it has more support and energy to deal with the less critical functions like ideal digestion and hormone production.

In addition to stressors, the body stores our life experiences, including what we experienced in utero. Our minds may not remember a traumatic experience (perceived or otherwise), but our physical and energetic bodies always do.

One person’s perceived traumas may manifest as physical symptoms like an autoimmune condition, whereas another’s may manifest as an emotional imbalance. Regardless of the symptoms, the vitality of the energetic body is always at play.

When we rely solely on medical interventions to alleviate symptoms or to alter feelings and behaviors, we are merely suppressing sensations. This can encourage the underlying issues to root in deeper and proliferate because we are cutting off the body’s intricately designed feedback and restoration loops.

Energy Medicine is a gentle and obtainable way to alchemize ill health. It can be done in tandem with conventional treatments, and can be very supportive to the body before and after surgery or during chemotherapy and radiation.

Rather than treating isolated symptoms, it provides clues to what areas of the body need to be freed and balanced. Balancing the body’s energies gives it the space it needs to perform optimally and for innate healing to occur. 

The more well-known energetic systems we work with in Energy Medicine are the meridians, chakras and aura. The meridians are energetic pathways which govern our organs. They run throughout the body and contain the points that acupuncturists work with.

Chakras are energy centers located along the centerline of the body which hold our experiences. They influence our hormones and the organs and glands within the areas of the body they are located.

The aura is the energy field that surrounds us and acts as a filter for energies coming in and going out. The aura plays a vital role in how we process everything we experience.

One of my favorite things about Energy Medicine is we don’t need to know what’s causing symptoms to work with them; the body will tell us through muscle testing! You and your unique body do the communicating. I simply hold space and translate the messages.

Oftentimes when we balance one area or system, others will naturally come into balance. It’s beautiful and the results are tangible as we move through the sessions together.