posted
From the brain injury site cited the other day:
Running again! October 30, 2010 | Author Deacon Patrick
Crystal Falls early in my standard run. The left side of the waterfall is frozen.
Returning to the trails is like meeting an friend you used to see almost daily but circumstances kept you apart for a month. Not just the running. The experience of primal running is much, much more. It is prayer. It is breathing God�s creation. It is flowing through God�s creation. It is a return to the way things are supposed to be.
These last three days I�ve run 8 miles total. That was made possible by about a week of rather pathetic outings, hobbled combinations of running in place and trotting/stumbling a few dozen yards and back.
Pathetic as it was, I returned each time feeling better than I left. That how running primal works. I�ve said it before, but there is something about running that helps us heal.
This recovery I am doing a number of additional things that I was not on my previous 6 month recoveries (which matched how I felt at the beginning of this one and the only other times I was super slammed like this, so it�s the only bench mark I have.).
First: I understand now how having adrenaline kick in sets me back and I know how to avoid it. I�ve again regained the ability to shut down rather than enter fight or flight, which helps.
Second: The Genotype diet, Buteyko breathing, barefoot running, and floor living. God�s engineering makes everything more efficient, and so healing occurs more rapidly.
Third: I am eating a few finger-fulls of Cacao nibs each day. This raw, unprocessed bean is used to make chocolate. It soothes my continuing skull tectonic plates as they find their proper places. I�ve no idea what else it does, but it is considered a superfood for the brain and it�s part of my Genotype diet.
Forth: the inversion table and hyperbaric chambers.
Fifth: I�m intentionally staying out of interacting with my family as much as I usually would to prevent myself from short circuiting as often, which research shows only prolongs and deepens recovery time. Better two month of greater seclusion than 6 months of being slammed.
My hope is that since I am near the one month mark, I will take an additional 2-4 weeks recovery time to get back to where I was, then see where I get to go from there. Now that I am able to run, perhaps that will speed up the timeline?
Posted in Deacon Patrick's Log, Running | Tags: Barefoot Running, Body Efficiency, Primal Running | No Comments � Running but not writing August 19, 2010 | Author Deacon Patrick
Running barefoot but neglecting the blog.
Posted in Deacon Patrick's Log | Tags: Barefoot Running | No Comments � Take Off Your Shoes and Exercise! May 6, 2010 | Author Deacon Patrick
Go Barefoot or Minimalist
There is a two-fold issue here. First, is shoes. They change the way our body moves, affecting everything from our toes to our nose. Why? Two reasons: they raise the heel, which changes our natural gait and makes motion far less efficient; and they �protect� and �support� our feet, making them, our ankles, legs, back, etc weak, hypersensitive, and prone to needing more and more support.
Does this mean you shed your shoes and run off happily into the sunset? No. Please don�t. The transition to going barefoot or �minimalist� (shoes that offer no support and minimal protection), can take up to a year. You have muscles, tendons, cartilage, posture, and new ways of moving to grow and learn. The hardest part of the transition, taken slowly, takes up to 3 months. To learn more about HOW to make this transition see:
How will making the transition to barefoot/minimalist shoes benefit your brain? The more efficiently our whole body functions, the less energy our brain spends on making it do the every moment tasks. The difference may startle you, because part of how we can help our brain have more energy is to decrease the energy our brain have to spend.
Exercise!
Studies are starting to show that running actually grows new brain cells in mice. Emerging studies also indicate that exercise helps promote overall healing and health. I�ll take both of those!
My own experience tells me that there is truth to both those statements. I the more I am able to exercise, the better I feel. I have reached the point that when my brain is fatigued (but not too fatigued), going for a run rejuvenates my brain and I come back feeling better than I left.
Whatever you form of exercise, be sure to do it with doctor approval and with help as needed so you are as safe as possible. Posted in Uncategorized | Tags:
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posted
The book says one should expect detox symtoms. How has www.earthing.com disapointed you?
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linky123
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posted
Rachellemarie,
Thank you for the suggestion. Take care.
-------------------- 'Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.' Matthew 11:28 Posts: 2607 | From Hooterville | Registered: Apr 2009
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posted
I just ordered some Soft Star shoes. I got the soft leather with suede bottoms(designed my own...all black leather...how creative...not!!! ...because they might be for my son with autism). He seems to move more fluidly and can walk/run faster when he is not wearing shoes or boots. If he can not or does not want to wear them, I will take them since we wear the same size right now.
The weather is cold here right now and it might snow. I think I can send him in boots to school if need be and have him change into his Soft Star shoes at school. Best yet...he won't have to tie them (still unable to tie at 11 years old)!!! I hope the teachers let him wear them to gym class to see how fast he really is ! Then again...he might run so fast that they can not catch him...he he he !
Posts: 236 | From Illinois | Registered: Feb 2009
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Carol in PA
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quote:Originally posted by Carol in PA: One person said that she grounded herself to the water pipes.
Isn't there a danger of getting electrocuted if the house is hit by lightning?
.
quote:Originally posted by apljack: Water pipes are typically grounded. There should be a water company sticker on the electrical panel. You can't get an electrical final without it (at least where I live).
.
Right, water pipes are grounded. If the house is hit by lightning, the electrical charge would run through the water pipes or the electrical wires right down into the ground.
But... If a person is connected to that, wouldn't the electrical charge run through him too, which would electrocute him.
Carol
Posts: 6947 | From Lancaster, PA | Registered: Feb 2004
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posted
I'm really the only person who still thinks this is a total scam?
I've been playing guitar for over 20 years... guess what - the strings on an electric guitar are grounded. I'm grounded for at least a few hours a day when i play.
The shell of my laptop is grounded, that's another few hours.
i was perfectly well with my wifi, and cell phone and all the emf in the house.
Then i got bitten by a tick and got very sick, and all the guitar playing in the world didn't make me better.
It would be lovely if healing were this simple, but was anyone on here had any personal experience with this creating any substantial lasting benefit?
Not a book, not a web excerpt, not a youtube video ... have YOU been helped?
i hope it has, and i'd love to hear about your success.
Posts: 339 | From Outer Space | Registered: Aug 2009
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quote:Originally posted by lymie_in_md: the3030club stated : "looks like quackery to me.". Can you supply some interesting research papers or some valuable studies to support this view! Until you do, the point of view is without substance.
Telling me my point of view is without substance is an angry, mean thing say. Regardless of how badly i might disagree with you, or anyone. I will never belittle their opinion.
Don't agree with me, but don't insult me.
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linky123
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posted
I too would like to see something substantive as well. I see a lot of slick marketing by this company, but not much to back it up.
-------------------- 'Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.' Matthew 11:28 Posts: 2607 | From Hooterville | Registered: Apr 2009
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posted
3030-- Some people have posted positives on this thread (in response to..."have YOU been helped?").
Not sure if you saw them.
My son gets red ears/crabby when using his Dell laptop. If we put him in contact with the pad, it does not happen.
Posts: 236 | From Illinois | Registered: Feb 2009
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posted
I am loving my Earthing Bands. Helps with/pain,sleeping deeper and longer and more relaxed. I totally don't think its a scam,at all. I am Grateful to have them. Joyce
Posts: 905 | From Santa Cruz,Calif | Registered: Aug 2005
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quote:Originally posted by the3030club: I'm really the only person who still thinks this is a total scam?
I've been playing guitar for over 20 years... guess what - the strings on an electric guitar are grounded. I'm grounded for at least a few hours a day when i play.
playing guitar does not mean your are grounded!!!
The shell of my laptop is grounded, that's another few hours.
How is your laptop grounded????
i was perfectly well with my wifi, and cell phone and all the emf in the house.
Then i got bitten by a tick and got very sick, and all the guitar playing in the world didn't make me better.
It would be lovely if healing were this simple, but was anyone on here had any personal experience with this creating any substantial lasting benefit?
Not a book, not a web excerpt, not a youtube video ... have YOU been helped?
i hope it has, and i'd love to hear about your success.
linky123
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 19974
posted
Hoot,
That is good news. I hope to see more tesitmonials like yours. For now, I am skeptical. We have been using the pad without much success.
Take care.
-------------------- 'Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.' Matthew 11:28 Posts: 2607 | From Hooterville | Registered: Apr 2009
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linky123
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 19974
posted
Hoot,
That is good news. I hope to see more tesitmonials like yours. For now, I am skeptical. We have been using the pad without much success.
Take care.
-------------------- 'Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.' Matthew 11:28 Posts: 2607 | From Hooterville | Registered: Apr 2009
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posted
Another thing to report for my son...he is sleeping longer than 9 hours a night. He is sleeping about 10 hours per night or more after years of only sleeping 9 or less.
Posts: 236 | From Illinois | Registered: Feb 2009
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You're clearly misinformed in regard to this topic. All electronics are grounded. When they are plugged in they are literally tied into a spike driven into the ground outside your house.
search "Ground (electricity)" on wikipedia and read up.
Also, here's proof that the strings of an electric guitar are grounded:
posted
So yeah. I've been "earthing" for 19 years. I can report no health benefits as a matter of absolute fact.
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MichaelTampa
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posted
I haven't bought anything from the company discussed on this thread, but have been doing a similar thing for about a month now, during sleep only, and it has clearly helped me sleep better.
I don't expect sleeping while grounded to cure lyme disease all by itself. But, what I believe it can do is help the body get stronger so that treatment and recovery can be quicker and less painful.
By the way, I was able to duplicate the essence of the youtube video. I was grounding myself with a slightly different approach, but the result was the same, in that I did measure voltage on me before touching the grounding cloth and then measured no voltage while touching the grounding cloth.
I don't have an electric guitar to test it, but I would wonder, perhaps it is a different situation, sleeping while grounded versus playing a guitar. I wonder if the grounding allows the energy/electricity to flow away from you, but perhaps you are still subjected to a good bit of it as you are touching the strings. Really, just don't know a lot about electric guitars, and am speculating.
But, sleep is for regeneration, and I would expect grounded sleeping is going to be more valuable than being grounded for most other activity. Sleep is probably more easily disrupted by voltage, and just more important.
Posts: 1927 | From se usa | Registered: Mar 2010
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posted
Speaking of sleeping being disrupted by voltage...
during the time my son was regressing into autism (about 10 years ago), I was frequently staying up late doing internet research to figure out what was best to do for him. It did not matter what time it was...11 pm, 2am, midnight, 3am...when I turned off the computer, he always woke up. The computer was not even close to his bedroom.
On to another subject...
I got the Soft Star shoes. They are comfortable. I am hoping my son will wear them. If not, they will fit me just fine.
I think *Chinese shoes* with the cloth (cotton) bottom would be a less expensive alternative to Soft Star shoes...although the Soft Star are much more stylish. The *Chinese shoes* also come in a rainbow of colors (at least for women).
Posts: 236 | From Illinois | Registered: Feb 2009
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posted
I actually got this 'earthing' book for Christmas, and I'm a little confused. And this confusion somehow made the author's theory seem less credible to me.
The author claims protons (with a positive charge) are considered 'free radicals', but some other more reputable resources claim that free electrons are the free radicals..."killer electrons".
So which is it? Protons or electrons? Which are the free radicals? Or does a positive charge (proton) knock electrons free, transforming them into "killer electrons"?
Actually, free radicals, from what I've read elsewhere, aren't always a bad thing...they kill cancer cells, harmful bacteria, viruses....
I'm one of the most electrosensitive people on Lymenet, and though I was hopeful at first, I now think the book is bogus. I spent several summers outside...digging, planting, pruning, mulching...and maybe I wasn't barefoot doing it, but I sat on the ground, touched trees and shrubs and the ground for hours at a time (since my OCD follows me into the garden now), and I can't say that doing this helped my symptoms. In fact, some days I had to come inside the pain was that bad.
So in my opinion, this guy just wants to sell earthing pads to everybody.
If you really want to read some awesome books on the subject of EMFs, read Dr. Robert O. Becker's 'The Body Electric' and 'Cross Currents'. I've read both these books several times, and they are my absolute favorites!...and he's not selling anything...
Dr. Becker studied regeneration in salamanders and truly believes that the right 'electricity' can cause humans to regrow damaged limbs, organs, etc... I don't want to give the whole book away, but humans 'should' also have this ability to regrow virtually any tissue, even entire organs and limbs.
I forget where I read this...you can probably google it...but if you were to cut your fingertip off above a certain point, did you realize it would regrow? fingernail and all? It will!
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Hey! I was reading something similar yesterday and it basically said the same thing. A person had a limb infected with a bacteria and it would not heal. The bone was being eaten away as well. The docs applied silver and electric current and the bone and skin started to regenerate and the infection was gone.
Posts: 236 | From Illinois | Registered: Feb 2009
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quote:Originally posted by hoot: Speaking of sleeping being disrupted by voltage...
during the time my son was regressing into autism (about 10 years ago), I was frequently staying up late doing internet research to figure out what was best to do for him. It did not matter what time it was...11 pm, 2am, midnight, 3am...when I turned off the computer, he always woke up. The computer was not even close to his bedroom.
On to another subject...
I got the Soft Star shoes. They are comfortable. I am hoping my son will wear them. If not, they will fit me just fine.
I think *Chinese shoes* with the cloth (cotton) bottom would be a less expensive alternative to Soft Star shoes...although the Soft Star are much more stylish. The *Chinese shoes* also come in a rainbow of colors (at least for women).
Cant wait to get mine!
