by Rachel London
EARTHING
by Diana Aimone
“The earth delights to feel your bare feet
and the winds long to play with your hair”
~Kahlil Gibran
A simple act of placing bare feet on the ground
may provide a foundation for increased health and
well-being, known as Earthing or grounding. As a
mental health counselor, I work with clients suffering
from depression, anxiety, PTSD, chronic fatigue, chron-
ic pain and diagnosis of degenerative disc disease, fi-
bromyalgia, lupus, irritable bowel syndrome, arthritis
and more.
One reason could be that we rarely connect with
the earth with our bare feet in our modern world. We
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BEND HEALTH GUIDE | Spring 2018
\WITH ESSENTIAL
OILS
by Rachel London
Earth Connections
Photo by Nirzar-Pangarkar
spend most days disconnected from our planet. Free
radical stress from exposure to pollution, cigarettes,
pesticides, processed foods and radiation continual-
ly deplete your body of electrons. The Earth is elec-
tron-rich to provide an abundant supply of antioxidant
free-radical busting electrons. Without antioxidants,
free radicals can overwhelm your system leading to
oxidative stress, inflammation, and accelerated aging.
Our body is an electrical being that can use ground-
ing to harness an electrical charge of the Earth to pos-
itively influence health. When bare feet are placed on
Earth, you absorb large amounts of negative electrons
through the soles of your feet. This is possibly due to
the Earth being struck by lightning; thousands of time
each minute, primarily around the Equator.
Earthing is as simple as placing your feet on bare
ground, beach sand, grass, concrete or bricks which are
not painted or sealed, or ceramic tile. Surfaces that do
not ground you are wood, vinyl, plastic or rubber, tar,
tarmac, and asphalt. There are also grounding pads,
grounding chairs, grounding sheets for your bed, wrist
bracelets, and other products on the market, if you can-
not wiggle your toes on the earth’s surface each day.
Research shows significant health benefits from
Earthing, including improved sleep, decreased inflam-
mation and pain, a shift in the autonomic nervous sys-
tem from sympathetic to parasympathetic activation,
reduction in blood viscosity, improvement in wound
healing, improved circulation, and stress reduction.
Make a commitment to touch the Earth more
with your bare feet, enjoy the fresh air while you’re
out there, it’ll do your body good! For more information
check out the resources listed below.
Resources: Mercola.com, Chopra.com, Earthing.
com, the movies Down to Earth and The Grounded.
Photo by Jayde Silbernagel
Feeling grounded is a natural state of being
that connects our mind, body, and spirit with Earth. A
sense of oneness is experienced by centering ourselves
to feel balanced within, regardless of what is happen-
ing around us externally. When you aren’t grounded,
you feel emotionally vulnerable, out of sorts or discon-
nected. We can use aromatherapy to ground ourselves.
Holistic by nature, essential oils bring us balance men-
tally, spiritually, and energetically.
perfumes.
Check out topsyblends.com for special grounding
Spirit Spritzer Aromatherapy Sprays, inhalers, roll-on
perfumes, and more!
The most grounding essential oils are distilled
from trees and root s, they connect us to ourselves and
our source. Sandalwood, Palo Santo, and Cedar are the
most powerful oils derived from trees. They center our
energy, connect us to our authentic self and quiet the
mind. Roots of plants have a deep connection within
the earth, their oils give us security, peace of mind, and
a strong sense of rootedness. The most notable oil dis-
tilled from roots is Vetiver, with roots that grow up to 8
feet deep, Vetiver connects us to Earth’s deeply nour-
ishing energies. It replaces anxiety, fear and instability
with feelings of oneness and strength. Essential oils
work with nature to give us a connection, a oneness to
Earth, ourselves and our relationships.
A simple way to use oils for grounding is to take un-
scented lotion in your palm, a single drop of a ground-
ing oil of your choice, rub together, inhale deeply, and
apply on arms, legs, or feet. Vetiver, Sandalwood and
Palo Santo are amazing, skin nourishing oils. Since
these oils are the essence of wood and roots, they tend
to be viscous in nature and not a good choice for dif-
fusers. These oils are excellent in sprays, lotions, and
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