CONNECTING WITH MOTHER EARTH AND THE IMPORTANCE OF GROUNDING

Our bodies are intelligently designed to co-exist as a part of nature. So just by taking time to take a deep breath, drink alkaline water, absorb the ultraviolet light from the sun, walking barefoot, you are connecting to the Earth.  
Before almost all ceremonies, native people establish a certain vibration within their bodies and their spirits.   And that it is just connecting with love with Mother Earth and Father Sun.  This simple habit is very powerful. First, it will allow you to find your way within and find the Sacred Space of the Heart. (something that we attained during the Awakening the Illuminated Heart Workshop – see details.) Second, it will allow you to get grounded.

Grounding is the process of removing the excess charge on an object by means of the transfer of electrons between it and another object of substantial size. When a charged object is grounded, the excess charge is balanced by the transfer of electrons between the charged object and a ground.
Our bodies come into contact with the Earth on a regular basis. Positive electrons in the form of free radicals can build up in our bodies and direct contact with the ground balances this out as it is a negative grounding charge. The human body and the cells have electrical energy, and especially with the high prevalence of Electromagnetic waves, Wi-Fi and mobile phone waves, many of us have a high amount of positive electrons built up in our bodies.

The easiest way to be grounded is to walk barefoot on some grass or earth, or to immerse your self in a body of conductive water such as the sea or a mineral-rich lake.
The most immediately noticeable effect people report from being grounded is that they ‘feel better’.  This has been described as a feeling of greater peace within themselves, feeling calmer with reduced stress levels.  If there is pain present then often this is reduced or disappears completely.
One of the primary health benefits of grounding is its antioxidant effect. It helps alleviate inflammation throughout your body.  This fact it’s supported and backed by prominent medical doctors, scientists, but also, it was used by ancient civilizations that placed strong value on their relationship to the Earth.
The surface of the Earth holds subtle health-boosting energy. All we have to do is touch it and become truly alive.  It’s sufficient to maintain your body at the same negatively charged electrical potential as the Earth and so grounding can become one of the most potent antioxidants we know of.
 
WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF GROUNDING?
With regular grounding, numerous health benefits have been observed, such as:

• Improved immune function
• Improved digestion
• Improved sleep
• Rapid healing of injuries
• Improved blood circulation
• Balance of the body's basic biological rhythms
• Accelerated recovery from intense athletic activity
• Reduction of inflammation
• Reduced stress / anxiety / irritability

Grounding also calms your sympathetic nervous system, which supports your heart rate and promotes homeostasis, or balance, in your autonomic nervous system. This is important because anytime you improve your heart rate, you’re improving your entire body and all its functions.

Grounding is the perfect remedy for anyone who is feeling stressed, triggered, regressed, rushed, overworked, confused, overwhelmed, panicked, angry, clumsy or drained.

To ground yourself means not only to help the physical aspect of your being, but also helps your consciousness. Our emotions are nothing but energy in motion and when you do not release that excess of emotions, the body will absorb that excess and store it in the muscles or in the organs. So by removing that energy charge in your body, releases also the emotions stored in the body and the thoughts associated with those emotions. Because everything comes in packages: sensations (body) – emotions – thoughts are linked with each other. Grounding yourself, though different methods will help the emotional, the mental and the physical body.

When we are focus in the present - meaning I am totally in the body, aware of my emotions and thoughts - we connect with the frequency of the earth itself. We allow the energy to move through our body. Grounding can become the ability to control psychic energies that flow through you, an ability that allows you to remain present here and now, without wondering away with your thoughts, or your inner energies. 
Conscious energy work means you are conscious of the energies you manipulate. You release energies from your body, energies that aren’t needed anymore. You can do this just by intending to do so. Energy follow thoughts, so just think about releasing energies.
 
