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The Health Benefits of Grounding and Negative Ions

Health benefits of earthing and negative ions

Why the heck am I talking about grounding and negative ions on a forest bathing site?

Stay with me, here.

I promise, it’s relevant and fascinating!

By the end of this article you’ll understand how negative ions affect your health and wellbeing and how to cultivate them.

You’ll also have the indelible urge to kick your shoes off and walk through your yard.

Hopefully…;)

 

So, before we go any further, let’s break down the science of matter, ions, and grounding. A little middle school chemistry and physics lesson. It will help you understand this so much better.

Let me just tell you, I’m a huge skeptic when it comes to pseudoscience-y type stuff. I’ve been known to scoff at salt lamps and crystals.

Grounding though?

Completely rooted in science.

If it wasn’t, we wouldn’t be here.

 

Science of grounding and negative ions

 

The Science of Charged Particles

Like you learned in school, everything on earth is made up of matter.

All matter consists of atoms, which consist of protons, neutrons, and electrons.

If an atom has more protons than electrons, it has a positive charge.

 

Now, even though we tend to appreciate positivity in an emotional sense, when it comes to atoms and our health, negative is actually better.

 

Negatively charged particles abound on the earth’s surface, and you can get negative electrons by planting your feet on the earth.

Everyday items that emit a positive charge, on the other hand, include cell phones, televisions, pollution, and Wifi.

High concentrations of positive ions are actually detrimental to your health.

You can remove any charged state by grounding.

Grounding your feet is the same process as grounding a gasoline tank to keep it from exploding.

The only way to ensure electrostatic energy (static) doesn’t explode the gas is to connect it to the earth and neutralize the charge.

You can change your own charge by getting a transfer of electrons from the earth too.

The human body, when connected to the ground, creates a closed circuit for energy transfer.

The earth literally supplies you with electrons to neutralize your charge.

 

So, does your charge really have any effect on your health?

According to science, it totally does!

 

 

The Health Benefits of Grounding

Earthing, or grounding with your feet, has significant research-backed scientific benefits. Don’t take it from me, take it from the research on the benefits of grounding. Essentially, negative ions are antioxidants; they neutralize oxidants, or free radicals. They allow your body to achieve equilibrium or homeostasis at a cellular level.

Negative ions:

  • Reduce inflammation, which contributes to chronic disease
  • Improved sleep
  • Reduced cortisol levels
  • Relieve pain
  • Faster healing
  • Calms the sympathetic nervous system

I don’t even like to limit these amazing benefits to bullet points, but for the sake of readability, I will. We could go into depth about each one of those! They’re not just a side note, they’re the headlines!

As the study authors state, the Earth’s surface is “the ‘battery’ for all planetary life.”

Another study of the effects of earthing indicates how “earthing the human body may be an essential element in the health equation along with sunshine, clean air and water, nutritious food, and physical activity.”

Real scientific proof that we need to reconnect with the earth.

 

Best Ways to Neutralize Your Charge

So, just like you exercise and eat healthy, you should get your negative ion infusion every day.

Your morning routine is a great time to practice earthing. My personal morning routine consists of spiritual time, journaling, personal development, and now grounding.

Shoes are an insulatory shield against the negative ions, so kick ’em off.

According to my research, the areas with the best saturation of negative ions is near water, grass, or sand.

To get the most effective dose of negative ions:

Doesn’t that sound rather spa-like?

You can now add grounding to your list of benefits of forest or nature bathing. Next time you’re in the forest or out on your back lawn, kick off your shoes and let nature have access to your body.

I was going to say, “hey, try this, it couldn’t hurt,” but I think that would belittle this entire article and all the science behind it.

No, I think you should definitely try it! And I think it definitely helps!

 

If you’d like to learn more about grounding and negative ions, check out these resources:

More earthing resources

*For a full list of earthing studies (to prove its benefits), check out these resources from the Earthing Institute.

If you’re a visual person, these thermal images show pain reduction after grounding in real time.

