March 9, 2026 | Posted in: Living Hartfully
I kept hearing about being grounded, or getting grounded. Not like your parents grounded you when you were in troubled and told you couldn’t go out. This is a positive form of grounded – finding your center, physically healing, feeling rooted, mental nourishment. When I dug deeper into it, Grounding can be a mindfulness practice such as meditation or deep breathing or Earthing, which is a Grounding technique that involves direct contact with the Earth and both have many positive effects on both mental and physical health. I had learned along that way that digging in the dirt gardening, walking barefoot in the grass, touching animals who are on the ground and hugging trees all offered positive, soothing effects on our body and brain. You can find documentaries, websites selling grounding pads, and medical journal articles on the topic.
More insight comes from the National Institute of Health website, “Multi-disciplinary research has revealed that electrically conductive contact of the human body with the surface of the Earth (grounding or earthing) produces intriguing effects on physiology and health. Such effects relate to inflammation, immune responses, wound healing, and prevention and treatment of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Connecting the body to the Earth enables free electrons from the Earth’s surface to spread over and into the body, where they can have antioxidant effects.” Find more insight from their peer reviewed research – warning, it’s very science in nature: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4378297/
I add this insight from NIH because initially it sounds a little woo-woo for many people. I tried using the pads in my home connected to the electrical outlets and frankly, I didn’t see/feel anything different and it was quite cumbersome and unsightly and I kept getting tangled in cords, so in the trash bin they went. I decided it’s better for me to be barefoot in the grass, snuggle with goats, and do some gardening. Some of the experts purport that the healing factors are immediate – within nanoseconds, so I don’t have to spend too much time standing or doing yoga in my yard to get benefits. I can mix up my methods.
Beyond the benefits of petting an animal to reduce your heart rate and stress, and calms your brain. If that animal is standing on the ground and you are touching it, you get the powerful effects of grounding as an added bonus. Enter Smith Farm Goat Sanctuary, a nearby farm of 57 goat surrenders and rescues where I volunteer so I can be surrounded by those little cuties and be a part of community events offering special events and experiential education about the farm and the goats. They are a 501C3 non-profit organization as well. I became a goat guardian to Blanche, one of their Golden Girls and that donation to her ensures she is well-fed for the year. You too can become a guardian of the goat and a herd hero with your donations to their cause. These goats are such goofballs, they provide more than a fur fix. They promote laughter, oxytocin, connection, snuggles, grounding, and other mental and physical health benefits – what I call practicing safe stress.
More reasons to adopt a pet, go for walks, garden, get outside and do forest bathing or maybe hang with some goats, cows, horses, sheep or your favorite furry animal. Forest bathing is a Japanese practice of slow, mindful immersion in nature to improve physical and mental health. It involves using all senses—sight, sound, smell, touch—to connect with the forest environment, reducing stress (cortisol), lowering blood pressure, and boosting immunity. No hiking is required; it is a gentle, therapeutic, sensory-focused, and relaxing experience. Bonus points for touching the plants – even more helpful to get grounded surrounding yourself among the negative ions created by pine needles brushing up against one another in the wind.
One 2007 study showed that forest therapy reduces cortisol, a stress hormone. Research conducted in 2010 found that people who walked in the forest twice a day for two hours (so, four hours of walking a day) had greater levels of cancer-killing proteins and immune cells.
In 2011, yet another study found that forest therapy was beneficial. It reported that it had a positive impact on blood pressure and adiponectin, a protein that helps regulate blood sugar levels. Taken together, the science on forest bathing makes a convincing argument that spending time communing with nature (Article from the Cleveland Clinic) can improve stress, anxiety and depression.
Similarly, walking on the beach with waves crashing offers the negative ion electrical charge when water crashes onto water – the same with waterfalls and fountains. Bonus points for walking barefoot in the sand and water to get connected to the Earth and its electrical charges. So get outside, get some sun and fresh air and get closer to nature and animals and it will help your mental and physical health as you get grounded.
Similarly, walking on the beach with waves crashing offers the negative ion electrical charge when water crashes onto water – the same with waterfalls and fountains. Bonus points for walking barefoot in the sand and water to get connected to the Earth and its electrical charges. So get outside, get some sun and fresh air and get closer to nature and animals and it will help your mental and physical health as you get grounded.
