In
the morning, I often take a barefoot walk along the grassy knoll behind my
house as I joyfully pick the fruit of the season off the trees, such as
avocados, mangos, loquats, mamey fruit, and indulge.
Why barefoot? Walking barefoot puts us in touch with the earth's frequencies.
Throughout
history humans always walked barefoot until modern lifestyle necessitated
wearing shoes. This has disconnected us from the Earth’s energy that vibrates
at a specific frequency, known as the Schumann Resonance.
All of life is
composed of frequencies and vibrations and our bodies were designed to coincide
with earth’s rhythms.
When our bare skin touches the
surface of the earth, or if we are immersed in a natural body of water we tune
to this vibration and experience profound healing.
Some of us sensitive folks feel the vibration as a pleasant warm,
tingling, sensation when trodding barefoot along the water’s edge at the beach
or on a stretch of dew-moistened grass.
Walking with a Natural Stride
There are about
5,000 nerve endings in the bottom of each foot. As our feet touch the ground, the feedback creates a light,
natural stride in the body contrary to the impact and joint torque in a shoe.
This stride reawakens muscles that have atrophied in our shoes, and reawakens
our balance system as nerve endings on the bottom of our feet tell us that
we’re leaning or tilting forward, or that we’re bending forward at the waist.
Such feedback stimulates new neural connections and remaps the mind for greater
balance.
With practice, walking barefoot will translate into running, walking,
and even standing with better posture, more mobility, a stronger body, and less
joint pain.
Barefoot is Healthier
And there’s more good news. Studies show that stimulating the nerve
endings on the bottom of the feet can decrease blood pressure and reduce
sympathetic activity, reducing stress and inflammation.
Get in Touch with the Earth
Walk
barefoot outdoors whenever possible and especially after it rains when you get
even more of the earth’s healing energy. Sit, stand, or walk on grass, sand,
dirt, or concrete as these surfaces transmit the earth’s energy while wood,
asphalt, rubber, plastic, glass, synthetic materials and block it.
When
you must wear shoes, wear natural fabric shoes like leather or canvas as the
popular rubber- or plastic-soled shoes disconnect you even further from the
earth’s vibrations.
Earthing
Sleep,
work at the computer, or relax watching TV in contact with conductive sheets or
mats that transfer earth’s energy to your body (see www.earthing.com) and
notice the difference when you don’t. For me it’s immediately evident.
I have my bare foot on an earthing mat as I type this. If I lift it up, I feel immediate pressure and stress. Put it back down and my body relaxes! Without it, I'm not sure I could work for the hours that I must as a writer. It's too draining.
At night, I sleep with an earthing mattress. If I don’t, I won't sleep as soundly and will wake up feel tense. When I need to travel, I take it with me.
Sharon Heller, PhD, is a psychologist and consultant in
sensory processing disorder. She’s the
author of Loud, Too Bright, Too Fast, Too
Tight, What to do if you are sensory defensive in an overstimulating world http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060932929?keywords=sharon%20heller&qid=1452174028&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1 and Uptight & Off Center, How sensory
processing disorder throws adults off balance & how to create stability. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0692544801?keywords=uptight%20and%20off%20center&qid=1452087814&ref_=sr_1_1_twi_pap_1&sr=8-1 Her
website is www.sharonheller.net and
email info@sharonheller.net.