HOW DO I GET GROUNDED?
1. Walk barefoot on the earth. Go out there! Be in the Nature! Feel the Sun on your skin! The Earth maintains a negative electrical potential on its surface. When you are in direct contact with the ground (walking, sitting, or laying down on the earth's surface) the earth's electrons are conducted to your body, bringing it to the same electrical potential as the earth.
 Throughout history, humans have walked barefoot on the ground, which naturally discharges and prevents the buildup of electrical stress within the body. Also, your immune system functions optimally when your body has an adequate supply of electrons, which are easily and naturally obtained by barefoot contact with the Earth.
2. Living in the now. A quick method of bringing your focus in the present is to start scanning your body from head to toe.
Start a body scan by focusing on the sensations in your body. Start with your feet.  Notice the soles of your feet, your toes, in-between your toes, the top of your feet, ankles, and heels. Does it feel hot or cold? Do they hurt? Are they numb or swollen? Can you feel the blood circulating through them? Are they feeling tired? Don't judge how they feel, simply notice how they feel. Wiggle your toes. How does that feel? For me it always brings a smile to my face.  Once you have a made a strong connection with your feet move your attention upwards past your ankle, switching all your focus from your feet to your lower legs, then move onto your knee caps, the backside of your knees, your thighs, and so on all the way up through your body without rushing. Then, begin listing things that you see in the room. Be where you are physically. Pick up objects in the room and notice the way they feel in your hands. Now be aware of your emotions while you are doing this. Once you notice the emotion, be aware of your thoughts. What are you thinking right this moment, while you have this sensation in the body and this emotion?
3. Eat root vegetables. Anything that grows underneath the surface of the earth will connect you with the frequency of the earth and thus, will have a grounding effect. Some examples of grounding foods are: potatoes, turnips, carrots, beets, sweet potatoes and radishes.
4. Use grounding stones. When we share space with a mineral, our frequency must entrain with the frequency of that particular mineral. If a crystal, gemstone or other mineral holds a frequency that is grounding, keeping it near you (in your pocket or hand or worn as a necklace etc.) will help you to ground your energy. (for example: hematite, smoky quartz, obsidian, red coral, onyx, black tourmaline, ruby, garnet, pyrite, tiger iron and black opal)
5. Use your senses. Use grounding scents. Whatever you feel is right for you. Just ask your body and trust your gut!  No one knows better than yourself! Color to ground yourself. Colors offer powerful vibrations. Use sound to stimulate your root chakra. Certain crystal bowls, metal bowls and alchemy bowls have been designed so that the sound that they emit stimulates and balances your root chakra, which grounds you. But toning with your own voice is perhaps the most beneficial. When you hum deep, low notes you will notice that they vibrate in the pelvis. Start by humming a high tone and pay attention to the sensation you feel in your body (it may be like a buzzing). Try to use the tone to direct that sensation down in your body. Direct it between your legs or to the base of the spine.
6. Do grounding visualizations and imagery. One of the easiest and powerful imagery is to visualize yourself as a tree. See yourself becoming a tree. See, feel and know your arms are now the biggest branches in the world. They can touch the sky and connect directly with the Source. Now visualize your energy flowing down into the center of the earth. Then visualize your feet become these huge roots growing deep into the ground and then visualize pulling the energy of the earth up through those roots and especially up through your root chakra, which is located just in front of the base of the tailbone. Now focus on pulling that energy up through your entire body, going through every cell of your body, every organ and muscle. In the same time see, feel and sense the unwanted energy or whatever you want to release moving down to the ground. It’s like a circuit. Something goes away, you have to fill that void.
7. Hugging a tree. Trees are grounded, as well. All you have to do is to hug a tree, and intend to release the unwanted energies. The tree will do the rest. Often, this method is mixed with charging yourself with positive energies, as trees do work as big energy antennas.
8. Enjoy your hobby – Doing what you love can help you ease your mind, being present and focus. Some people play computer games; others play golf; other cooks, or just taking a walk or hiking.  
9. Practice meditation. Do it before getting your day going, and try it again before retiring for the evening. A regular grounded meditation practice can actually help you to sleep better at night, which is crucial to your healing. Your body needs this time to rejuvenate, as does your spirit.
10. Move your body. Breath, stretch, walk, jog, jump rope, walk a dog, skip, roller blade, bike, hike, garden, do yoga, go to the gym, run, swim, dance… but get up and do something. Your body needs to move and stretch. Exercise helps you ground.
11. Using Earthing mats. You can Google “”Earthing” company that developed tools , such as mats, sheets for the bed, that reconnect you to the Earth.  
12. Using HeartMath tools. This is something that we get to learn during the Awakening the Illuminated Heart Workshop or through my private sessions. Changes in the earth’s magnetic field have been shown to affect human heart rhythms and have been associated with the following: changes in brain and nervous-system activity; athletic performance, memory and other tasks; synthesis of nutrients in plants and algae; the number of reported traffic violations and accidents; mortality from heart attacks and strokes; and incidence of depression and suicide.
According to Global Coherence Research from HeartMath, “Earth has a strong internal magnetic field that appears to be generated by electrical currents in the liquid outer iron core that are driven by internal heat sources. The magnetic field resembles that of a bar magnet or “dipole field” with an axis tilted about 11.5 degrees from the spin axis, so, the magnetic poles are not the same as the geographic poles. Earth’s magnetic field strength was first measured by Carl Friedrich Gauss in 1835 and has been measured repeatedly since then. The field has shown a relative decay of about 10% over the last 150 years. The locations of the magnetic poles are not static; they wander as much as 55 kilometers every year. The geomagnetic field is influenced by the sun and moon’s rotations, solar flares and probably interplanetary influences. Animals, including birds, can detect Earth’s magnetic field and use it to navigate during migration. It has been shown, for example, that cows and deer, when grazing, tend to align their bodies north-south in response to the earth’s magnetic field.”