Grounding and why I choose to do it.

So do you have your chai? All set and comfy on your sofa? No? Okay I can wait.

Got it now? Wonderful, now lets get up and go outside for this chai session, and leave your shoes!

No? Don’t want to get your feet dirty? Okay, Sure but hear me out?

Today was a long day, ever since Covid, hasn’t every day been? For me the days seemed longer even before that. They seem to stretch endlessly into the night and then the night into the day where it came a point when I couldn’t tell the difference between either. But despite it being a very long and exhausting day. I still felt good.

Mental health is a tricky thing. Dealing with it yourself or experiencing it through a loved one can be daunting. I won’t say much about that for now, but as I wanted this space to be real. I decided to write this today.

Here’s the thing, every one could use some therapy. I know its such a taboo topic in our part of the world, but really, everyone could use some therapy. There is nothing wrong with it. Nothing wrong about sitting with a safe someone and reflecting, and trying to understand the whys and the whats, and the wonts. And isn’t that what Allah asks us to do as well? To reflect?

And so after thinking and rethinking about posting or not posting today’s blog post. I thought to myself, will it help someone? Possibly.

And so that was enough. Grounding therapy certainly doesn’t replace actual therapy, but can definitely aid it. If you’re generally feeling down or suffer from any sort of mental health issue that feels like its taking over your life. Try this one thing daily, along with whatever efforts you are trying with your doctor of course. If your environment allows you, take off your shoes and stand in the grass or dirt for at least 30 minutes. There are others ways of grounding as well that you could research about, but since I’ve only tried this one thing. I will only talk about this.

I first heard about grounding therapy/earthing therapy through an instagram account I follow ; Ali Le Vere , a Senior Researcher at GreenMedInfo, she grams over at @empoweredautoimmune. You can find her credentials on her website or blog, or her instagram account. I won’t go into the details of the science, so for those interested, check her blog out. You will find a wealth of information that can possibly change your life there! You don’t have to wait to feel “blue” or off to practice Grounding, it can still be a party of your daily routine, it’s a great choice for self care! As Pakistani woman we grow up sort of being taught by society that self care or self love is selfish. Well if the cup is empty it won’t pour out anything, so we need to remember to fill our cup too.

But I ramble on, learning about grounding therapy, it all just made sense to me, I didn’t try it though for a long while. I just had too much to do, was always exhausted and so I opted for relaxing baths as “me time” regularly for hours at end. It was my choice of self care, and self love. And while that is extremely beneficial as well, I feel grounding has done me wonders!

Its a daily activity for me now , and I’ve included the littles too. I go out determined to get my feet dirty and ask them to take off their shoes and run around the garden. After some occasional whining they seem to enjoy it now. Alhamdulillah

I love gardening, and I love the fact that my MIL is an avid gardener herself, it has given me an opportunity to practice a love passed on to me by my father. And more importantly it has become that much easier to get my feet dirty. Or hands, Or face…Anyway I digress. I walk around the garden daily barefoot, sometimes I don’t have 30 minutes to spare so I do however many I can, but I make sure I do it. I don’t know how long I will continue to but for now I feel good. Alhamdulillah.

I said to myself what are you going to lose getting close to the nature that your Lord created? This أرض that Allah created and then adorned for you, so you could reflect. The answer was, nothing. And if its the same for you and you think you can give it a try, please do. Pray your namaz on the ground outside, do yoga outside, meditate or have your chai outside with your feet touching the ground. Or don’t if you don’t feel like. Whatever floats your boat.

And He says in the Quran;
So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny? –Ar Rahman

And we supplicate, SubhanAllah! We deny no favors our Lord has bestowed on us with His mercy. May He always keep us all amongst those who reflect, have empathy, and are of His favored.
InshAllah , Ameen ya rabbul alameen.

Enjoy sipping the rest of your tea, outside…barefoot. Lol