Posts: 654 | Registered: Oct 2003
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quote:Originally posted by elizzza811: I actually got this 'earthing' book for Christmas, and I'm a little confused. And this confusion somehow made the author's theory seem less credible to me.
The author claims protons (with a positive charge) are considered 'free radicals', but some other more reputable resources claim that free electrons are the free radicals..."killer electrons".
So which is it? Protons or electrons? Which are the free radicals? Or does a positive charge (proton) knock electrons free, transforming them into "killer electrons"?
Actually, free radicals, from what I've read elsewhere, aren't always a bad thing...they kill cancer cells, harmful bacteria, viruses....
I'm one of the most electrosensitive people on Lymenet, and though I was hopeful at first, I now think the book is bogus. I spent several summers outside...digging, planting, pruning, mulching...and maybe I wasn't barefoot doing it, but I sat on the ground, touched trees and shrubs and the ground for hours at a time (since my OCD follows me into the garden now), and I can't say that doing this helped my symptoms. In fact, some days I had to come inside the pain was that bad.
So in my opinion, this guy just wants to sell earthing pads to everybody.
If you really want to read some awesome books on the subject of EMFs, read Dr. Robert O. Becker's 'The Body Electric' and 'Cross Currents'. I've read both these books several times, and they are my absolute favorites!...and he's not selling anything...
Dr. Becker studied regeneration in salamanders and truly believes that the right 'electricity' can cause humans to regrow damaged limbs, organs, etc... I don't want to give the whole book away, but humans 'should' also have this ability to regrow virtually any tissue, even entire organs and limbs.
I forget where I read this...you can probably google it...but if you were to cut your fingertip off above a certain point, did you realize it would regrow? fingernail and all? It will!
And is the scientific research studies mentioned in the book and website also bogus? Perhaps you can explain those away as well?!!!
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posted
Okay, so why do I feel worse some days sitting on the ground spreading mulch around for hours?
And I'm not saying earthing has no effect, but I certainly don't think it's the cure-all the author claims it to be...that's all.
Plus, nobody here has yet helped to answer my question about free radicals...are they protons or electrons? The author claims they are positively-charged protons, but from other books I've read, free electrons are the damaging ones.
I also have trouble believing that the God who created me would expect me to build a home only of the proper electron-sharing materials...without equipping me with this knowledge from the get-go; nor would He expect me to walk un-shoe-ed through rocks and mud on cold wet days...without equipping me with paws at least...
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quote:Originally posted by elizzza811: I also have trouble believing that the God who created me would expect me to build a home only of the proper electron-sharing materials...without equipping me with this knowledge from the get-go; nor would He expect me to walk un-shoe-ed through rocks and mud on cold wet days...without equipping me with paws at least...
What got did create however is hypothermia. And i'm in New York today and it's COLD. I'm wearing nice warm boots.
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MichaelTampa
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Member # 24868
posted
elizzzzza,
I started sleeping while connected by giving a simple trial of two nights, all night long. Each morning following that, I felt very groggy. For me, this is something I have seen with a variety of treatments as they begin, where a lot of good things are happening, but perhaps it is too much to go through and also be comfortable.
I decided then to build up, started just a couple hours a night, and slowly built up to all night long. As soon as I went at it that way, it was wonderful.
The woman who posts "lymebytes" also recently discussed her experience with it, and it was similar in this respect, that too much at once might be discomfort, that working up to it can be the way to go.
So, I would suggest you consider the possibility that your reaction to working out side, and feeling worse, is a sign that there is something worthwhile there for you, but perhaps too much.
(There are other possibilities that could cause you problems outside with mulch--working too hard, too much sun, sensitive to light, and so on. The point is, when you go outside and spread mulch and do it in a way where you are grounded, you are not just being grounded, you are exposing yourself to sunlight and working and all that. That is something to consider too.)
The more electrically sensitive you are, I do think, the more important this grounding can be for you, but it suggests you may need to go at it very slow in the beginning.
If you can find a way to do it safely during sleep, also keep in mind, that is healing time, and there are likely more benefits there.
I haven't read the book, but if the author is claiming that grounding is a cure-all, I am inclined to believe he's crazy in that respect. I don't think there are any cure-alls, but I this grounding is clearly helpful for some people, and I would suspect it is most helpful for those that are most electrically sensitive.
Posts: 1927 | From se usa | Registered: Mar 2010
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posted
I have to admit I haven't read all of the posts here about people who have had success with this, so I am open to learning more.
Thing is that the whole 'protons are bad' thing is getting to me. I check Space Weather daily, and I've noticed that I generally feel better when the sun's protons are higher, worse when they are low, especially when there are 'electron fluxes'. Now I have seizures, so maybe I'm just backwards from everybody else.
Didn't I read that there is a way to make these grounding mats yourself? That kind of made me skeptical, too...having to purchase a grounding mat from the author. But if there is a way to make one yourself...I wasn't clear about it reading the book...a grid of metal duct tape, with a copper wire running from the duct tape to a metal pole in the ground?...I'd be willing to try it...
Wouldn't it make more sense though to just turn off all the electricity?...
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MichaelTampa
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posted
Interesting questions. I can't comment on the protons thing, I've never looked that deep into things, never seen the sun proton numbers. Perhaps you are noticing something important for you. Perhaps you are different or backwards in some respects. The best you can do is just keep paying attention and figure out what you can.
Certainly, you can make ways to ground yourself without buying that particular product. If you're not going to just sleep on the ground, or a floor that happens to be grounded based on how it was constructed, you will need to buy something.
At different points in time, I have bought a grounding cord and a conductive fabric. The grounding cord plugs in to the ground of a 3-prong electrical outlet--it's just the grounding prong, so the cord is 1-prong. It is done this way to avoid electrocution, it is very important. The grounding cord comes with an alligator clip that I clip to the conductive fabric, and I plug in the cord and slip the fabric inside my shirt while I sleep.
It works. I know because I used a meter to test it, and I know it affects how I sleep.
I bought those at lessemf.com. Of course, there are always other places things could be bought, and other ways things could be done.
A grounding stake could be put in the ground, and a person could use some clip and wiring to attach that grounding stake to themselves while sleeping. This would be a way to avoid going through the electrical system, for those not wanting to do that.
In the end, you're looking for an electrical connection to the ground. Some metals are very good conductors. There are many ways to fill in the details.
(As always, caution is advised when there is lightning possible.)
Regarding just turning off the electricity, it is a related idea. I don't know that it is identical, because, you may still have voltage in the air that your body would be subject to, that grounding would reduce or eliminate. But, perhaps turning off the electricity gets you a lot of the way. I do not know if those acts have different functions or more or less the same one. Maybe I'll take a look at trying to measure that someday. I do know, some people do turn off the electricity in their rooms while they sleep, and some have reported positive effects.
Posts: 1927 | From se usa | Registered: Mar 2010
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quote:Originally posted by MichaelTampa: By the way, I was able to duplicate the essence of the youtube video. I was grounding myself with a slightly different approach, but the result was the same, in that I did measure voltage on me before touching the grounding cloth and then measured no voltage while touching the grounding cloth.
With all due respect, this proves nothing.
Neither does the experiment. A
s someone with a first background in electronics i can tell you that what you're doing when you perform this experiment is causing sort of a "short circuit" to the meter you're using to measure your body's voltage.
When you're getting a voltage reading on your body with a multi-meter you've got to have one lead in your hand and the other to ground (only way to get a reading) if you then touch ground with your body all you're really doing it connecting the 2 leads of the meter with your body .. it will always read 0. But nothing is changing in your body at all.
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momlyme
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 27775
posted
When I first saw earthing and EMF on this forum... I thought it was bull**** and I avoided these threads.
Here is the series of videos made me take a closer look at this.
I consider earthing, grounding & EMFs a contributing factor to our health & well being.
I am not trying to convince anyone of something they don't want to accept. I am only presenting cold, hard evidence that grounding can change our bodies.
-------------------- May health be with you!
Toxic mold was suppressing our immune systems, causing extreme pain, brain fog and magnifying symptoms. Four days after moving out, the healing began. Posts: 2007 | From NY/VT Border | Registered: Aug 2010
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mbrace of the Earth Shamanic Burial Friday 4th to Sunday 6th December 2010
What the weekend is about This shamanic ritual is a profound way to truly connect with the powerful energy of the Earth� The experience has been described as a combination "vision quest" and "full body meditation". Drawing from the Toltec Tradition of Central America, this ceremony is inspired by the intimate connection that the Toltecs have with the land. It is a ceremonial initiation and rite of passage where participants are buried overnight in the earth to receive the powerful healing and loving energies of Mother Earth. The experience may be used in contemporary spirituality to activate deep shifts in consciousness and heightened connection with energies of the earth.
"Please note that this initiation has been safely practiced by several hundred initiates during the last 20 or so years by shamanic researcher Victor Sanchez. The practice is totally safe - no soil is placed on the initiates, you can be physically removed from the tomb at any time if necessary, and the facilitator stays awake and vigilant the whole night in close proximity to the tombs while feeding the central fire and offering blessings and prayers. The physical dimension to the rite is only one small part - it simply helps facilitate the altered states that are the main element of the rite. This rite of passage is so unique, empowering, and nurturing that by the end of the night most initiates want to stay longer in the ground before they rise from the tomb into the sun and "sprout" into a new form of being." James Endredy, author of Earthwalks
This experience is limited to 8 participants.
Outcomes - Obtain clarity and vision in personal matters - Heal and absorb emotional wounds - Mark a significant life change and rite of passage - Bury the "old" self and allow the birth of the new - Recapitulate life events � Recharge personal energy before or after a demanding task or challenge - Experience in a tangible way the profound love and healing energy of the Earth
"�I feel refreshed, alive and very awake. I am out of the wilderness, born again." Rachel Newman, Sunday Life Magazine
Posts: 654 | Registered: Oct 2003
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posted
aFTER the initial tingling for a few days I get a feeling of warmth everytime I lie down. I dont need as many blankets now? anyone else get that?
Posts: 654 | Registered: Oct 2003
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posted
I seem to be a little warmer like you. Tingling is gone since the first few days.
Posts: 236 | From Illinois | Registered: Feb 2009
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posted
I started Earthing with the Earthing bands in Dec. Rt away it helped me with pain,sleep and was more relaxed. I was using the bands when on computer and all night when sleeping. About a week ago I got slammed with a Huge horrible herx.
Posts: 905 | From Santa Cruz,Calif | Registered: Aug 2005
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posted
I was Ramping up on A-Bart and A-Babs and have now backed down.And cut my time on bands. On other sites I am seeing more and more peeps having BIG herx's.Most rt away,and I am extremely sensitive.
Posts: 905 | From Santa Cruz,Calif | Registered: Aug 2005
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I have seen tremendously positive health benefits in patients when they kept their treatment unchanged and only started doing progressively more grounding of their bodies to the earth each day. I do not have any stock or ownership in earthi...ng pads nor do I get financial benefit from suggesting this to patients. Cave men & cave women walked on the earth barefooted much of the day & often slept on the ground at night. They were grounded to the earth hours per day. Most present-day humans walk on synthetic non-grounding shoes all day long, sleep on synthetic beds all night long & only get grounding for a few minutes when they take a shower. Because most people don't have the time or correct circumstances to ground to the earth as much as they would benefit from, I have suggested to patients that when the weather permits, they should take their shoes off & sit in a chair with their feet touching the ground (not touching the synthetic carpet, linoleum or wooden floor) while they read a book or do some other task that they needed to be seated for. If patients need more grounding than they can get that way (and some patients appear to require many hours per day), I sometimes suggest they purchase some small-guage insulated, braided speaker wire, a 2-foot-long metal rod & a small pipe-clamp to attach the wire to the rod (total cost less than$10). They drive the metal rod into the earth outside their bedroom window, strip 1" of insulation off the speaker wire, and attach it to the metal rod with the pipe clamp. The wire is then run through the window in such a way that the window still closes. The wire is extended to the place on the bed where the patient sleeps. Approximately one foot of insulation is removed from that end of the wire so that it can be wrapped loosely around the patient's wrist while the patient sleeps. It is important that the patient set a battey-operated alarm clock to awaken in the night to take the wire off the wrist until they have built up to at least 3 hours of use each night (starting with only about 10 minutes). Then they can sleep with it for 8-9 hours without getting excessive detox reaction from grounding (see Connie's comments above). Instead of the speaker wire approach, most find the metalized cloth grounding sheets easier & the cost is approx.$170-200 (includes a plug that can plug into a properly grounded electric outlet in the house & a device to measure each wall outlet to see if the outlets are properly grounded).Steyla, faith, hope & belief are critically important components in getting well, but if you believe that we were created to walk, live & work in the garden (of Eden) and now are living in a fallen, mostly-synthetic, chemically & electromagnetically polluted world, then maybe at least some of the illness is from our not doing each day what we were created to do. I suggest that Jenni & Finette educate themselves more on this topic before commenting here further on this topic.
Posts: 654 | Registered: Oct 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Healing in Santa Cruz: I was Ramping up on A-Bart and A-Babs and have now backed down.And cut my time on bands. On other sites I am seeing more and more peeps having BIG herx's.Most rt away,and I am extremely sensitive.
can you provide any links?
I think I am like you sensitive but dont want to just go to 10mins earthed per day as DR c suggests. I will try an hour a day.
However this wont stop me from getting naturally earthed as much as possible.
Posts: 654 | Registered: Oct 2003
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posted
One of my lyme friends only did 2 mins on grass and herxed hard. Interesting I felt good for quite a few days and then herxed hard.If it messes with cyst form like the doc on S Chicks says I am wondering about Biofilm etc.I am sure the critters r affected also.