And if you’re a total science nerd like me, or still a skeptic, you can even check your own voltage with a voltmeter before and after earthing.

Try this ASMR foot friction exercise to get your daily dose of grounding and negative ions.

 

What do you think?

9 Minute Nature Meditation with Cypress Essential Oil

cypress essential oil guided meditation

*This post contains affiliate links which affords me a small commission at no additional cost to you.

 

Cypress essential oil.

One sniff and you can understand why people use it to clear their airways.

One drop to the skin and you can understand why people use it to relax muscle cramps.

It feels icy.

That minty cooling effect feels good on the skin and in your lungs.

Some quick research points to some of the benefits of cypress essential oil.

 

Cypress essential oil packages up some of the magic of the forest in a bottle.

Dr. Qing Li used Hinoki cypress essential oil when he performed some of his forest bathing medical research. If you haven’t met him yet, Dr. Qing Li is THE leading researcher on shinrin-yoku in the world. If there’s a forest bathing study, Dr. Li was probably involved.

So, as you can imagine, there’s something to cypress, or the forest in general.

 

Benefits of cypress essential oil:

  • Respiratory support
  • Promotes calm energy
  • Antibacterial and antiseptic
  • Immune support

 

Respiratory support

If you’ve ever breathed cypress essential oil in, you’ve experienced the invigorating effect it has on your lungs. You can feel it floating around in your lungs.

It’s great for breaking up coughs and congestion when you have a cold.

It also helps you take big, deep, cleansing breaths. You almost feel like you can take deeper breaths when you inhale it. It feels like it cools and expands your lungs.

 

Energized calm

Cypress oil is also calming and energizing at the same time, so it’s perfect for mental clarity. It’s both invigorating and relaxing. If you’re working on a big project at your job, for example, take a quick breathing break to breathe the oils in and notice how it helps you transition from a distracted frenzy to a calm focus.

 

Antibacterial and antiseptic

With its antibacterial and deodorizing properties, cypress essential oil is perfect for freshening up your feet and armpits when diluted with a carrier oil. It helps heal wounds and prevent infections elsewhere on your skin too.

 

Immune support

Cypress essential oils contain phytoncides. Phytoncides are the oils that the trees disperse into the air in the forest. Dr. Qing Li’s research uncovered that it’s these phytoncides that provide a major boost to the immune system. They also lower your stress response. Winning!

 

I got some cypress essential oil with June’s forest bathing Go Love Yourself Box, which btw I contributed to (the workbook features snippets from our Forest Bathing Immersion Library), so I thought I’d put it to good use with a mindfulness meditation.

If you’re wondering what to do with cypress essential oil, this is a good place to start.

And I’m sharing it here so you can try it too!

 

indoor forest bathing

 

Cypress oil mindfulness meditation

Since cypress has a pine-y, earthy smell and comes directly from the forest, it’s perfect for a forest bathing meditation, no?

It’s even a great way to practice forest bathing when you can’t make it to the actual forest. Since the essential oil contains the same phytoncides you find in the forest, it proves effective too!

Finally, this meditation is the perfect “Threshold Exercise,” or a practice to help you transition from your normal everyday routine into your forest bathing practice. It slows and deepens your breathing, it refocuses your attention on the present moment, and it changes your mood.

You never want to go straight from the office into the forest without leaving your baggage and distractions at the entrance. 

BTW, if you don’t have cypress essential oil, you could use a pine, spruce, peppermint, or another minty oil. I suppose you could even use peppermint tea if you have no oils available;)

 

Without further ado, here’s your Cypress Essential Oil Mindfulness Meditation.

 

Take a moment afterward to gauge how the meditation made you feel. Then, come back here and share in the comments.

All About Forest Bathing Sit Spots

 

Have you heard mention of Sit Spots in the forest bathing community yet?

Perhaps you’re wondering what they are, why they matter, and how to use them.

That’s precisely why I put together this video and related post. To help answer those questions and give you some more personal insight into sit spots.

