5 elements of grounding: meditation in the jungle
Hasn’t it happened to you that when you walk barefoot you notice different sensations, perhaps pleasure?
The ones who love to walk barefoot do it because it is simply more enjoyable. You may not have realized it, but every time we take off our shoes and start walking barefoot on the ground, it actually means you connect with the ground.
Various scientific investigations have revealed a surprisingly positive factor of nature and that is that walking barefoot – whether on grass, sand, dirt, stones, etc. – could greatly benefit your health, as well as relieve chronic pain, improve sleep or the immune system, reducing stress or contributing significantly to physiological function.
The Tulum jungle is ideal for practicing grounding exercises, and the peace and quiet of Ajal will make the grounding experience even more profound and meaningful.
What is the Grounding Technique?
Grounding is a very simple relaxation technique, which helps to refocus on the present by helping with emotional regulation. It is widely used to lower anxiety and avoid crises.
What is it about?
To put it simply: it is to make contact with the earth. The technique relates to that, not only figuratively, but also in the most literal way: putting your feet on the ground.
The Grounding technique, also known as Earthing, is especially indicated for those who are going through times of stress or anxiety. By practicing this mindfulness technique, you can diminish worry, anguish or panic from drawing your mind towards unwanted or extremely negative thoughts or memories.
The key is to stop for a moment and becoming aware of where you are standing and what is around you.
The 5 elements of meditation in the jungle
It is useful to practice in the middle of an anxiety attack, thus trying to regain your calm. The moment you start to feel the anxiety make a stop and focus on your breathing. Do it with slow, deep breaths.
When you become more aware of how air comes in and goes out, you can start thinking about the 5 elements, that are:
- 5 things you can see. Look around you and identify that many objects, preferably in the same space where you are or what you see through the window. At Ajal, you can try and spot elements in nature: A spider? A coati? a rare flower? Even monkeys? Focus on this and
- 4 things you can touch and feel. It can be, for example, the fabric of the clothes you are wearing, the table in front of you, the feel of the wood of the tree house, the drops of rain on leaves…
- 3 that you can hear. Pay attention to the sounds around you. You can recognize the whooshing of the wind through car horn, the hum of the refrigerator or the song of the birds.
- 2 smells around you. You will feel the perfume of the environment, the coffee or mate that you prepared, your own body aroma, etc.
- 1 that you can taste. Ideally, you should find something that you really enjoy, like chocolate or candy. But if you don’t have any of that on hand, you can also focus on the taste in your mouth. Do you still have notes from the coffee you had earlier? Do you still feel the toothpaste?
If you can do this enumeration out loud it is the best. This activity will help you take your mind off the anxiety episode and thus regain your calm.
Why does this technique calm anxiety?
Our body is positively charged and the earth is negatively charged. When bare skin touches the ground, the body discharges the electrostatic energy it accumulates. In addition, it absorbs negatively charged ions from the earth, achieving equilibrium with excess positive ions.
Historically, humans had this electrical exchange with the ground. But life in the cities and the use of plastic or rubber-soled shoes diminished this natural contact. Electronic devices and their electromagnetic fields also increase electrostatic energy.
According to researchers, blood analysis shows that if the body is highly positively charged, cells tend to attract each other. This creates tension. On the contrary, when cells receive negative charges they tend to separate and that pressure decreases. Those who study the positive impact of Grounding reached that conclusion.
Are you ready to ground