@pangaia

I created Shugie to highlight postpartum wellness and care AND to provide easy, attainable ways to care for yourself during your journey into motherhood. Caring for yourself requires an investment – in time or money – but it doesn’t always have to cost you money. So, a favorite and free way I like to care for myself? Putting my feet (and my babe’s feet) onto the ground as often as possible.

Grounding (also called earthing) is when your bare feet touch the ground – the dirt, the grass, the sand, etc. – it is a physical connection with the earth. The earth is covered in electrons and electrons are what help our immune systems work the hardest.  In modern times, most of us are almost constantly wearing shoes and other materials on our feet that disrupt our connection to the earth. Research is showing that this disconnect might be “a major contributor to physiological dysfunction and unwellness.” [1]

In the early days of my postpartum, when my baby was crying, inconsolable and I didn’t know what else to do, I would put her in my ergo baby carrier and step outside. Intuitively I always have turned to nature to feel calm and connected and to get outside of myself. To get out of the house I would walk 5 minutes over to the park and I would kick off my shoes and plant my feet to the earth. I could feel the benefits instantly. I felt tingly and connected to the earth, energized and refreshed. It’s hard to describe but it just feels so good. Being a spiritual person, when I meditate I often imagine sending down anything that does not serve me into the earth for it to be recycled into something new. It calms my baby down every single time, too.

A few years ago I went to a workshop all about grounding and the benefits of interacting with nature. It’s stuck with me ever since and it popped back to the top of my mind when I visited the beach this past weekend. There is nothing more refreshing that your feet in the sand- and if you’ve ever used an ionic foot bath, you know the benefits are the same and they are many.

BENEFITS OF EARTHING

• Better sleep
• Reduced pain
• Improves mood
• Improves blood flows
• Calms nervous system
• Increases heart rate variability
• Detoxifications of waste and toxins

Ok loves, GET TO GROUNDING! The study I read recommends 30 minutes per day for the best benefits.

Have you tried this before?

Xx

Kaitlin

Source: [1] Earthing: Health Implications of Reconnecting the Human Body to the Earth’s Surface Electrons