Grounding
The Healing Power Beneath Your Feet
Shani Lowe, MD
5/1/20255 min read
When was the last time your bare feet touched the Earth? No socks, no shoes, just skin to soil?
In today’s fast-paced, concrete-covered world, we’re more disconnected than ever from nature and it’s taking a toll on our physical, emotional, and mental well-being. But there’s a simple, powerful practice that can help us reconnect, rebalance, and restore: grounding.
Also known as earthing, grounding is the practice of physically connecting your body to the Earth’s natural energy through bare skin contact with nature like soil, grass, sand, and water. And science is showing that this ancient, intuitive act holds profound healing benefits.
The Science Behind Grounding
Grounding allows the body to absorb free electrons from the Earth’s surface. These electrons have natural antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects in the body. Research has found that grounding can:
Reduce inflammation
Lower cortisol and stress levels
Improve heart rate variability and blood pressure
Enhance immune function
Speed up wound healing
Improve sleep and circadian rhythms
Neutralize free radicals that cause cellular damage
Studies have found that grounding positively affects electrical activity in the brain, improves glucose regulation, and reduces pain—all of which are connected to chronic disease prevention and better quality of life.
Mental & Emotional Benefits
Grounding isn’t just about physical healing. It’s a powerful tool for mental clarity, emotional regulation, and nervous system support. Regular grounding has been shown to:
Ease anxiety and depression by calming the amygdala (the fear center of the brain)
Lower cortisol, reducing feelings of stress
Improve focus, attention, and clarity by regulating brain waves
Shift us from “fight or flight” into rest and restore mode
It’s like a reset button that offers calm in a chaotic world and reconnecting you with a deeper sense of peace and presence.
How to Ground Yourself
Grounding is free, accessible, and can be done almost anywhere nature exists.
Ways to Ground:
Stand or walk barefoot on grass, dirt, sand, or soil
Lie down in a natural environment (back on the Earth)
Submerge in natural water—ocean, lake, stream
Garden with bare hands in soil
Lean against a tree or sit with your palms touching the Earth
How Long?
Even 10–20 minutes a day can yield noticeable benefits. Some studies suggest that consistent grounding for at least 30 minutes daily over several weeks improves physical and mental health markers.
Grounding and Your Metabolism
By reducing inflammation and regulating stress hormones like cortisol and insulin, grounding may also enhance metabolic function, which plays a key role in weight regulation and energy balance. When your body isn’t in a chronic state of stress or inflammation, it's more likely to burn fat efficiently, sleep better, and recover from exercise which all support long-term wellness goals.
Nature Heals, If You Let It
When we ground, we’re not just touching the Earth. We’re allowing ourselves to feel held by something greater. We slow down. We become present. We remember that healing doesn’t always come in a pill or program. Sometimes, it comes from the ground beneath your feet.
An Invitation to Come Back to Yourself
If you’re feeling scattered, overwhelmed, inflamed, or disconnected then try grounding.
Let your feet sink into the grass. Let your skin feel the Earth. Let nature remind you that you're not separate from the world—you are part of it.
Start small. Make it part of your morning routine, your lunch break, or your wind-down ritual. Whether it’s five minutes or fifty, commit to connecting with the Earth daily and watch what unfolds.
You don’t need to do more to feel better. You just need to get grounded.
Be Well,
When was the last time your bare feet touched the Earth? No socks, no shoes, just skin to soil?
In today’s fast-paced, concrete-covered world, we’re more disconnected than ever from nature and it’s taking a toll on our physical, emotional, and mental well-being. But there’s a simple, powerful practice that can help us reconnect, rebalance, and restore: grounding.
Also known as earthing, grounding is the practice of physically connecting your body to the Earth’s natural energy through bare skin contact with nature like soil, grass, sand, and water. And science is showing that this ancient, intuitive act holds profound healing benefits.
The Science Behind Grounding
Grounding allows the body to absorb free electrons from the Earth’s surface. These electrons have natural antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects in the body. Research has found that grounding can:
Reduce inflammation
Lower cortisol and stress levels
Improve heart rate variability and blood pressure
Enhance immune function
Speed up wound healing
Improve sleep and circadian rhythms
Neutralize free radicals that cause cellular damage
Studies have found that grounding positively affects electrical activity in the brain, improves glucose regulation, and reduces pain—all of which are connected to chronic disease prevention and better quality of life.
Mental & Emotional Benefits
Grounding isn’t just about physical healing. It’s a powerful tool for mental clarity, emotional regulation, and nervous system support. Regular grounding has been shown to:
Ease anxiety and depression by calming the amygdala (the fear center of the brain)
Lower cortisol, reducing feelings of stress
Improve focus, attention, and clarity by regulating brain waves
Shift us from “fight or flight” into rest and restore mode
It’s like a reset button that offers calm in a chaotic world and reconnecting you with a deeper sense of peace and presence.
How to Ground Yourself
Grounding is free, accessible, and can be done almost anywhere nature exists.
Ways to Ground:
Stand or walk barefoot on grass, dirt, sand, or soil
Lie down in a natural environment (back on the Earth)
Submerge in natural water—ocean, lake, stream
Garden with bare hands in soil
Lean against a tree or sit with your palms touching the Earth
How Long?
Even 10–20 minutes a day can yield noticeable benefits. Some studies suggest that consistent grounding for at least 30 minutes daily over several weeks improves physical and mental health markers.
Grounding and Your Metabolism
By reducing inflammation and regulating stress hormones like cortisol and insulin, grounding may also enhance metabolic function, which plays a key role in weight regulation and energy balance. When your body isn’t in a chronic state of stress or inflammation, it's more likely to burn fat efficiently, sleep better, and recover from exercise which all support long-term wellness goals.
Nature Heals, If You Let It
When we ground, we’re not just touching the Earth. We’re allowing ourselves to feel held by something greater. We slow down. We become present. We remember that healing doesn’t always come in a pill or program. Sometimes, it comes from the ground beneath your feet.
An Invitation to Come Back to Yourself
If you’re feeling scattered, overwhelmed, inflamed, or disconnected then try grounding.
Let your feet sink into the grass. Let your skin feel the Earth. Let nature remind you that you're not separate from the world—you are part of it.
Start small. Make it part of your morning routine, your lunch break, or your wind-down ritual. Whether it’s five minutes or fifty, commit to connecting with the Earth daily and watch what unfolds.
You don’t need to do more to feel better. You just need to get grounded.
Be Well,
