Walking Barefoot

Walking barefoot and reconnecting to Mother Earth by Susan Laing

My initial training background believe it or not is foot medicine ~ Podiatry! I chose to write about ‘walking barefoot and reconnecting to Mother Earth’ because it is a subject close to my heart ~ and feet of course!!! No but really it is such a powerful thing for humans to experience which is to reconnect to the Cosmos. That saying ‘if you walk barefoot on the grass you will feel loads better’ is not a myth but the truth. We have generally lost our way connecting with nature and Mother Earth ~ our most natural state.....from walking barefoot to putting our hands in the earth, eating with our fingers and to breathing in unpolluted air.

It has been known by the Chinese for 1000s of years that when we connect our body to the earth and the sky i.e. the Cosmos it helps to ground us and nourish our energy/Qi. In Chinese Medicine the meridians are described as energy/Qi channels, not seen by the average naked eye but may be experienced during acupuncture or by practicing Qigong or Thai Chi. Chi or Qi is a form of Mother Earth’s energy or Cosmic energy. In the world of Yogis the Cosmic energy is referred to as Prana. This energy from the Cosmos can be taken/absorbed via many body antennas like our tongue, nostrils, hands and feet and so on. The Russians understood about the necessity of Prana to our wellbeing. Because when the healthy elite astronauts came back from their space venture to the moon in their metal capsule~ they came back so depleted of the Universe’s Prana/energy that they became so ill. In Chinese Medicine the Bubbling Well point or kidney 1 (K1 starts on the ball of the foot) is seen as the major entryway or portal for the absorption of Earth’s surface Qi. And the Chinese believe in practicing Qigong outdoors and if possible barefoot amongst nature in the warmer weather. The kidney energy is also referred to as our Jing (and therefore related to our adrenal energy, as they sit right above the kidneys). In Chinese Medicine the kidneys are seen to be like the roots of a tree where if the roots are strong and nourished then the rest of the tree and branches (our body) will flourish. This Bubbling Well point is seen to connect to most of the organs in the body via another meridian called the Urinary bladder (UB). And this Urinary bladder meridian is connected to most of the major organs of the body such as the Spleen.

The Spleen in Chinese Medicine is seen to be how we use our Qi (like a transformer) from our ‘batteries’ ~ the kidneys. The Spleen is involved in transforming our food into blood and energy/Qi. But it is also said to house the power of Thought . And hence of such sayings such as ‘food for thought’ ; ‘unable to digest certain information’ ‘ ‘verbal diarrhoea’ and so on.....

The Earth is the centre of our Cosmos and the ‘Earth’s Organ’, the Spleen is seen as holding a central place in the human body.

In the history of Chinese Medicine it is taught that the treatment of most illnesses we must first address the Jing energy and/or the Spleen energy ~ the Earth element. When Spleen energy is strong, physical vitality is also strong. It is also said if we have a healthy spleen we will have a healthy concern for own needs first and then concern for others. And it is also about support (the sense of community, tribe, family). And now we know more than ever before in this day in age this sense of support has broken down and we are more in need for support and nourishment. A healthy spleen ensures that a person is well nourished in every aspect.

The Spleen loves and needs to experience the sense of touch, to connect , even stroking an animal such as a dog. Touch is as fundamental as is the need for food. So in essence it is about supporting the health of our mind , body and spirit . The Spleen energy needs to enter a deeply sens~ual relationship between the body itself and another live being AND the Mother Earth. Often it is not the food we need but our need to feel, and connect, especially to Mother Earth.

In essence it is about being grounded.

Having this abundant knowledge of the Cosmos secrets has lead the Chinese (and Yogis) to become great leaders in helping to heal the body with the Earth’s Qi. And so now we can see the connection between our being and the earth from an Esoteric point.

So when we experience walking barefoot in a forest, on the sandy beach or anywhere on an open natural earth’s surface many of our senses come alive and our ‘ electrical bee~ing’ is energised and healing takes place within our entire being .

We come to learn to trust the Earth’s support and we may notice an internal softening and our energy becomes more grounded.

In our touch deprived, over sedentary, over analysing and ungrounded lifestyle the Spleen needs has become the most commonly ‘energy deficient’ organ in the body .

The spleen energy is also said to be related to the feeling of ‘homesickness’, to want to belong to a home. This feeling of being at home is found within ourselves and ultimately connecting to Mother Earth both on an emotional level and a physical level and spiritually. It is such a profound feeling and of course the most natural for us to experience. Many tribes, for example in the Amazon, Aborigines and North American Native Indians were barefoot (or wore animal skin type footwear) and are known to have an amazing connection to the Earth and ultimately knew how to live in harmony with nature. Is this a coincidence? Walking barefoot and connecting to the earth’s electrical surface? I don’t think so. It is like experiencing a different ‘dimension’...to know the feel of the earth’s surface below your feet. Imagine the awareness of the different temperatures, texture, and other senses beneath your feet. Your feet become like the ‘roots of a tree’. ...becoming earthed, strong and connecting to the whole vibration & understanding of the way of the earth.

When you walk barefoot you become so aware of the moment and more .....