Posts: 905 | From Santa Cruz,Calif | Registered: Aug 2005
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posted
You r welcome Wallace. I think this is powerful medicine. Just need to find the right timing. I was so excited that I was having positives,so did too much too soon. Sooo had to back down. Going slow.
Posts: 905 | From Santa Cruz,Calif | Registered: Aug 2005
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Barefoot Medicine. Going shoeless is now recognized as an anti-Alzheimer�s, brain-boosting activity because the sole sensation entices your brain into growing extra, efficient neuron connections. Merzenich believes our brains decline if we �limit the sensory feedback from our feet.� He advocates walking barefoot (to improve balance, posture, and co-ordination functions in the vestibulocerebellum.) Dr. Norman Doidge (author of The Brain That Changes Itself) concurs that skipping shoes will increase brain flexibility and youthfulness, and many podiatrists now advise going barefoot as much as possible. Bare feet are today�s prescription.
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posted
uesday, December 28, 2010 Earthing-In The New Year
The Earthing Institute Clinton Ober Stephen T. Sinatra, M.D. James Oschman, Ph.D. Gaetan Chevalier, Ph.D. Martin Zucker
We, and all the folks at �Earthing Central,� would like to wish all of you and your families a fulfilling and healthy 2011. We would also like to express our thanks for encouraging us with your interest, feedback, and questions. We receive many questions from people who have read the Earthing book and who have started Earthing themselves. We appreciate the questions because they stoke the process of helping us better explain the remarkable phenomenon of Earthing. We know some � but certainly far from all � of the benefits of Earthing. Often we have to rely on hypothesis and suggestion to describe the mechanisms because the science done to date has only scratched the surface of understanding. We have posted the most commonly-asked questions on the FAQs page atEarthing Institute and we invite you to check them out anytime you have a question. If you don�t find what you are looking for there, don�t hesitate to contact us at [email protected]
One of the most interesting questions we received recently was sent in by Ross Dean of Fairfield, Iowa. Mr. Dean asked about �good free radicals� that participate in protective body functions vs. �bad� free radicals involved in chronic inflammation. �If the free electrons that enter the body through grounding neutralize free radicals, how do they discriminate between the good free radicals and the bad? he wanted to know. �Aren�t the good free radicals also desiring to bond with the free electrons that come in through grounding?�
For a precise answer, we went to our electron expert, biophysicist James Oschman, Ph.D. Here is his answer:
Free radicals or reactive oxygen species (ROS) are essential to life. The �good� free radicals attack bacteria or other pathogens crossing the skin barrier when you have a cut or other injury. They also break down injured cells. These actions are essential to protect the body from infection and to make space for regenerative cells that will repair an injury. The benign ROS are delivered by white blood cells directly to a site of inflammation. They are not readily neutralized by electrons from the earth because they are delivered to a precise location at a very high concentration, and their electron-grabbing activity is precisely focused on damaged cells and pathogens that may have crossed the skin.
In an ungrounded body, free radicals leaking from a site of injury will damage surrounding tissues, which can coagulate into an �inflammatory barricade.� A local pocket of inflammation is then created that can endure and leak damaging toxins into the system. This is one example of how free radicals become �dangerous.� We believe the healthy connective tissue matrix of a grounded person will have abundant electrons to neutralize those leaking free radicals and thereby prevent �collateral damage� to healthy tissues.
Other dangerous ROS are produced during normal metabolism and breathing. You can prevent them from forming if you stop eating and stop breathing�obviously not recommended. The leading theory of aging (the free radical theory) is that aging results from the cumulative damage caused by free radicals that come from oxygen in the tissues, from normal metabolism and from environmental toxins. These free radicals are thought to cause aging in three ways:
1) by damaging DNA, leading to mutations and cancer; 2) damaging mitochondria, the energy-producing structures inside cells; 3) by cross-linking proteins, which compromises the functioning of enzymes and also causes wrinkling of the skin.
We believe that all of these mechanisms of age-related free radical damage are slowed significantly by grounding, and that in the grounded body the healthy connective tissue matrix will be populated with enough electrons to neutralize free radicals wherever they form from whatever cause. There is a beneficial feedback effect: the grounded body will not form inflammatory pockets around sites of injury. Injuries will heal quickly. And the connective tissue in the body that is free of inflammatory pockets will be more conductive to electrons (inflammatory barricades are poorly conductive) and therefore will be better able to neutralize free radicals quickly wherever they form from whatever cause.
Some Important Earthing Reminders We also get questions from a sprinkling of people concerned about their initial Earthing experiences � during the first few days � or whose expectations of benefits didn�t manifest as quickly as they had hoped. We have talked about this in the Earthing book, and also in earlier reports on this website, but the explanation is worth repeating.
In the vast majority of cases, people begin to feel better soon after they start Earthing. They feel no discomfort at all with the Earth�s energy and adjust to it easily. Remember that sleeping grounded or sitting inside your home or office with bare feet on an Earthing mat is the same as being barefoot outside. Nevertheless, the energy can be strange or even discomforting for some people. They may even experience flu-like symptoms, pain, achiness, or cramps. In practically all of these situations, the experience is temporary, a result of the body normalizing to the natural energy from the Earth. As this process gets underway, your ability to release accumulated toxicity appears to accelerate and become more effective. When detoxification occurs, you can feel worse before you feel better. The feeling might last a few days but it will go away and you will feel renewed and energized afterward. We think that the leg cramps that some people feel may be related to toxins coming out of the tissues. So we advise people to start drinking more water so as to flush out the toxins more readily. The strategy usually works and the cramps disappear. In any case, the better hydrated the body is the more conductive it is. So drinking plenty of good quality water serves health in general and Earthing as well. If someone can�t tolerate the initial discomfort we usually recommend they stop Earthing for a couple of days, then begin again, but with shorter sessions, like an hour or two during the day. Then gradually increase the exposure to the point where they can comfortably sleep grounded. It may take a bit of experimentation in these cases, but the rewards are usually well worth sticking with it. It is also possible that Earthing could generate a healing process in the body that causes nerve fibers to function better, resulting in unaccustomed sensations. Generally, such sensations also go away in a short period of time. Everybody benefits in some way, but each of us is different. The benefits can come quickly and dramatically, or subtly and gradually over time. Often people who are very ill or saddled with various symptoms feel the difference dramatically. One older man adamantly told us he didn�t feel any difference but then admitted that he didn�t get up at night to urinate as frequently as he did before, and often didn�t get up at all. That�s a sign of deeper sleep and probably reduction of prostate inflammation. Both are great benefits!
Someone with radiant health and who sleeps well may not feel any difference. However, connecting to the Earth helps to preserve and perpetuate good health. In this situation, regard Earthing as a simple, effortless, and natural form of anti-aging and preventive medicine, whether you feel benefits or not.
For people taking medication, we always suggest being alert to the possibility that as they feel better, the dosage level of medication may be able to be reduced. You may experience signs of overdose. If you do, please see your doctor right away. In any case, do not reduce medication without consulting with your doctor. If you are taking any form of blood thinner, whether a prescription medicine like Coumadin, or a nutritional supplement, remember that Earthing has a blood thinning effect. Monitor your blood level very carefully and talk to your doctor about what you are doing. You want to guard against excess thinning and the risk of bleeding.
A new European study to be published this spring indicates that Earthing improves thyroid function. This is something we have known on an observational basis for years. Some people on medication for underactive thyroid have reported feeling palpitations, irregular and/or forceful beating of the heart. This unpleasant symptom can reflect an arrhythmia but is also a common sign of excess thyroid hormone, including thyroid medication. So if you take thyroid medication and start Earthing, be alert to the possibility of medication overdose. If that happens, you may need to cut down on your medication. Many people have been able to do. But please consult with your physician who prescribed the medication.
Earthing Care Tips We would also like to remind you about taking good care of your Earthing sheets. Remember NO BLEACH when you wash the sheets. Bleach will destroy the conductive silver threads in the sheet that carry the Earth�s energy. Use gentle laundry detergent, such as the eco-friendly varieties you can purchase in health food stores, or a product like Tide Free and Clear.
Please avoid using creams, lotions, and essential oils on your feet or body before bedtime if you sleep on an Earthing half-sheet, fitted sheet, or recovery bag. The oils contained in these products become absorbed into the fabric of the sheets and can destroy the conductivity of the silver. Try to use such body products at an earlier time. There is no problem with facial creams for people who sleep with pillows. Some years ago conductive Earthing pillows were developed but later discontinued because they were rendered ineffective by people applying facial creams at bedtime. The oils in the creams oxidized and ruined the conductivity of the pillows.
Inspiring Feedback From the many communications we receive it is amply clear that more and more people are discovering the surprising and health-nurturing benefits of Earthing. On a daily basis, we hear things like this:
● �I have had a miraculous health reversal.� ● From a health professional in Portland: �Occasionally, I come across a genuine breakthrough in natural health care�A low cost idea easy to apply, that anyone can use at home, and that is applicable to everyone regardless of age or body type. Earthing definitely fall into this category.� ● From a doctor in Los Angeles: �I have been sleeping better now than I have in probably 50 years.� ● �My husband�s snoring stopped.� ● �This past mother�s day my kids gave me the best present I have ever received � the Earthing sheet. I have never slept so well in my life since then.� ● �It�s only been six weeks and we are seeing such improvement in our health and well-being.� ● �I�ve been on lots of pain medication for twelve years since an accident. Sleeping grounded got rid of the pain. My life has changed profoundly.� ● �My 80-year-old aches and pains have diminished 50 per cent. I can do things better and move better.� ● �My blood pressure has improved.� ● From a mechanical engineer in Kennewick, Washington: �I�ve been using my Earthing sheet and mats for about 5 months and gave sheets to all my sisters and children. Everyone is sleeping better and is experiencing their version of increased vitality. My sister completely turned her life around and all the pieces fell into place which allowed her to pursue her dreams. It�s like her connection to the Earth gave her the ability to see exactly what needed to be done. It�s very calming for her.� ● From a doctor in New York: �I am beyond grateful for the relief.�
The gratification we feel after reading and hearing words like this, of lives being so positively touched, is hard to describe. Words also fail us to describe how we personally feel about being messengers for this beautiful discovery or revival of knowledge�messengers, in a sense, for Mother Earth�s great endowment of health for all mankind. We feel utterly blessed to be able to explore this natural gift, and share the revelations, and spread the word to ever-growing numbers of people.
Looking Forward in 2011 In 2010, the Earthing book was published and created a strong wave of interest for Earthing. After more than 12 years of endlessly and exhaustively explaining the Earthing concept to thousands of people, Clint Ober had his wish: a book that could at last do a lot of the explaining for him. Looking forward, we envision at least several new Earthing studies to be published in 2011, further validating this most remarkable concept from the perspective of science. In the first half of 2011 we hope to finally get our online Earthing training program going. Many of you have asked about it. We appreciate your patience.
Also in the first half of the year we will have grounded flipflops available. And 100 percent cotton sheets, too. The price of cotton has soared, unfortunately, but not much we can do about it.
We look forward to Earthing capturing mainstream media attention this year. It�s too attractive and natural a story to stay under the media radar much longer.
Meanwhile, we�ll keep sending out announcements and reports to you as Earthing developments unfold. Posted on 12/28 at 11:36 PM Permalink
Posts: 654 | Registered: Oct 2003
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posted
I have heard a doctor named Steven Sinatra talk on this subject. Any of you heard of him?
Posts: 357 | From California | Registered: Jun 2010
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posted
Steven Sinatra is one of the docs that wrote the earthing book. Also mentioned it the last post Wallace posted as well a he is on the Spiro chicks web that I posted.
Posts: 905 | From Santa Cruz,Calif | Registered: Aug 2005
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linky123
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 19974
posted
The prices are going up on this stuff already. Barefoot Sales in Palm Springs, CA just informed me yesterday that the full fitted sheet had gone up $40 in the last two weeks - from $249 to $289!
There is also a 20% re-stocking fee if you need to return something for any reason.
Do these people have a monopoly on these things? I have heard that you can get the pad and some of the smaller stuff elsewhere, but what about the sheets?
I hate it when these companies take advantage of sick people. It really makes me mad. Anyone know of another co. selling the sheets?
-------------------- 'Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.' Matthew 11:28 Posts: 2607 | From Hooterville | Registered: Apr 2009
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posted
five dollars for a wrist strap seems to me eminently affordable.
Besides remember the earths healing energy is free!
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linky123
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 19974
posted
That still does not address the way this company does business. Anyone else sell this stuff?????
It's freezing where I live, so running around outside barefoot isn't an option.
-------------------- 'Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.' Matthew 11:28 Posts: 2607 | From Hooterville | Registered: Apr 2009
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On bodytalks ideas on why we are dehydrated and what we can do about it.
I find it interesting but very annoying that you can not buy a book on it that explains it fully. You have to go on at least a one day course and there is none near me even if I could afford it!!
A stunning contrast to EFT which is free on the web!!!!!
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MichaelTampa
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 24868
posted
I bought some things from lessemf.com that allow me to ground myself while sleeping. I bought a conductive cloth and a grounding clip. I plug in the grounding clip, connect it to the cloth, and tuck the cloth in my shirt while in bed. They sell other products as well. Last I looked, they didn't have anything as fancy or specifically meant for bed as what has been discussed on here. I have found them trustworthy.