 

 

 

Like I say in the video, don’t make a production of choosing a sit spot. It’s not complicated, but I do have a few tips to help you make the best of it.

 

What is a sit spot?

“Sit Spot” is just a fun term for an inviting spot you can sit down and rest in nature.

Remember back to when you were a kid and you had a secret hiding spot or a place you ran away to when you were mad at your mom?

Yeah, that would be your kid version of a sit spot.

As an adult, you want a similar place you can run and hide when you need to get away.

Or just a place you can find solace or rest.

 

A Sit Spot is an inviting spot where you can sit down and rest in nature.

 

Forest bathing sit spot

 

What do you do in your sit spot?

Your Sit Spot is the ideal location for your forest bathing practice. The place where you practice your exercises and “just be” in nature.

It can also be a wonderful place to:

  • Bird watch
  • Pray
  • Meditate
  • Read
  • Draw
  • Journal

I use my sit spot for all kinds of tasks. I love going to my sit spot even for menial tasks, because it’s a better place to work than indoors.

 

How do you find a sit spot?

Just walk around and get a feel for the area you want to explore. Keep your eyes out for a place that looks like it would be a good place to sit.

An inviting space.

A comfortable seat.

You probably want to choose a sit spot that doesn’t get much traffic so you can be alone. You don’t want to feel weird and exposed when you’re deep in concentration.

You want to feel uninhibited when you do your forest bathing practice.

That’s why I suggest a spot slightly off the trail. Not far enough to get lost but far enough removed from foot traffic.

 

 

Where should you have a forest bathing sit spot?

I suggest finding a sit spot in your yard, for sure. Or close by your home, if you don’t have a yard.

You should have a place you can return to easily, that doesn’t require a trek.

I also suggest finding a sit spot in each of the woods you regularly visit. A place you can return to. A familiar place. A place you know by heart, with your heart.

 

Benefits of returning to your sit spot

The first reason why I suggest a sit spot in each place you regularly visit is because it can enhance your forest bathing practice.

When you forest bathe, you attune yourself to all the sights, sounds, and smells around you. You tune in with all your senses.

The cool thing about a sit spot, is that you get to investigate all the subtle changes that happen in one single area of the woods.

You notice all those subtle changes in the environment that you wouldn’t notice if you didn’t return to the same exact spot.

The second reason why you should have sit spots in your favorite places is that it makes each place feel more like home.

More familiar.

More inviting.

More comfortable and safe.

The more “at home” you feel there, the more intimately
connected to nature you start to feel.

 

How do you prepare your sit spot?

You don’t need to do, bring, or prepare anything special to use your sit spot.

Some people like to wait until the forest “invites” them in.

Others like to allow their intuition to guide them.

Still others thank their sit spot for its hospitality.

I just go to my sit spot and enjoy it.

You do you.

There are a few practical ways to make your sit spot more comfortable though.

If you don’t want a wet, dirty bottom, you may want to bring something to sit on–here are 8 ideas!

If you have a sit spot in your yard, make sure to keep it mowed, clean out the prickers and brush, and keep your pets away from it;)

If you have a sit spot in a public forest, make sure to leave no trace.

 

That’s it! Like I said, doesn’t need to be more complicated than that.

 

I hope this article inspires you to find and use a sit spot for your forest bathing practice.

If you want a free sit spot forest bathing exercise, check out this enlightening guest post I wrote for the ANFT.

For access to my full Forest Bathing Immersion Library, check it out here.

 

Tell me a story about your favorite sit spot in the comments!

Tree Stump Drum Set DIY

Tree Stump Drum Set on Forest Bathing Central

*This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. That means I could make a teensy commission for any purchase you make to help keep this site running at no additional cost to you.

 

The Tree that Keeps Giving: Tree Stump Drum Set

 

Did you ever read The Giving Tree when you were a kid?

 

It’s like part of the kid lit canon.

I just picked up a copy for my kids on Amazon. [Click here to peek inside.]