“like of the many muscles in the feet, calves, thighs, pelvis , shoulders and neck ... and all these steps you take soften the step! And instead of taking the shortest, fastest route, you seek the gentlest. And you cover the ground silently....noticing all that is beneath you, from beetles, caterpillars, sheep droppings, rocks, the wetness or dryness textures of the grass ..”

Most of the time we are lost in the rat race keeping up with the trends of the society’s media and vogue fashions with our thoughts here and there, rushing around depleting our ‘battery’ ~jing and our spleen energy....we hardly take time to be still in the moment and feel what is and right beneath our bare feet.

From a scientific point when we rush around in a polluted city, and the air is full of positive ions, and we are wearing synthetic clothes and footwear and we are creating those worrying, anxious thought (spleen) patterns we create that well known positive electrical charge within every part of our bodies~ known as static electricity. If you have ever been stressed and you touch the door of your car or brush your hand/body against synthetic garments then you may have experienced that electrical woosh of static electricity that can almost feel like an electrical shock to the body or your hair all of a sudden stands up on its ends! This static positive ionic charge is created from being ungrounded ~ disconnected from the earth ~ which leads to the fact that there are not enough free electrons available i.e. we become electron deficient (or we lack enough anti-oxidants) and we end up having an excess of free radicals building up in our body. Free radicals are normally healthy and have a job to do but not if they are in excess, they then turn from being good guys to bad guys so when there is an excess of them in the body it leads to the tissues in our body becoming oxidised and causes all sorts of inflammatory and painful type related conditions to arise. Unfortunately most cities’ air is full of too many toxic positive ions caused by the ever mounting ‘heap’ of pollution and unfortunately there are n’t enough negative ions to cancel out or neutralise the positive ions. So if you experience that stressful acidic feeling in a city it is not your imagination. These excess positive ions create stress and acidity in an ungrounded body. We are being ‘electric~fried’.

And it is for these reasons we need to walk barefoot because the earth mantle is known to have an abundance of those much needed healing negative electrons! Going barefoot is the healthiest new trend! Just watch....

The body is dependent on a healthy electrical charge. From our nerve impulses transmitting electrical charges controlling every muscle movement in our body to our red blood cells ‘bouncing of each other’. Most of all our DNA is an aperiodic crystal that traps and transports electrons with efficiency and that emits protons(electromagnetic waves). DNA is also known to emit photons with such regularity that researchers compare the phenomenon to an “ultra-weak laser”. Every living thing emits an electrical charge. Even live food! You can see this via Kirlian photography.

Modern research has now proven that electron transfer takes place from the Earths mantle via our feet/Bubbling Well point. A great book which is worth reading on the subject of being grounded is called Earthing by Clinton Ober, Stephen Sinatra and Martin Zucker. This book goes into the facts and proven research of how earth/body medicine works to help heal our body by reducing any inflammation /pain in our bodies and therefore helping to heal many ailments. I have already mentioned the K1 energy point and UB meridian and how this is connected to the Jing energy and therefore the adrenals and hence Cortisol levels (the stress hormone), but in this book it is discussed from a Western scientific view point. The book talks about how grounding reduces our Cortisol levels and therefore our stress levels. As already mentioned a life full of stress mainly worry, will contribute to many health problems like sleep disorders, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, reduced immune response, autoimmune disease, mood disturbances and blood sugar irregularity and stress causes inflammation in the body. When the body goes into overdrive or becomes stressed there are quite a few hormones and other types of chemicals activated within the body and this leads to an excess pool of them in the blood and cells. If you read Dr Batmanjali’s book The Body many cries for water you will learn about what happens to the body when it becomes dehydrated ~ it becomes stressed and vice versa ~ when we are stressed we become dehydrated and the body produces a multitude of excess hormones and neurotransmitters. At this point we cannot forget the fact that our blood is 90% water and is also a conductor of energy ~ it is alive! And every thought/vibration we have has an affect on our body chemistry . Another famous and beautiful book that covers this whole subject is Dr Emoto’s Messages from water. More importantly it is our very core, our DNA is known to alter through vibrations and electrons. In metaphysical science it is referred to as Epigenetics ; in Shamanism it is referred to as Shape~shifting and in Chinese Qigong it is referred to changing our prenatal Qi and/or present birth Qi.

In the book Earthing you can see live blood cell analysis photos of the before and after subjects of people who have been grounded using various types of Earthing technology. Blood cells which have a tendency to become stuck together in a Rouleaux formation are seen in a unbalanced and inflammed body and after having experienced around 30 minutes of a grounding mat the live blood analysis shows the cells separating into their normal free healthy isolated state. Their cell membranes have become electrically charged once again and now ‘bounce off each other in a healthy manner. Another 2 major chemical messengers that are affected by stress are:- Serotonin & Melatonin. Serotonin is the happy calm neurotransmitter but it is also now known to be related to the functioning of our ever changing DNA. Serotonin is not only produced in the brain but also the gut. Melatonin is related to our sleeping pattern and is essential to a healthy functioning immune system.

In essence the biological clock of the body needs to be continually balanced by the gentle pulse of the Earth that governs the circadian rhythms of all forms of life. The planet is wired with life deep into its crust and after all we are just channels made for connecting and our body is just like an extension of Mother Earth’s sea full of live water waiting to harmonise our ever changing DNA.

Check out :- www.barefootrunning.org & www.barefooters.org