Posts: 1927 | From se usa | Registered: Mar 2010
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I can not get the above link to work. I went to wellspringtherapygroup home page but could not find what you reference.
Are you talking about Body Talk and dehydration? If so, I am thinking about taking the one day course (ACCESS) at the end of February in Chicago.
Posts: 236 | From Illinois | Registered: Feb 2009
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D Bergy
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9984
posted
Regarding going barefoot:
In the past, particularly in the South, hookworms were a big problem as many people went barefoot. They can enter through the bottom of the feet. In the North, the cold temperatures make it less of a issue.
I only mention this because it was almost an epidemic in the past, but long enough ago that it is pretty much forgotten. Much of the problem was the poor sanitation and raw sewage where people walked, but hookworms are still around today.
Dan
Posts: 2919 | From Minnesota | Registered: Aug 2006
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linky123
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 19974
posted
Thank you MichaelTampa. Will take a look at the site you mentioned.
Take care.
-------------------- 'Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.' Matthew 11:28 Posts: 2607 | From Hooterville | Registered: Apr 2009
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posted
REBECCA ECKLER reports on the new foot fetish
Whatever happened to the N3? (No shirt, no shoes, no service.) Ubiquitous photos of pop tart Britney Spears walking barefoot into a gas station washroom still have people trash talking. Then there was Barefoot Britney stepping on a hypodermic in Hawaii, parading shoeless (with her new bump on display) in L.A. and irritating other passengers with her bare feet on a commercial flight.
Blame it on the yoga craze, the hippie revival or the theory that singing shoeless is grounding, but it seems the culture is in the throes of a new foot fetish.
On American Idol, female contestants are belting out their songs in formal dresses and bare feet. Brit singer Joss Stone performs sans footwear, as does Canadian opera singer Measha Brueggergosman.
Surfer dude singer Jack Johnson is so well known for baring his soles, Saturday Night Live did a parody ad for shoes that look like bare feet.
According to Jake Gold, Canadian Idol judge, musicians like bare feet because "it's more comfortable, easy to move around stage, and there's a whole sexual side to it as well."
Actors like it too. Mischa Barton recently was photographed barefoot in a Malibu parking lot and outside her hotel in Maui. The best part? She shills for Keds.
And then there's poet-actor-photographer-painter Viggo Mortensen, who likes to do interviews in bare feet and wears a bracelet that reads "Peace." (His director in Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson, also made headlines a few years back with his barefoot ways.)
Designers and alternative healing practitioners are also tapping into the benefits of bare. Nike's popular new Nike Free line of lightweight sneakers claims to mimic "barefoot running in grass." A hot new product in North America is the Cobblestone Walkway, a mat that mimics the effects on bare feet of walking on smooth pebbles. Based on traditional Chinese healing practices such as reflexology (there are actual cobblestone walkways all over Asia), the mat has been shown to increase balance and circulation.
Some people are long-time barefoot aficionados. In a recent cover feature about Calgary in Maclean's magazine, a top interior designer, Paul Lavoie, was featured in a full-page portrait in jeans, a turtleneck and bare feet.
"I like to be barefoot quite often," says the 39-year-old Lavoie. "It's the hippie in me. I'm always barefoot at home. I guess it's like my inner child coming out."
Lavoie says there's nothing more natural in the world than for him to wear a suit, even a tux, without socks. "Of course, I need to wear shoes to events. But I never wear socks. There's absolutely a comfort level about walking around barefoot. I would do it all the time if I could."
Katy Cook, 21, a hairstylist at the trendy Luxe spa in Calgary, is also a fan. Though she must wear shoes to work, she wears sandals, with no socks, even in winter. "The first thing I do at home is take off my socks and shoes," says Cook. "I drive barefoot all the time. And my all-time favourite thing is gardening barefoot." She doesn't only go barefoot at home though. "I'll walk to the corner store barefoot. Yes, some people look at me and think, 'Who is that strange girl?' I don't care."
There's even a society, boasting more than a thousand members worldwide, called the Society for Barefoot Living. Who belongs? Well, according to their website, members "enjoy walking barefoot as nature intended, taking delight in feeling the many textures the world has to offer, like having tough, callused soles, and even think it's cool to get them dirty. We also hate wearing shoes and, if we had our way, would never wear them again. Shoes are unnecessary ballast. Plus, bare feet are cool and look great!"
Barefoot society member Bryan Macdonald, 61, went au naturel 11 years ago. The 61-year-old from Windsor, Ont., owns two pairs of shoes and one pair of flip-flops, which he keeps in his cars for emergencies (such as snow) or when his wife refuses to be seen with him in public.
"It just plain feels good," says Macdonald, who calls himself the Barefoot Photographer. "I shot a wedding last July. I wore a short-sleeve dress shirt with nice slacks and was barefoot from start to finish, from the bride's home, to the church, to the reception."
Part of the new barefoot cachet is undoubtedly the widespread influence of yoga, traditionally practiced in bare feet, and the accompanying interest in the ancient Indian beliefs embodied in the discipline.
"I'm a foot lover," says Toronto-based yoga instructor Graydon Moffat. "I often talk to my students about how they should appreciate their feet and not take them for granted."
Even while not teaching, Moffat hates wearing shoes. "The best is in the summer when the ground surfaces feel warm. But even in the colder months, I love to feel the different textures on the soles of my feet. More and more people these days, including men, are taking care of their feet, which encourages people to show them off," she says. "Feet are sexy."
It's those hypodermic needles that aren't.
Globe & Mail 20th May 2006
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posted
wallace-- You can purchase The Body Talk System book by John Veltheim on Amazon. It goes through the basics of the system and treating yourself and others.
I got a new book from Amazon for $14.85 plus $3.99 shipping.
You can also see the cortices technique video on the Body Talk website. All other aspects of the basic technique are well explained (with pictures as well) in the book.
Hope this helps.
Posts: 236 | From Illinois | Registered: Feb 2009
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Maybe you need to grow more arms to do the technique without a partner
If you look at the Cortices video, you can see that you place your hands on the side of your head for a few seconds and then you take one hand away and tap. This probably can be done with the other parts of the system as well.
For example, in treating the SB joint, place one finger on the pituitary spot and the other one in your mouth touching the hard palate...then take one hand away and do the tapping while deep breathing.
I think the same thing can be done for hydration, too.
I could be wrong about this. I will try to remember to ask the practitioner when I take my son for his first appointment tomorrow.
Posts: 236 | From Illinois | Registered: Feb 2009
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posted
Berlin - Walking barefoot is the most natural and effective foot reflex therapy available.
'Putting the soles of your feet in contact with all the normal sensations helps to relieve internal tension and reduce stress,' says Dieter Breithecker, head of Germany's Federal Institute for Posture and Mobilisation Support.
'Shoes, on the other hand, prevent direct contact with the ground and so adversely affect the health of our feet, our balance and posture.'
It is worthwhile at least at home, in the garden or unpolluted green spaces, to do without shoes while walks on on sandy or pebble beaches are considered perfect.
'The unevenness of the surface underfoot has to be compensated reflexively by complicated muscle work,' explains Breithecker. 'This strengthens the metatarsal arch and leads to a sustainable and healthy posture.'
At the same time, walking barefoot also trains the blood vessels. Breithecker recommends the therapy for people suffering from varicose veins in their legs.
'Wet stones and damp meadows caused by the autumnal morning dew are especially beneficial,' he says. 'The coldness stimulates the circulation, strengthens the immune system and encourages organ function.'
Posts: 654 | Registered: Oct 2003
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Maybe you need to grow more arms to do the technique without a partner
If you look at the Cortices video, you can see that you place your hands on the side of your head for a few seconds and then you take one hand away and tap. This probably can be done with the other parts of the system as well.
For example, in treating the SB joint, place one finger on the pituitary spot and the other one in your mouth touching the hard palate...then take one hand away and do the tapping while deep breathing.
I think the same thing can be done for hydration, too.
I could be wrong about this. I will try to remember to ask the practitioner when I take my son for his first appointment tomorrow.
Thanks Hoot. It would be nice if you could confirm this with your practitioner. Thanks a lot.
Posts: 654 | Registered: Oct 2003
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Every modern school of alternative medicine talks about "energy," although they may use a variety of words to describe it. But what is this fundamental "energy" you keep hearing about?
As Dr. Oschman went about to investigate, he found there is very good science that can help demystify this nebulous term.
He wrote a number of articles for a journal published by Churchill Livingstone on the subject, and after some encouragement from the publisher, those articles eventually resulted in two books: Energy Medicine: The Scientific Basis, and Energy Medicine in Therapeutics and Human Performance.
Dr. Oschman was also introduced to earthing, or grounding, and his research in this area has turned up some very interesting and compelling information about how the energy from the Earth can help you live a healthier life. He has recently written the Foreword for a new book by Clinton Ober, Stephen T. Sinatra and M. Zucker, entitled Earthing: the most important health discovery ever? published in 2010 (Basic Health Publications, Inc., Laguna Beach, CA.).
If you're like most people, you probably wear shoes with rubber or plastic soles for the better part of each day. Read on to learn why shoes might be one of the banes of modern existence.
The Emergence of "Earthing"
The concept of earthing, also known as grounding, was initially developed by Clint Ober. Stated in the simplest terms possible, earthing is simply walking barefoot; grounding your body to the Earth.
Oschman was introduced to Ober via Jeff Spencer, the chiropractor for Lance Armstrong's cycling team and an expert in treating professional athletes who I will be interviewing later this year.
"When Clint described the earthing phenomenon to Jeff, Jeff immediately called me and had me fly out to California to meet Clint and talk about what kind of research could be done to find out what is going on," Oschman explains.
"People have known for a long time that walking barefoot feels good. There are places in the world like Germany and Austria and Switzerland with communities where there is a tradition of getting up in the morning and going barefoot."
My own introduction to the concept of earthing was also through Jeff Spencer, some five or six years ago. I found it very intriguing, although I initially approached it with some skepticism. As you will soon see, it's a simple concept�to some it may appear too simple.
Fortunately, Dr. Oschman is now able to provide the scientific groundwork for understanding what actually occurs. In fact, his team has now published about a dozen papers on this topic.
What Happens to You When You Walk Barefoot?
Your skin in general is a very good conductor. You can connect any part of your skin to the Earth, but if you compare various parts there is one that is especially potent, and that's right in the middle of the ball of your foot; a point known to acupuncturists as Kidney 1 (K1).
It's a well-known point that conductively connects to all of the acupuncture meridians and essentially connects to every nook and cranny of your body.
Interestingly, grounding�or rather the lack thereof�has a lot to do with the rise of modern diseases.
How is this?
Well, Dr. Oschman's research into grounding has led him to better understand inflammation. I've discussed before, chronic inflammation is a primary cause of virtually all disease, from diabetes to cancer. And by looking at what happens during grounding, the answer to why chronic inflammation is so prevalent, and what is needed to prevent it, is becoming better understood.
When you're grounded (whether it's walking barefoot or being connected electrically on the K1point of your foot or sleeping on grounding sheets), there's a transfer of free electrons from the Earth into your body. And these free electrons are probably the most potent antioxidants known to man.
These antioxidants are responsible for the clinical observations from grounding experiments, such as:
* Beneficial changes in heart rate * Decreased skin resistance * Decreased levels of inflammation
To better understand the science behind what happens during grounding and how it impacts the inflammatory response, Dr. Oschman begins by explaining what happens when you experience an injury.
"Even the slightest bump, if you bump the door, your immune system immediately responds by sending white blood cells (neutrophils) to the place of injury�
The neutrophils secrete a Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS)� called free radicals, in what's referred to as an oxidative burst... These are like Pac-Man. They are very important molecules that tear things apart.
If bacteria have gotten through your skin, these free radicals will destroy the bacteria very quickly. If you have damaged cells, the free radicals will break them apart so that there is a space for healthy cells to move in and repair the tissues.
That's known as the inflammatory response.
What we have discovered that is truly profound is this: we now understand why you get the inflammatory response, which has five characteristics: pain, redness, heat, loss of range of motion, and swelling. All of those are the five hallmarks of inflammation and it turns out that that doesn't have to happen.
Inflammation, which in medicine is considered an important part of the healing process, is really an artifact caused by lack of electrons in your tissues.
What happens is, the neutrophils deliver the Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) to the site of injury, but in so doing, some of those free radicals can leak into the surrounding tissue and damage healthy tissue. That's what creates the inflammatory response".
Interestingly, grounding research has now discovered that if you place your feet on the ground after an injury (or on a grounded sheet, or place grounding patches on the balls of your feet), electrons will migrate into your body and spread through your tissues.
Any free radicals that leak into the healthy tissue will immediately be electrically neutralized. This occurs because the electrons are negative, while the free radicals are positive, so they cancel each other out.
"So really what is happening with grounding or earthing is that you're protecting your body from -- I call it, collateral damage," Dr. Oschman says.
"Damage that was not intended to take place but does take place because we have disconnected ourselves from the Earth by putting rubber and plastic on the bottoms of our shoes."
Grounded Sheets Can Provide Better Sleep
The first health benefit of earthing discovered was that people slept better when they were grounded. This was done by bringing the ground into the laboratory or into people's homes to evaluate how well they slept when lying on a grounded sheet.
This is essentially a bed sheet that has silver threads (electrical conductors) embedded in it, which are connected to a grounding device. You simply plug it into a grounding outlet in your room to create a grounding circuit in the sheet.