The tree that keeps on giving.

We have one of those…

You see, our country house is heated by a wood-burning stove.

So, we collect wood from people who are getting rid of it during the summer to heat our house through  the winter.

 

 

 

The trees continue to give to us in the form of a toasty home.

I don’t know about you, but a warm winter home helps me stay sane through the long, dark winter.

Anyway,

We happened to have this one really huge, wonky hunk of wood in our backyard.

And a bunch of metal bowls.

An idea was born…

The tree stump drum set!

I have wanted to make a backyard drumming area for the longest time after discovering Soule Mama’s banging wall several years ago, and suddenly the pieces all came together with that hunk of wood.

So, my husband got on the tractor and cleared an area for me.

I had him leave one tree trunk for a seat and I got to work.

I arranged the metal containers where I wanted them to go and pounded in a nail for each of them to hang from. I also pounded two nails into the side to hang the metal spoon “drumsticks.”

 

Then, I revealed the finished tree stump drum set to the kids who proceeded to knock out a jam session.

 

kids tree stump drum set

drum set on a tree stump

tree stump drum set

 

Exactly!

That’s exactly what I wanted to create for them.

A creative outdoor space where they can be as noisy as they want,
like a kid ought.

 

How to Make a DIY Tree Stump Drum Set

If you want to make one of your own, inquire with a local tree-cutting service for the wood. We found ours on Craigslist. Or you could use an existing tree stump in your yard.

Most of the metal “drums” and metal spoons came from the Dollar Store. Two came from the kitchen section, one came from the pet section, and one from the garden section. I added a metal colander and garbage can lid we had lying around.

The thrift store is another great place to collect metal items.

 

 

You can see how this project had me thinking again about The Giving Tree.

This here tree just keeps on giving.

 

By the number of tree rings on the trunk and the heft of the piece, it lived a long and fruitful life in front of a local home.

It must have provided heaps of shade and homes for countless animals. Hundreds of thousands of ants must have scaled its ridges over the years.

And it continues to live on and serve a big purpose in our backyard.

A place to create memories.

A place to encourage creative play.

A place to sit and gather.

[For more nature-based DIY projects, check here]

 

Tell me a story…Do you have a tree that keeps on giving?

Zen Tree Coloring Pages: Free Gift Inside!

adult coloring pages tree

 

Tree Coloring Pages

 

Hello kindred friends!

A few weeks ago, I got stranded at a hotel with my husband (tragic, right?) because we were in the middle of the snowstorm of the century and the highways home were actually closed.

We couldn’t have left if we wanted to.

So, I had some extra time to doodle, and I just thought I’d share the final products with you.

Seven of my own personally hand-drawn Zen tree coloring pages.

 

Tree Forest Bathing Coloring Pages

 

The concept of adult coloring has exploded in the last few years. Adult coloring books are everywhere and new modes of “coloring” are popping up right alongside them: diamond painting, color-by-number, dot grid coloring, etc.

There’s good reason to pick up coloring again as an adult too:

Research shows the therapeutic practice helps you hone your sense of mindfulness, relax the brain, and focus.

Plus, the finished pieces make for some great artwork for your walls or journal.

 

I’m hoping this gift gives you a well-deserved mind break.

 

How to Use the Tree Coloring Pages

I also think the tree ring drawing is a great journal page.

Write forest bathing haiku or record your thoughts during a forest bathing excursion around the lines in a circular pattern.

Actually, any of these pages could be incorporated into your journal. As you’re coloring, write down your thoughts in the white spaces.

You could also try your hand at drawing one of your own and writing your thoughts into the illustration as you do so.

A lot of beauty magic happens when you combine art and writing.

Here’s an example of what I mean about using the tree coloring pages for your nature journal:

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Jessica Collins (@forestbathingcentral) on

 

Grab your tree coloring pages by clicking here.

 

I’d love to see what you do with them! Post them on Instagram and tag @ForestBathingCentral so we can see!

From my roots to yours,

~Jessica Marie