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This blog post is coming directly from our founder, Step Sinatra. If you haven't "met" him already, you can learn more about his story-and why Grounding is such an important part of his life-at www.StepSinatra.com or watch the documentary Heal for Free.
Have you ever wondered why you feel so good while gardening? It's not just a zen-like mindset of working with your hands-it's because you're LITERALLY getting Grounded at an intimate level-why? Skin conductivity!
“I am in such awe of the marvelous innate intelligence of the human body.”
Since people these days aren't Grounded by the shoes they wear, when they occasionally do connect with the Earth, they feel incredible. With gardening, you have to connect to the Earth-you have your hands in it! Even if your shoes are made of rubber or aren't Grounded at all, when you finally get your hands in the dirt, for some people, that's where the magic happens.
My mother is a great example of this-she's always so excited and says she feels amazing when she's gardening. It's as if her light gets much brighter and her body is energized. She says "I just don't know why it feels so good" but to me it's obvious-it's the Grounding!
When your hands are in the dirt, it is truly one of the healthiest things you can do. Fertile soil has high nutrients and a greater moisture content, which allows it to conduct electrons even better.
Yes, this is my mom's actual garden-where she does most of her Grounding!
Skin conductivity isn't just limited to soil, either-you can also get a quick "Grounding Hit" by touching a living outdoor plant! Our skin is designed to connect with nature, and thus we can get Grounded in milliseconds by something as simple as touching the leaf of a nearby tree. When I'm in New York City, I always reach out and find a leaf to grab (a touch of moisture also greatly helps).
So next time you feel the urge to hit the dirt or even just "shake hands" with a tree, give a thought of gratitude to your skin which is one of nature's most efficient conductors!
““I took a walk in the woods, and came out taller than the trees.” ”
Now, as much as I'd love to be outside in nature all day, every day, working on the computer is a reality for myself and many others. Read on to discover some of my favorite hacks to stay Grounded while working & minimize my exposure to "digital toxins" you might not know about!
When I worked on Wall Street, I spent TONS of time saturated in a soup of technology. As an Equity Trader I looked at 9 screens and used 2 cell phones for most of the day! With the added work related stress, my health suffered greatly as a consequence.
Even though my lifestyle is drastically different now and I am doing my best to minimize my computer use, I -like many-still use a computer frequently, hmm...even right now!
My heavy exposure to digital toxicity and resulting sensitivity forced me to hack my way through how I could still remain productive online while protecting my health. Here are a few of my favorite methods.
Disconnecting Bluetooth & Switching to Wired Internet: It's been my personal experience-and belief-that the constant bombardment of Bluetooth and WiFi frequencies are less than harmonious to our physical health. While there may still be some debate around this, why take the chance? If I'm not using a Bluetooth device paired with the computer, I always make sure to disable the setting as that way, the signal isn't constantly "seeking". You can see how to do this by clicking here if you're a Mac user, and here if you're on Windows. And as far as switching to wired internet-it may sound like a throwback, but I feel much better with a cable instead of using WiFi, and if you have electromagnetic sensitivities, I highly recommend you do the same (I honestly never use WiFi unless it's critical.)
Grounding My Indoor Space: Staying Grounded-even synthetically with products-makes a HUGE difference for me personally when I'm working at a computer. My favorite way to do this is to use the Universal Mat and sit with my bare feet atop it while I work. This might seem obvious-especially if you've been a longtime reader-but it's still one of the simplest and most powerful ways I've found to maximize my "Ground Time" while rocking out my computer work. If you'd rather not have bare feet, you can also wear Grounding Socks! You can also use the mat underneath your keyboard, so that your wrists can maintain conductivity while you type-this is what I do, and I also use a wired keyboard (which I definitely recommend over Bluetooth).
Minimizing Blue Light Exposure: Blue light is something which we believe may soon be widely considered a new "digital toxin." From our cellphones to computer screens, it feels like our eyes are ALWAYS focused on a screen of some sort. Studies have shown possible links between blue light exposure and eye strain, premature skin ageing and disrupted sleep cycles...but thankfully, there have been advancements in software tech which allow us to work the way we need to without having to suffer the effects of unchecked blue light.
There are several software solutions available that market themselves as blue light blockers but my personal favorite is Iris.
My team and I have been using this software for over a year and believe this to be the most user friendly and comprehensive solution. After my Wall Street years, I became very sensitive to computer screens and am incredibly mindful of how much artificial light I'm exposed to daily. If I can't take a "screen fast" after the sun goes down, I fire up Iris on all my devices.
You can download a basic freemium version of Iris here but we highly recommend the unlocked version as it offers many different superior viewing experiences!
A lifelong purchase of Iris (which includes infinite upgrades) is usually $49.99, but we've teamed up with Iris to offer our Grounded.com readers an exclusive 10% off discount. Click here to see a demo of Iris in action, and click below to unlock our discount-no code required!
Also-stay tuned next month for my interview with my father, Dr. Stephen Sinatra regarding Earthing/Grounding and more EMF discussion. This will also be in podcast format, COMING SOON!
If you've wanted to see new grounding film The Earthing Movie, now's your chance! Watch the The Earthing Movie here!
Great news for fans of our Earthing Sheets: The Half Sheets are BACK in stock! Earthing Sheets are a great way to sleep Grounded if you want something lighter and more "airy" than a traditional sleep pad. We always tell people-this is considered more of a "novelty" product as the conductive lifespan may last roughly 5-6 washes, but replacement sheets can be ordered as needed.
And here's our Grounded.com song of the month...Hang drums are such a powerful instrument made from authentic Earth materials and produce an incredible "Grounded" sound. Hope you like this one as much as I do!
From my heart to your feet...many blessings!
- Step Sinatra, Founder & Editor of Grounded.com.