The findings showed that sleep was improved because their day-night cortisol rhythm evened out. Cortisol is the "stress hormone," and you can't sleep well at night if your cortisol is elevated.
When you sleep better, everything in your physiology works better.
Pain Relief Using Grounding Patches
People also slept better because they experienced a reduction in pain. Using thermography, which picks up heat signatures such as that of inflammation, they were able to determine that inflammation was reduced during these grounding experiments.
According to Dr. Oschman, people with painful inflamed joints would sometimes experience significant relief in as little as 20 minutes of grounding. Grounding patches can be placed either on the ball of your foot (on the K1 spot), or directly on the area that hurts.
The grounding patches are very useful in clinical situations. For example, if you've had surgery, Dr. Oschman recommends placing the patches around the site of the incision to speed the healing process.
Earthing as an Anti-Aging Strategy
One of dominant theories on aging is the free radical theory, which is that aging occurs because of accumulative damage to your body caused by free radicals. You get free radicals when you have an injury or chronic inflammation, from breathing, and from the food you eat, among other things.
While you don't want to completely eliminate ALL free radicals, you do want to maintain a healthy balance of antioxidant electrons in your body to ensure the damage from free radicals doesn't' get out of hand.
Earthing can help accomplish this delicate balance.
There are three kinds of sub-models of the aging process caused by free radicals.
1. DNA damage and mutation due to free radical damage 2. The mitochondrial theory. Mitochondria in every cell in your body carry out oxidative metabolism and a byproduct is free radicals. Eventually the mitochondria wear out or self-destruct due to excess free radicals 3. The protein cross linking theory, which explains why you get wrinkles in your skin. The proteins stick to each other, reducing the efficiency of enzymes
"It looks to me, from my study of biophysics and cell biology, like the body is designed with a semi-conductive fabric that connects everything in the body, including inside of every cell," Dr. Oschman says.
"I refer to this system as the living matrix. Those electrons that enter the bottom of your foot can move anywhere in your body.
Any place where a free radical forms, there are electrons nearby that can neutralize that free radical and prevent any of those processes: mitochondrial damage, cross linking of proteins, and mutation or genetic damage.
So the whole fabric is basically an antioxidant defense system that is in every part of our body.
We have this material called ground substance which is part of the connective tissue. It goes everywhere in the body. It's a gel material and it stores electrons. So that if you go barefoot, you will take in electrons and your body will store them, and they will be available at any point where you might have an injury, or any point where a free radical might form..."
How Grounding Affects Your Blood
Another very important discovery, and one of the most recent, is that grounding thins your blood, making it less viscous. This discovery can have a profound impact on cardiovascular disease, which is now the number one killer in the world.
Virtually every aspect of cardiovascular disease has been correlated with elevated blood viscosity.
Dr. Sinatra has been coaching Dr. Oschman's team in how to measure blood viscosity using a method called zeta potential. It measures the potential on your red blood cells by determining how fast they migrate in an electrical field.
It turns out that when you ground to the earth, your zeta potential quickly rises, which means your red blood cells have more charge on their surface, which forces them apart from each other. This action causes your blood to thin and flow easier. It also causes your blood pressure to drop.
Another obvious implication of this is that by repelling each other, your red blood cells are less inclined to stick together and form a clot. Blood clots don't have to be very big to form like a pulmonary embolus that would kill you instantly, so this is a significant benefit.
Additionally, if your zeta potential is high, which grounding can facilitate, you not only decrease your heart disease risk but also your risk of multi-infarct dementias, where you start losing brain tissue due to micro-clotting in your brain.
The Best Surfaces for Grounding
Clearly, the simplest way to ground is to walk barefoot. But what about urban or city dwellers who are surrounded by asphalt and concrete? Can you ground on those? And what about natural surfaces�which ones are the most effective?
There are indeed significant differences between various surfaces.
The ideal location for walking barefoot is the beach, close to or in the water, as sea water is a great conductor. Your body also contains mostly water, so it creates a good connection.
A close second would be a grassy area, especially if it's covered with dew, which is what you'd find if you walk early in the morning. According to Dr. Oschman, concrete is a good conductor as long as it hasn't been sealed. Painted concrete does not allow electrons to pass through very well.
Materials like asphalt, wood, and typical insulators like plastic or the soles of your shoes, will not allow electrons to pass through and are not suitable for barefoot grounding.
Why Living in a High-Rise Could be Detrimental to Your Health
Additionally, there's a major difference between standing outside in your bare feet and standing outside in shoes. And, how high up you are, off the surface of the Earth, without being grounded also matters.
Why is this?
Dr. Oschman explains:
"The Earth's surface is electrically charged and can push electrons up in your body. So from the top of your head to the Earth, there is a potential, which you don't feel because it doesn't cause any any particular current to flow, even though it can be a couple of hundred volts. If it did, it would give you a shock.
What happens is when the weather changes is that the potential can go up enormously. It can go from a hundred volts per meter to 10,000 volts per meter. That's pre lightning. We're talking about the potential that causes lightning to come to the earth. That voltage is well known and well understood�
This is the potential between the surface of the earth and the ionosphere, hundreds of miles up, which is very electrically active; charged by the solar wind, the charged particles that come from the sun.
Those charged particles eventually reach the Earth by lightning and electrify the entire surface of the Earth so that anywhere you touch the Earth, there are electrons. They come originally from the sun, to the ionosphere, to the earth.
There is no lightning happening right here right now but somewhere there is lightning, a constant current flow from the ionosphere to the earth. Those are the electrons that your body needs for your immune system to function properly."
What this means is that the higher up you are, separated from the surface of the Earth, the higher this potential would be, and the worse the implications for your health if you're not grounded.
For example, if you live on the 20th floor of a high-rise and you're not grounded (using grounding technology, of course), the consequences to your health will be more significant than if you lived on the first floor.
Likewise, when you wear rubber- or plastic-soled shoes, you are effectively shielding yourself from this beneficial influx of electrons from the Earth. For optimal immune function, you want these electrons to enter your body, so make sure you take your shoes off now and then!
Easy Ways to Incorporate Grounding Into Your Daily Life
Exercising barefoot outdoors is one of the most wonderful, inexpensive and powerful ways of incorporating earthing into your daily life and will also help speed up tissue repair and ease muscle pain due to strenuous exercise.
Indoors, using a grounding pad is an excellent way to help prevent health ailments such as carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis, for example. Dr. Oschman also uses a grounding pad beneath his computer desk that he keeps his bare feet on
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A Detox Foot Spa Using Sea Salt Detoxification is a vital part of good health. Using warm water and sea salt, you can encourage toxins to leave your body by way of your feet! Find out how in this article. The detox foot spa is done by placing the feet in a bowl with warm water and sea salt. It creates a magnetic field of the charged ions and neutralizes oppositely charged particles. It creates a position in the water magnetically attracting toxins and heavy metals in the body, and excreting them through sweat glands and pores of the feet by osmosis which is the process of moving particles at a lower concentration to the higher concentration.
The body has energy meridians that flow through each organ, and the top or bottom of the feet. If the energy becomes stuck we feel emotional and physical discomfort. The foot bath removes these meridians of free radicals and allows energy to flow. In addition, it balances the pH of the body and leaves you feeling revitalized.
A lot of experts have said that extreme toxicity to the body creates a wide range of serious diseases, such as joint swelling and pain, heart disease, cholesterol, diabetes and cancer. To prevent this disease you have to be in harmony with the awareness of body's condition and then be committed to giving the body a good thorough internal detox no less than once in a year. There are many means of detoxification.
The detox foot bath is a new way to cleanse toxins from your body and has been adopted as a popular and effective treatment. This is done through the usage of sea salt. Sea salt is generally obtained through the natural evaporation of seawater. This process has been used mainly in artificial ponds, which are close to the coastline that is secluded. Sea salt consists of 98% sodium chloride with the remaining 2% composed of iron, magnesium and sulfur.
Add a handful of natural sea salt in a bowl with hot water and stir until the granules are dissolved. Sea salt is known to be a natural cleansing agent, drawing toxins from the body of the skin and tissue and encouraging relaxation. It is also rich in minerals. Once you have prepared the bowl with warm water and add the selected ingredients, place it before your partner and ask him to soak his bare feet for at least five minutes. Suggest that he bends over and stretches his toes and feet in the water to exercise the tendons and muscles and release tension. These actions will result in a feeling of relief as the feet start to relax.
A detox foot spa is an effective and painless way to eliminate harmful toxins from the body. Its beginning dates back to early times when the Japanese have soaked their aching and tired feet in a hot spring. It is also derived from healing techniques that are used in reflexology. There are a lot of benefits to detoxifying the body via the foot bath. In addition to enhancing the health of your respiratory system, internal organs, and circulatory system, it also enhances your well being.
By Tony Ulrich Published: 11/15/2010
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A Special Interview with Dr. James Oschman By Dr. Mercola DM: Dr. Joseph Mercola, DO DO: Dr. James Oschman DM: Welcome everyone. We�re just delighted today to have an expert in the energy medicine field, who has written a number of books and is widely recognized as an authority in this discipline. His name is Dr. James Oschman. I am going to let him describe his professional training and his expertise that allows him to share with us some very important information about an exciting topic that I�m sure many of you have not heard about which is earthing or grounding. Welcome, Dr. Oschman. DO: Thank you. It�s nice to be with you. I really value and appreciate all the work you�ve done to educate people about various very important health matters. Thank you for that. DM: :It�s a great privilege to have the opportunity to do that and connect with people like yourself who have really committed so much time, effort, and energy in developing expertise that can have such profound implications. We�re going to get into your background but just let me give a brief -- well, why don�t we get into your background first then I�ll talk about my introduction and exposure to this then we�ll go into the details. Why don�t you tell us about your training and what you�re currently doing professionally. DO: My background is that I have a Bachelor�s Degree in Biophysics and a PhD in Biology from the University of Pittsburgh. After my PhD, I traveled around the world and worked in various laboratories and met wonderful scientists and became more or less plugged in to conventional scientific processes. I did a lot of research using the electron microscope looking at very small things. After a long period of success, I realized that I was ready to look at something else. That�s when I encountered alternative medicine. This was 25 years ago when scientists -- it just was not politically correct� DM: Well, it still isn�t for most. DO: I realized that if I looked at the science behind the various therapies, it would be useful, and that sooner or later it would pay off. It has paid off in that now I am connected with therapists of all kinds all over the world. I have visited more than 20 countries and been in most cities in the U.S. talking about energy medicine, about alternative medicine, complimentary therapies, and learning a 2 lot from the therapists and putting the science together with the practice of every method from acupuncture to zero balancing -- A to Z and all the ones in between -- learning about these techniques. Each of these techniques teaches us a little bit of new information about the human body and how the human body works. I brought my rigorous academic training into this rather amazing world that many people have been confused about and have been skeptical about. I just wanted to help people understand what�s going on and learn. I ended up writing a series of articles for a new journal: The Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies. They wanted to know about energy. Every school, every modern school of alternative medicine talks about energy and the editors of the journal wanted to know, what is this energy. They all say something different. Is there some science that can be used to demystify the word �energy�? The more I looked, the more I found very good science. The articles that I wrote for the journal were a big hit. I validated a number of therapies that had never had any validation before. No one had ever said there is a science behind this work. The articles were a success and the journal was published by Churchill Livingstone. The publisher decided I should put all of that into a book. The result was Energy Medicine: The Scientific Basis and the second book on Energy Medicine in Therapeutics and Human Performance. How I got into earthing is an interesting story. My local chiropractor in Dover, New Hampshire went to Boston for a meeting. Jeff Spencer who is a chiropractor who also works with elite athletes -- Jeff Spencer gave a talk in Boston. Part way through the talk he held up my book and said, �All of you need this book on energy medicine.� My chiropractor went up to Jeff at the break and said, �You know that guy Oschman who wrote that book, he�s my patient.� Jeff said, �No. Get out of here.� One thing led to another and Kevin Reichlin, my chiropractor, invited Jeff to come to Dover to speak to the New Hampshire Cycle Club just so that we could meet. Jeff gave a fascinating talk about his experience with the Tour de France, with Lance Armstrong and the other cyclists in the Tour de France. We had dinner. Jeff and I talked about exciting things that I know about from energy medicine. Jeff was all ears because he�s always working with the elite athletes, people at the cutting edge and he�s always interested in new techniques. We were both very excited to know each other. And then what happened was we met Clint Ober who would develop the idea of grounding people -- we call it earthing now -- connecting the body to the Earth. Clint was trying to find somebody who might help do some research on the subject and one thing led to another. He ended up looking for an athletic person, an athletic trainer. He ended up going to Jeff Spencer. 3 One of the funny things that happened was Clint�s associate, Kaye, saw these yellow jerseys in frames on the wall. She said to Clint, �What is with this guy? He�s got these shirts with writing all over them hanging on the walls. This is very strange.� Those are yellow jerseys that Lance Armstrong wore as he rode into Paris at the end of the Tour de France, autographed by all of the team members saying, �Thank you, Jeff for all you did to see us through this most arduous event in the athletic world, the Tour de France.