I Am Earth - Grounded and Healing

by Ali Hormann

When someone tells you to go touch grass, no matter their tone, thank them for such good advice and then go do it. Over the last year I have become increasingly aware and mindful of something I have known in my body for ages: having your feet on the ground, in the grass or sand or dirt is healing.  

This year I had the pleasure of attending Camp Oula and while I was there I got to teach a small lesson in the practice of intentional grounding. Grounding is the idea that when you spend just a few moments per day with your body connected to the earth it is not only mentally helpful to slow down, it is physically healing. The exchange of energy between your own body and the earth we come from is one of symbiotic releasing and healing.  

The process of grounding isn’t some difficult or precise practice, it is simply the intentional placing of your hands or feet on bare ground, sand, or if it’s winter, even touching the plants in your house, and noticing the connection you have to the planet.

The truth is that I don’t have a scientific article to prove to you that putting your feet in the earth lowers your blood pressure. I would, however, invite you to try and see if your shoulders drop a little when you concentrate on letting your stress flow out of your body, trusting that the earth can take it and can return that energy back to you as joy and peace.  

The earth is not only a precious resource, it is truly alive. Look around us, the earth is constantly doing its best to heal itself despite the hardships placed on it. The flowers still bloom on days when wildfire smoke fills the skies. Plants will make their way through sidewalk cracks because the earth knows it needs oxygen more than concrete. The earth knows what it needs intrinsically and has systems in place to make sure that it can keep not simply living but healing and thriving. The greatest thing about that thriving is that I am convinced the earth loves when we notice her strengths because she notices the same in us.  

So go touch grass and remember that the energy below you is the same as the energy within you - I Am Earth - Grounded and Healing.