� They were very grateful. They all signed. He had these signed yellow jerseys. When Clint described the earthing phenomenon to Jeff, Jeff immediately called me and had me fly out to California to meet Clint and talk about what kind of research could be done to find out what is going on. People have known for a long time that walking barefoot kind of feels good. There are places in the world like Germany and Austria and Switzerland where there are communities where there is a tradition of getting up in the morning and going barefoot. DM: Before we go into that. I wanted to go into my experience with it too and then we�ll go into the definition of what this earthing is all about. My introduction into this concept was also through a chiropractor who is actually responsible for caring for the dance troupe for Celine Dion in Las Vegas at the time. He introduced me to Jeff Spencer who as you mentioned, was really the chiropractor for Lance Armstrong�s team. And really, a major factor on why Lance was able to win seven Tour de France�s which is a record to this day. It was very intriguing. It�s a simple concept. We�ll discuss it in a moment. My introduction occurred at least five years ago maybe even six or seven years ago. It�s been a long time. I had some skepticism a few years ago and some concerns that this whole concept could actually sort of self destruct and may actually be counterproductive. But those have been addressed because I actually had a chance to meet with Clint personally, not the on the phone, but personally earlier this year. I�m very excited about it and full speed ahead. I�m really very excited too for your work and really providing the scientific groundwork and basis and justification for understanding what occurs because ultimately, it�s a pretty simple concept. As you were just starting to explain, where people get some health benefits by going back to what we did -- what our ancestors did generations ago which was simply walking barefoot without shoes on the ground. It doesn�t look like much is happening but in the physics and an electronic level, which you have specific training in, there is quite a magic that occurs. Largely because of the industrialization in wearing shoes and living in buildings now where we�re really isolated from that. Why don�t you discuss this whole concept of earthing. What actually happens to an individual when they start walking barefoot on the ground? 4 DO: To find out, we had to bring the Earth inside of the laboratory. One of the very good methods is to have a person lie down in a room that is very quiet and peaceful and connect their body to the Earth. You can do a period where you measure all of the physiological processes. DM: How do you do this connection? Do you just put a ground to their back or their feet or hands? DO: It turns out the skin is a good conductor. In any place that you connect the Earth to the skin works. It turns out that if you check various places there is one place that is especially good for connecting the body to the Earth and that�s on the ball of the foot; a point known to acupuncturists as Kidney 1 (K1). A well known point that connects electrically -- conductively connects to all of the acupuncture meridians and essentially connects to every nook and cranny of the body. So that point, Kidney 1 on the ball of the foot, is a good place to put a little patch. These are electrode patches like you would use for taking an EKG or measuring brainwaves or whatever, little conductive patches. So you put conductive patches on the balls of the feet and then you have a period where the person is not connected to the Earth and you measure every physiological parameter� DM: Sorry for the interruption again. You mentioned the ball of the foot, this point K1, the acupuncture point. For those who aren�t familiar with acupuncture, where is it on the ball of the foot? Is it the middle tarsal? Is it towards that outside or the inside of the foot? DO: Right in the middle of the ball of the foot. It�s actually a well known point in many therapies because a lot of therapists like massage therapists will put their thumbs on a person�s Kidney 1 and hold it for a minute or so at the end of a massage. It�s a very nice connection. Now, because of the work we�ve done, we understand why that�s so important and why that makes people feel good. DM: Is there a benefit when you�re connecting them electrically to the grounding to have both feet or one foot or is one foot better than the other or it doesn�t really matter as long as one of the feet are connected at K1? DO: As long as you connect one of the feet. We do both just to have a good connection. That�s the only thing that�s being done. Of course, these rooms are very quiet and nothing else is going on so it�s a controlled situation. We can see what the grounding or the earthing is doing and every major shifts. The first thing is the skin resistance within a fraction of a second. That�s indicating an autonomic nervous system -- it�s indicting a relaxation going from sympathetic to parasympathetic state. It�s sort of described as stress draining out of the body. It�s very relaxing and then things begin to happen with the heart rhythm and the breath and so on. 5 We have now published probably a dozen papers. We have I think a dozen scientists working on the project. We�re finding out a lot about what happens when you connect the body to the Earth and what it�s really helping us with. That is tremendously exciting. Is that it�s helping us understand inflammation. As you know, inflammation is one of the hottest areas in modern biomedicine. There are hundreds of thousands of papers correlating chronic inflammation with chronic diseases of all kinds. My curiosity is why? What is the connection? Why does inflammation, how does inflammation correlate with every disease -- Alzheimer�s, kidney disease, diabetes and so on and so on. Virtually every chronic disease -- for example, cancer, there are over 30,000 scientific studies reporting a correlation between cancer and inflammation. Why is that? What�s going on? What�s going on is now understandable from the kinds of results we�re seeing from studying earthing. So that�s a very exciting thing. For me, this is the most exciting. I�ve worked on a lot of projects. This is a project that can literally help the lives of millions of people around the world. DM: I would have to disagree with you there. There are somewhere between six and seven billion now. I think it�s billions. I mean, there is virtually very few people that wouldn�t benefit from this. The only ones who wouldn�t are those who are actually being grounded everyday themselves because they live in Third World countries. But for those of us who live in industrialized societies, I think that it�s going to benefit virtually everyone. My understanding of this process, this magic that occurs when you�re grounded whether it�s walking barefoot or being connected electrically on K1 or sleeping on grounding sheets, is that there is this transfer of free electrons from the Earth into your body. And these free electrons are probably the ultimate and most potent antioxidants known to man. These antioxidants are responsible for the clinical observations that you�re noticing such as the change in the heart rate variability, the decrease in skin resistance, the decrease in inflammation and all the associated consequences. I�m wondering if you can discuss the science because I couldn�t agree with you more. I think that the potential implications for this innovation -- it literally is Nobel Prize winning but it is just beyond phenomenal. It�s such a simple basic concept. Really part of my reluctance to sharing this initially was it is so simple and there is a lot of skepticism on this. But many years have passed. You�ve done a lot of science. There is a lot of research and studies that have been done. 6 If you could expand on this concept of the free electron transfer and how that impacts the body, it would be great. DO: I have to say that I�m very proud of you for doing this because you provide antioxidants. I take some of your products everyday. You have a deep understanding of the importance of antioxidants. It�s very special to me that you have seen what earthing can do and that you appreciate it. I�m appreciating your appreciation for this phenomenon. What is going on? The first discovery was that people sleep better if they�re grounded. This was done by bringing the ground into the laboratory or into people�s homes and just checking to see how well they could sleep when they�re sleeping on a sheet that is connected to the Earth. Why do they sleep better? It turns out they sleep better because their day-night cortisol rhythm evens out. You can�t sleep well at night if your cortisol is elevated. It�s the stress hormone. That was the first thing that we found out that stress is reduced and people reported feeling better, sleeping better. It turns out that when you sleep better, everything in your physiology works better. There is thousands of studies of the correlation between sleep and health. So that was the first thing. And then we realized that people were sleeping better also because they had less pain. It�s hard to sleep when you�re in pain. So we did some thermography studies. With thermography you can see where inflammation is in the body. It�s a very sensitive method that picks up the heat associated with inflammation. You could literally see the inflammation go away as the heat went away. Joints that were inflamed and were painful stopped being painful and stopped being inflamed sometimes in 20 minutes. There were people who haven�t been able to walk without a cane for years just as one example, after 20 minutes, they said, nothing happened and then they stood up and they said, �Oh my goodness. My knee doesn�t hurt anymore.� DM: I�ve got a point of clarification for you. This improvement that you�re describing occurred when they were connected to K1. Is that correct? DO: Sometimes it�s good to just put the patch right on the place that hurts. DM: That�s what I was asking. Does it make a difference whether you�re in K1 or on the point that is causing the health challenge or pain? DO: If you really want to be sure, you put it on K1 and on the joint that�s painful. In the Tour de France when a cyclist was injured, Jeff would put patches all around the site of injury. They have lots of patches on. 7 DM: Do you think there is a significant additional benefit from the patches versus just sleeping on the grounding sheets? DO: The patches are very useful in a clinical situation where you have a person with a particular -- for example, if you had surgery, it would be good to have the patches post surgical around the site of the incision to speed the healing process. The healing process is definitely speeded up. So the patches are useful in the clinical situation. But for day to day life, the simplest thing you can do is put the sheet on your bed and forget it. You don�t have to do anything else. No refills, you just have the sheet. You don�t have to change your lifestyle in any way at all. It benefits your physiology by every measure that we�ve been able to make. DM: Now that we�ve created some confusion talking about the mechanical logistics of how this works -- let me just clear that up and then we�ll talk about the science again -- the sheets are essentially bed sheets that have silver threads in them and they�re connected to -- these threads are obviously electrical conductors and they�re connected to a grounding device. Initially, that grounding device was a pole that stuck in the Earth and led by a wire up into the bedroom. But now you�ve got an easier, less complex process where you just plug it into the grounding outlet so that you create a grounding circuit and essentially achieve the same process. DO: Right but you have to be sure that the outlet in your home or your apartment is a good ground. We have a little tester that you can use. DM: So you just confirm that. Most of the times, they are but if they�re not of course it�s not going to work. Ultimately, any of these systems are designed to transfer these free electrons. Why don�t you pick it up there and kind of help us understand how this process works because that�s really the key, the foundation. Actually, it�s just such a profoundly beneficial concept that I really want to make sure that we�re clear about the science. DO: This is so interesting. It has to do with what happens when you have an injury. Even the slightest bump, if you bump the door, the immune system immediately responds and sends white blood cells to the place that�s injured. Bigger injuries more white cells. The body knows the size of the injury and how many cells to send to the site of injury. The white cells, they�re called neutrophils. That�s one type. There are a variety of white blood cells. 8 The neutrophils secrete -- it�s called the oxidative burst. It�s basically a reactive oxygen species or reactive nitrogen species sometimes called free radicals. These are like Pac-Man. They are very important molecules that tear things apart. If bacteria have gotten across your skin, these free radicals will destroy the bacteria very quickly. If you have damaged cells, the free radicals will break apart the damaged cells so that there is a space for healthy cells to move in and repair the tissues. That�s known as the inflammatory response, very widely studied. What he have discovered that is truly profound is we understand now why you get the inflammatory response which has five characteristics: Pain, redness, heat, loss of range of motion, and swelling. All of those are the five hallmarks of inflammation and it turns out that that doesn�t have to happen. Inflammation in medicine is considered an important part of the healing process. Inflammation is really an artifact caused by lack of electrons in the tissues. What happens is, the neutrophils deliver the Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) to the site of injury. Some of those free radicals can leak into the surrounding tissue and damage healthy tissue. That�s what gives the inflammatory response. If you have your feet on the ground after an injury; If you fall down and hurt yourself, if you can put the injured area or put your feet on the ground, electrons will come in to your body and spread through your tissues. Any free radicals that leak into the healthy tissue will immediately by neutralized electrically. The electrons are negative, the free radicals are positive, they neutralize each other. So really what is happening with grounding or earthing is you�re protecting your body from -- I call it, collateral damage. Damage that was not intended to take place but does take place because we have disconnected ourselves from the Earth by putting rubber and plastic on the bottoms of our shoes. DM: Let me interject something here too just for clarification. In that the way the traditional antioxidants work such vitamin C, vitamin E, astaxanthin, lutein, all of these powerful biochemicals that many of us take as supplements, the way they work and the only way they work -- coenzyme Q10 is another one -- is that they transfer free electrons. Because once they are oxidized -- they only work in the reduced form. For those who haven�t taken chemistry, that means they have an electron to donate. If they are oxidized, an electron is gone, they don�t work. 9 Perhaps maybe you can help us understand the differences between these traditional antioxidants that most of the people listening to this call or watching it, are taking themselves and this transfer that one gets through grounding or earthing. DO: The difference is that when you take an antioxidant in your diet -- I take Mercola antioxidants everyday and turmeric and other materials that are known to have antioxidant properties -- they of course are digested and they have to cross the digestive tract into the blood stream and they have to make their way to any place where they�re needed. The grounding is a completely different pathway. It�s up through the feet, through the tissues of the body that are able to conduct electrons. One of the problems with the inflammatory response is that it�s well known that when you have inflammation, there is a barricade that forms around the site of inflammation. It�s made from injured cells. It actually is a barrier to the antioxidants that can get in to your system. It�s difficult for them to get across that barricade. It turns out the barricade is conductive to electrons. It�s actually made of collagen which is a semi-conductor. There are semi-conducting molecules all through the body so the dietary antioxidants are very important. I take them everyday. This other method is also very important to deliver antioxidant electrons to any place where there might be free radicals. One of the places that is very important has to do with aging. We could talk about aging if that is a subject� DM: Sure we can go right into that but before we do, I just want to clear up some of the distinctions. Do you believe that there is a synergy -- obviously, you do since you do both, you do the grounding and you take antioxidants. I guess, could one just do grounding or earthing and achieve most of the benefits or is there a synergistic benefit from taking the oral antioxidants or the dietary ones? DO: I think that�s a great question for research. I don�t have an answer. DM: Alright, we don�t know. That�s interesting. It seems to me we need both. Many of these approaches are just based on observation of what our ancestors did. Our ancestors ate healthy raw foods that typically were loaded with these antioxidants and they also walked barefoot on the Earth. It does seem to make sense that we should be doing both, not just one or the other. DO: It makes sense. DM: And then we�ll let the science prove it later. Why don�t you talk about the implications of this transfer of free electrons on our aging process because unless 10 you�re going to die prematurely of an accident, that�s something that all of us are challenged with. We like to retain as much of our function as possible. I think ultimately, we are getting close to the technology where we actually develop the ability to lengthen our telomeres which, I�m sure you�re familiar with it, believed to be one of the primary causes of aging. But until we�re at that level, we need to keep ourselves and our tissues healthy and this transfer of free electrons is one way to do it. Why don�t you help us understand some of the implications on this technology it has for us. DO: The dominant theory of aging is the free radical theory which is that aging occurs because of accumulative damage to the body caused by free radicals. You get free radicals when you have an injury from breathing toxic materials, from breathing, from eating food. If you don�t want any free radicals in your body, you can stop eating and stop breathing but that doesn�t work very well. The reason being that oxygen is very active, very reactive and oxygen is all through the body and can be damaging to the tissue. So there needs to be a balance. That�s probably the answer to your previous question maintaining the appropriate balance of antioxidant molecules and antioxidant electrons in your body. Having everything balanced, we know, is the secret of life. One of the things that happens is we know that dietary restriction -- animals live longer, if they eat less. That�s another practice that I carry out very much. I like to eat and a lot of people do. The reason is there are three kinds of sub-models of the aging process caused by free radicals. One is the mutation idea that free radicals damage DNA. DNA can repair itself to some extent but if you keep damaging it, eventually you can get a mutation which can lead to problems like cancer. The mutation model is one free radical model of aging. Another one is the mitochondrial theory. Mitochondria in every cell in your body are very busy carrying out oxidative metabolism and a byproduct is free radicals. So the mitochondrial theory of aging is that eventually the mitochondria wear out or they just self destruct because of these free radicals. Another theory is the protein cross linking theory which is why you get wrinkles in your skin. The proteins stick to each other, and enzymes don�t work as well. Those are the theories of aging. It looks to me from my study of biophysics and cell biology -- it looks to me like the body is designed with its fabric, its semi-conductive fabric it goes everywhere in the body including inside of every cell. I refer to this system 11 as the living matrix. Those electrons that enter the bottom of your foot can move anywhere in the body. That matrix is poised so that any place where a free radical forms there will be electrons nearby that can neutralize that free radical and prevent any of those processes, mitochondrial damage, cross linking of proteins and mutation, genetic damage. So the whole fabric is basically an antioxidant defense system that is in every part of our body. We have this material called ground substance which is part of the connective tissue. It also goes everywhere in the body. It�s a gel material and it stores electrons. So that if you go barefoot, you will take in electrons and your body will store them and they will be at any point where you might have an injury or any point where a free radical might form nearby will be ground substance that can deliver electrons to prevent collateral damage in case of injury or the other kinds of damage that I just mentioned. DM: I kind of like to view those theories of aging that you mentioned as really more of an accelerated aging because there is this basal rate of aging that even if you�re doing everything perfectly, you�re going to age. That�s believed to be related to telomere shortening. DO: Exactly. DM: I don�t know that optimizing free electron flow would optimize telomere shortening but it would certainly -- that would be the goal to get just to the base and have everything ideal. I really do believe very strongly that within the next decade or two, we�ll have some clinically proven approaches to actually increase the length of our telomeres which is essentially the same as reversing aging. You will grow younger if your telomere is lengthened. At least that�s what it shows in the test tube. The evidence seems pretty compelling which is pretty shocking if you think about it. But in the meantime, we�re not there yet so we need to implement these things. That�s why I think grounding has such profound potential to extending our lifespan to the point we�ll be able to apply these as yet to be discovered technologies. DO: It�s great that you�re on top of all of these. A lot of information comes to you everyday. You process it and pass it on to everyone. DM: I like to share it with people because my passion is health. Not only to stay healthy personally but to teach people how to do that and in the process, uncover a lot of the fraud and deception and the brainwashing that�s occurring because of essentially corruption in the multinational corporate interest who are really deceiving people for their own financial gain which is really sad but nevertheless the reality that we have to deal with. 12 I�m thankful that the internet allows us this platform to help educate people and to share the truth and to give us the opportunity to discuss these new technologies with people like you who are really advancing the science in this really important area. It�s just massively important. Last week, I had a chance to interview another exciting scientist who I believe is one of the top experts in the world on structured water, Dr. Gerald Pollack out of the University of Washington. He�s a professor of Biology there. The reason I mentioned him is that it occurred to me during our discussion that one of the benefits of grounding maybe that it actually structures the water in your body. I certainly didn�t know it before that a quantity of molecules, 99.9% of the molecules in our body, is water. It�s actually the structuring of the water that has this profound amazing benefit. When you actually expose regular water to a negative electrode, it will start to structure. That�s his concept. He put a positive electrode and then it will start to destructure. Of course, when we ground that�s exactly what we�re getting. We�re getting this negative, this transfer of free electrons into our body. I�m wondering if you have been exposed to that concept or if you have any familiarity about grounding as it relates to structuring the water in the matrix in our body. DO: That�s very interesting that you say that. I have not looked into that. I know Pollack�s work. I know of the importance of water. There are people who think there is water system in the body and it is a conductor of protons actually, so we have electrons and protons. There is a relationship between the movement of electrons through the fabric of the body and the structure of the water related to that fabric. I�m getting around to the answer to your question is yes, there is a relationship between free electrons moving in the system and water. It turns out, hydration is extremely important as you know. One of the discoveries made actually in Woods Hole -- when I was working there at the lab across the hall where Albert Szent-Gyorgyi was working on the electronic properties of tissues -- they discovered that if you change the moisture content of tissue by a small amount, there is an enormous increase in conductivity, of semi conduction. So the water shell around the proteins is highly structured and very important to the conduction of energy through the system. Hydration is vital. DM: Is it just simply making sure you�re drinking enough water, high quality water? Is that correct? DO: Right. 13 DM: It�s so easy to get dehydrated. The mistake that most of our culture makes is assuming that tap liquid, as Daniel Vitalis likes to refer to, what flows out of most people�s home faucets is actually suitable for drinking. It really isn�t because it�s loaded with so many toxins like chlorine, disinfection byproducts, fluoride, arsenic, drugs that have been consumed in the community. We really need high quality water to achieve this ideally that�s free from the toxins. DO: One of the things is that a lot of people are dehydrated. Most of the people you see walking around are dehydrated and they are electron deficient. I refer to them as being electron deficient. Their immune system is not ready for an injury. People for example, a lot of people get headaches and they take an aspirin and drink a glass of water. The headache goes away and they give the credit to the aspirin. It�s actually the glass of water that makes their headache go away. So the aspirin bottle should say on the side, in case of a headache, drink a glass of water. DM: It�s certainly a simple�of clean water as you mentioned but that certainly is simple enough and one of the best approaches that most of us don�t do. Actually, sort of taking that a step further, the best water you can get would be highly structured water and the best structuring you can do is to squeeze fresh from organic vegetables and having that green juice. Not so much the fruits but the green vegetables. That will do an enormous benefit for body hydration and something I recommend that people do on a regular basis. It�s a very powerful habit to get into. DO: These are wonderful natural things that can -- natural medicine is on the upswing for sure. DM: As it needs to be. Our current system isn�t working. We�re spending literally well over 2 trillion dollars and it�s vastly on its way to approaching 3 trillion especially with the new healthcare plan passed and really not getting much benefit. Our system is such that we�re really ranked not very high in a world perspective of the quality of care that�s being rendered in this country. We got to make some changes if we�re going to see some improvement. DO: We have the most expensive healthcare system in the world but it is not the best. It�s far down on the list in terms of the quality of healthcare. It�s a tragedy. I�m really hopeful that things will swing around pretty quickly. DM: I think things have to get worse before they get better and then people realize that the current system is not working and they�re going to be seeking alternatives. We�ll be there with the simple ones that people can do with strategies like this that are so powerful. I mean, it�s just basically simple things, you exercise, stay away from grains and sugar, you make sure your vitamin D is optimized and ground yourself. I mean, that is so basic. 14 These things will clearly address the majority of illnesses and probably get up to 70, 80 maybe 90 percent of the challenges that people suffer with. Of course you�re there is going to be room for fine tuning in professional health coaches to help figure out the subtleties of why that isn�t working but that�s a basic strategy that everyone needs to implement. DO: One of the important discoveries, the most recent discovery is that grounding thins the blood, makes it less viscous. This is a profound discovery. Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer in the world. It turns out that every aspect of cardiovascular disease has been correlated with elevated blood viscosity. DM: What�s the best measurement of that problem, the blood viscosity? Is there a simple tool that people can use or it has to be done in a laboratory? DO: I�m sure you know Dr. Sinatra. DM: Yes. DO: He has been coaching us in how to do the measurements and the method of choice is called zeta potential. Measure the actual potential on the red blood cells by seeing how fast they migrate in an electrical field. It turns out that when you ground to the earth, very soon, your zeta potential goes up which means the red blood cells have more charge on their surface and they force each other apart. The blood gets thinner and flows easier. Blood pressure drops. All aspects so far with just our experience with patients with different kinds of cardiovascular problems, all aspects of cardiovascular -- all of the issues are mitigated by grounding. High blood pressure is caused in part because the blood is too thick. The heart has to pump harder. DM: The obvious implication for those who may not fully appreciate that is -- well, these red blood cells are kind of like magnets so they�re repelling each other and as a result, they�re not able to stick together and form a clot. These clots don�t have to be very big to form like a pulmonary embolus which would kill you instantly. But in my mind the more dangerous ones are the really small ones that tend to clog up the arteries in your brain and you get these multi-infarct dementias where you start losing your brain tissue because it�s clotted. If you got this high zeta potential which grounding can facilitate then you�re really radically decreasing not only the heart disease but the brain disease. That is an absolutely frightening epidemic that�s coming up to have one in three Americans losing their brain from Alzheimer�s in the next few decades is not a pretty picture. So we need these basic strategies to help us. To me that�s even more exciting are the neurological implications of this improvement on the blood thinning. 15 DO: Exactly. We�re talking about cardiovascular disease, stroke, all of the inflammatory neurological issues that people can have that can be very disruptive and very painful. DM: That�s exciting. Dr. Sinatra has done a lot of this research too. An interesting component is that when I first was exposed to this as I mentioned earlier, a lot of this research wasn�t done. We didn�t even know about the zeta potential and the decrease in the blood viscosity at that time and since it�s been learned, that that is the case. I mean, this is new great science. One of the other interesting areas that I was very excited to learn about and actually have started to do it myself now is to ground when you are exercising. Previously, it was really obvious to me that we should be taking antioxidants during exercise because it increases free radicals and it�s probably a good idea. But it would seem the best way to do this is to be grounded when you�re exercising. Ideally the simplest way is just to run barefoot. I�m not a particular fan of long distance running but you could do sprinting and stuff but if you�re doing it while you�re connected to the earth, there is no problem. There are other systems that you can do that while you�re exercising in a gym or something. I�m wondering if you can comment on the benefit or the recommendation of grounding while you�re exercising. DO: Actually, we did a study and this was done at the University of Oregon using a method called delayed onset muscular soreness. It�s the only way that we can in the laboratory cause inflammation to human beings legally. What happens is with delayed onset muscular soreness is that you over exert. You lift something that is too heavy and you do it too many times and then you stop doing that and the next day, your muscles hurt and they are inflamed. DM: Which many of us view as actually a good thing. We like to push to the point where we have a little pain the next day that we know we�re really worked out. DO: Exactly. This is a way of doing that in a controlled manner and seeing if you can speed up the recovery, speeds up resolving the pain. Grounding, earthing seems to be the best method that�s ever been found for speeding the recovery from delayed onset muscular soreness in a controlled study. This proves the pain reduction aspect of grounding. DM: Let me try to understand a little better. So are you suggesting that by grounding during the exercise you actually were able to prevent the delay of the onset of muscle soreness or actually just increase the recovery from it? DO: You speed the recovery. What you�re recovering from is inflammation. Dr. Brown who did these studies measured the changes in the blood in all of the various cells of 16 the immune system and you could follow the changes in the immune system. There was definitely less inflammation as shown by changes in blood profiles and in recorded pain that resulted from the excessive exercise. DM: So it seems like that really should be a new almost universal recommendation when you�re exercising especially when you�re pushing it and you�re creating all these free radicals or also doing strength training exercises is to really make sure that you�re grounded. And sleep grounded because it�s going to continue the healing process and decreasing inflammation and improve the recovery rate. DO: I gave a workshop in London, a two-day workshop, and I talked about grounding the first day and the second day, when I got there to the class, one of the students was all excited. He said, �You know, I�ve been doing this exercise where I go up on the balls of my feet. For 20 minutes, I just lift my heels off the ground�� DM: Calf raises. DO: Yeah. �I forgot this is a chi-gong exercise.� He said, �I forgot that the chi-gong teacher told me to do this barefoot on the earth. So I�ve been doing it for 20 years in my living room. This morning, I went out and I did it in the garden in my bare feet. It made all the difference in the world. It was fantastic.� Yoga should be done grounded. Exercise grounded, fantastic idea. DM: Especially if you do many of things like tai chi or chi-gong. Ideally you would do it outside. Let me just expand on that too and maybe you can help us understand the differences but this grounding can occur when you�re connected to the earth. So that will interestingly also occur when you�re on concrete because concrete I believe has water going through it so that allows electrons to pass through. But materials like asphalt or any wood or any typical insulators, plastic; certainly, that will not allow it. But being in the water at the beach or on the sand that will also work. Maybe you just expand a little bit on that so people can understand how they can get grounded outside and how they might not get grounded. DO: The best thing you can do is go to the beach and put your bare feet into the sea water. It�s fantastic. Sea water is a great conductor. That�s probably the best grounding you can get at the beach. That�s part of the reason people like to go to the beach and run along the beach. The wet sand in their bare feet, it�s so good for them. Concrete is a good conductor if it hasn�t been sealed. If it�s been painted it probably is not a good conductor. DM: Interestingly, I live in Chicago and then as we have this interview it�s 4 degrees outside. So I escape to -- previously in Maui or South Florida this year but it�s all in the beach. Can you help us understand the differences between actually being in the ocean 17 and getting grounded that way versus being just on the grass or walking on ground. Is it just a matter of the quantity of the electron flow? DO: I think so because the sea water is a very good conductor. So when you put your feet in the seawater, your feet are just surrounded with this great conductor. The electrons from the Earth travel better through seawater probably than through the Earth�s crust. Although the Earth�s crust is a good conductor of electrons, seawater is the best. We have seawater inside of us in our circulatory system. So that�s a very good connection. Asphalt is not a good way to get grounded and as you said, wood isn�t. Moist grass is fantastic -- when the dew is still on the grass. In Europe, there are places where people go for two hours. There is a custom of walking first thing in the morning, two hours walking through the grass in your bare feet. They�re very healthy people. DM: So the converse of that is if you�re in more arid or dessert-like environments where the grass or the shrubbery is really parched and there is not a lot of water in the top soil that�s not going to be as good a conductor. Would that be true? DO: Probably not as good but there is still some connection. DM: There was a book published earlier this year which I believe is called Earthing. Really a phenomenal summary of what we�re discussing. One of the interesting concepts in that book which I wasn�t aware of prior to reading it was that and I like you to review is that the further you go away from the surface of the Earth the larger the differential is in the volts. I don�t really quite fully understand it. I mean, even just standing from the ground to the top of your head either five or six feet there is over 100 volts difference and if you go to 10 or 20 or 100 feet, where you go on a high-rise building, it becomes enormous because it�s a difference. Can you help explain that and expand on the concept which I�m a bit confused on but I thought it was a really very crucial point to consider and one that I wasn�t aware of before reading the book. DO: There is a huge difference between standing outside in your bare feet and standing outside in shoes. Basically the Earth�s surface is electrically charged and can push electrons up in your body. So the top of your head to the earth, there is a potential as you described, you don�t feel it particularly. It doesn�t cause any -- even though it can be a couple of hundred volts -- it doesn�t cause any particular current to flow. It would give you a shock. What happens is when the weather changes the potential can go up enormously. It can go from a hundred volts per meter to 10,000 volts per meter. That�s pre lightning. We�re talking about the potential that gives rise, that causes lightning to come to the earth. That voltage is well known and well understood. 18 Trees, it sort of creates an umbrella effect that protects you from electromagnetic fields actually. We talked about the umbrella effect in the book. DM: How does this potential get there? Is it an artifact of just a separation from the Earth, the further you go, the bigger the difference is and as a result of that difference, there has to be an electrical potential? DO: It�s the potential between the surface of the earth and the ionosphere hundreds of miles up which is very electrically active, very much charged by the solar wind, the charged particles that come from the sun. Those charged particles eventually reach the Earth by lightning and electrify the entire surface of the Earth so that anywhere you touch the Earth, there are electrons. They come originally from the sun, to the ionosphere to the earth. There is no lightning happening right here right now but somewhere there is lightning, a constant current flow from the ionosphere to the earth. Those are the electrons that our body needs to have the immune system function properly. DM: So the higher up you are separated from the surface of the Earth, the higher this difference would be and the worse the implications for your health if you�re not grounded, is that correct? So that if you live in a high rise building and you�re not grounded and you�re on the 20th floor or the 50th floor, that�s going to be a potentially more significant health consequence to you than just living on the first floor or even the second floor. Can you go into that? DO: I think you�re right about that. I think eventually, we will have our buildings redesigned, our living spaces, our working spaces redesigned in a way that keeps us in contact with the Earth as much as possible. The key thing is not the voltage. The key thing is having those electrons enter your body so that they are available for your immune system to function properly. DM: Because modifying your living space to have this free electron availability to you is relatively easy to do if you design it in from the beginning. But this is a totally new concept and it�s not recognized and utilized at all in any of the professional architectural plans but it�s just a matter of us bringing this awareness to them and it should be easily adopted. DO: I talked to a spa conference a couple of years ago in Monaco. I told them they need to be aware of grounding because it makes such a difference. They have lovely pictures of people stretching out in the sun on a piece of wood. If they were stretching out on a grounded surface, it would make all the difference in the world. So you go the spa to get healthy but there should be a place where you can go and learn how to be grounded and the importance of grounding and you should be grounded 19 as much as possible all the time. I have a pad under my computer desk and I have my bare feet on it all the time while I�m using my computer. Just as an example, you can�t get carpal tunnel if you�re grounded. Carpal tunnel is tendonitis and inflammation of the retinaculum, connective tissue around your wrist. That inflammation will not happen if you�re grounded. So you can use the computer all day, all night and not have it bother you. So that�s very important for people who work at computer stations. DM: Absolutely. They still should probably have an ergonomic keyboard and pay attention to the biomechanics but clearly, I mean, just for health reasons, they should be grounded but it�s certainly nice to get the additional benefit of reducing carpal tunnel. You can also do this in your vehicles. A significant risk for those of us who travel is being 30 to 35 thousand feet up in a plane and being exposed to radiation dangers because we�re so high up. It is possible to ground yourself on a plane. Forget the plane, we can just talk about the more significant dangers of living in our environment either at home or work or school the electromagnetic radiation in that. I�ve talked a lot about it on the site. It�s clearly a danger and a risk. You don�t want to be holding a cellphone to your head. Even the most committed person is going to be exposed to the radiation just in the environment. Can you help us understand how being grounded will minimize your health damage or risk from this radiation whether it�s in your homes, school, at work or at 35,000 feet in the air. DO: We don�t emphasize this as much as we emphasize the importance for your immune system to have electrons from the Earth. However, you can measure the potential on your body with a simple volt meter. This is really how Clint got started on this. He had a volt meter. He made a little thumbtack sized terminal that he could hold with his thumb and the other terminal on the volt meter measuring AC volts connected to a wire that he plugged into the ground about a foot long plugged into the ground. He was measuring the potential on his body relative to the earth. He walked around his house and found some places where there is a lot of electricity on his body. If you put your head near a fluorescent lamp, the voltage goes way up. He found out that his bedroom was very electrically active. The wires that are hidden in the wall behind the bed. The wires that go to your bed lamp; to your clock radio. The worst thing of all is an electric blanket. It really electrifies you. Once he realized that, he wondered what would happen if he grounded his body. So he rigged up a simple thing on his bed so that he could ground himself and he laid down on 20 the bed. This is the real story of how all of this began. He laid down on his bed that was connected to the Earth, he looked at his volt meter and he was reading just a couple of millivolts, a few thousands of a volt. The next thing he knew it was the next morning. He had the best sleep he had had for years. He didn�t take his pain meds before he went to sleep. He was totally surprised. So that�s what got him started in realizing how important it was to sleep grounded. For sure it lowers the voltage that�s induced into your body basically capturing your electrons and making them vibrate back and forth 60 times a second. That goes down to virtually zero when you ground yourself while you�re in bed. It�s like your body repels the electrical field in your environment. Those fields are there even when your bed lamp is turned off. The wires going to your bed lamp and to your clock radio, and to other appliances are irradiating you with 60 cycle electricity. There is controversy about whether that is good for you or not good for you. We don�t want to get too wrapped up on that because the main thing is the importance of the electrons as antioxidants. But you definitely have less induced voltage on your body if you�re grounded. DM: So this less induced voltage will translate to a protection against the well documented damages from exposure to this type of radiation? DO: Exactly. DM: Whether you�re flying which is a significant issue or being exposed sleeping in your bedroom. A number of really astute clinicians advise for everyone to actually have a switch where you could turn of all the electricity to your bedroom at night so that you�re sleeping in an electrically neutral environment. That�s a bit cumbersome for most. More than likely one would achieve the same benefits if they were grounded. DO: I think so. It is a good idea to switch off your electricity. You have to put a relay on your power system for your home or you�ll have to isolate which circuits are the ones that are electrifying you while you�re in bed. That�s a process and it can be done. The grounding does the job. DM: For those who maybe engaging in a new home construction one of the simple strategies that they can use is to make sure that their wiring is actually in a metal conduit which will essentially cancel out, because it�s a cylinder, the radiation. Then there will be no radiation behind the walls, it will only be coming out if you plug something in to an outlet. You can actually get electrical cords that are either grounded or neutralized so they don�t have that field either. I forgot the term that it�s called for. It is important to pay attention to details here. Ideally, you want to do both. I mean get rid of that radiation and then also be grounded for all the other benefits and reasons. 21 DO: Yes, and you also need to be sure you�re not sleeping next to a source of a rotating field such as a refrigerator has. Those fields aren�t good for you. I did a survey of a woman�s home. She was very particular. She had her whole house rewired, electrical metal conduit put in everywhere. She had me checkout her house and everything was good until I got to the desk where she sat to open her mail. On the other side of her wall, was her refrigerator in her kitchen. She was opening her mail in a place that had a rotating magnetic field from the refrigerator motor. She was horrified. But she realized that she was now aware of something in her environment that she could change that would probably have a health benefit. DM: In any of the electrical devices in a home it�s probably is the most pernicious and dangerous is that refrigerator. That field will go through like a hot knife though butter through a wall. That wall will not stop it or slow it down in the least. The only way to minimize is to really increase the distance between yourself and that source. You go to look at the back of your refrigerator as a very dangerous source. You want to stay at least 5 feet away from that on the other side. The more distance the better. DO: And don�t have your kids watch the food cooking in the microwave oven. DM: Ideally, you don�t have the microwave oven. We strongly recommend that people consider safer forms of heating your food like infrared but not microwave. The only way why I tell people to do the microwave oven is if you have a relative or a neighbor that they don�t particularly care for and give it to them as a gift. Get it out of their house. A really important thing. Do you have any other points of information you would like to share about the science or the benefits of this earthing and grounding. DO: One of the things that�s very important to me is that my dog sleeps on a grounded pad -- we have these little cushions that have the silver material on the surface. If your dog doesn�t go outside, it�s very helpful to have a grounding place and they love it. They go there. Dogs and cats will go and sleep on a grounded surface. They can tell that it�s good for them. That�s a very important aspect of our lives, our pets. DM: I agree. My girlfriend has two cats. I would just confirm the same observation is that there is a grounding sheet on the end of her bed and the cats just absolutely migrate to that and they spend most of their time on that sheet in the winter so they�re not going outside. Typically in the summer, they would go outside on the patio but it�s interesting that they will migrate to that one. They like it. They�re smart. DO: They know what�s good. DM: We can learn a lot from our pets. No question. 22 I want to thank you for your time, effort, and energy in your work in this field and helping us understand that profound benefits of this. The book is a good resource, Earthing. Do you have any other recommendations that you would advice for people who would like more information? DO: The book refers to the Earthing Institute. EarthingInstitute.net has the research papers, information on the benefits and information on the research that we�ve done. Earthing.com is the place to go if you�re interested in connecting yourself to the Earth inside your home and where you work or getting the various technologies for bringing the benefits of Mother Earth right into your home. So you can spend as much time as you can grounded. It turns out that the autoimmune diseases especially, Clint has found that in every case of autoimmune disease -- and there are a lot of them -- people benefit from grounding. This is MS and lupus and countless others. DM: Rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease would be the other big players in that area. It is a profoundly important area. It�s interesting too that my observation is that there are two other characteristics of those with an autoimmune disease is that they almost universally have a low vitamin D. If you think about it, the way we�re ideally designed to get vitamin D is to be outside having the sun on our skin and typically at least our ancestors when they were outside were frequently grounded and barefoot. Obviously, there is a very strong correlation there that it would make sense. I wasn�t aware of it until you mentioned that there was this connection. That�s something I want to add to my recommendations for those with autoimmune disease because vitamin D works really well as does addressing some of these emotional traumas that occur in earlier age. But grounding should be clearly added to that list of recommended therapies. DO: People are stronger when they�re grounded. The weightlifters notice the difference. My recommendation for any athlete is before an event, stand barefoot for 15 minutes and two things will happen. You will have more energy and your electron reservoirs in your body will become saturated so that if you do fall down or bump into somebody or have some kind of injury, it will heal very quickly. DM: How long does the saturation last? Is it a matter of seconds, minutes, hours? What rate does the dissipation of those free electrons occur? DO: I don�t know. We need to find that out. Definitely the body changes back if you�re wearing insulating shoes. You lose your electrons and I don�t know how quickly. DM: I think the take home message is to get grounded as much as possible. Ideally you do that through the environment. If that�s not a practical option as it is for most of us 23 certainly in the northern areas of the U.S. and most of the U.S. in the winter that�s just not going to be happening regularly because it�s just not part of nature for us to do that. But if you can, you know, it�s the summer then definitely get outside as much as you can barefoot. I�m very excited about applying this personally when I leave for my winter retreat in South Florida to be grounded. One of the things I despise most about winter is the fact that I actually have to put shoes on and socks. I just don�t like it. I like to be without shoes on the ground. It really is personally very appealing to me to not to have to do that. DO: Good idea. When are you heading South? DM: After the holidays. Thank you again, for all your time, effort, and energy and information in helping to enlighten us on this really important area, an emerging area, an innovative component of understanding how we can benefit from exposing our bodies to these free electrons from the Earth. DO: I thank you for helping people understand this and many other important emerging techniques that can make us feel better and get more out of our lives. Thank you for all your good work. [END]
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