Category: Healthy Living

Consider Walking Barefoot Today

Would you consider walking barefoot today? You may respond, “Why?” Walking barefoot is a way to connect to the Earth and is called earthing or grounding. If you are an empath, you may have heard these terms. I was surprised to find this article with scientific evidence of the benefits of earthing.

I know it is winter in the Western Hemisphere and I give you some alternative earthing techniques below.

What is Earthing?

Earthing is contact with the earth’s surface electrons by walking barefoot outside. Alternatively, you can sit, work, or sleep indoors connected to conductive systems that transfer the energy from the ground into the body.

The article from the Journal of Environmental and Public Health goes on to say, “Emerging scientific research supports the concept that the Earth’s electrons induce multiple physiological changes of clinical significance, including

  • Reduced pain
  • Better sleep
  • A shift from parasympathetic to sympathetic tone in the autonomic nervous system (a reversal of the fight or flight stress syndrome)
  • A blood-thinning effect

There’s even a book, titled Earthing: The Most Important Health Discovery Ever!.

Why is Earthing Important to Me?

If you are an empath, earthing is your connection home. It brings you back to center. And it’s a wonderful way to practice being in the moment.

During my walk barefoot on a natural path through a native forest in Florida, I enjoyed the different sensations the multitude of sensory points in the soles of my feet sent to my brain. The tiny grains of sand almost tickled me. Then the hard clay felt rough. Finally, the coolness of the grass made me smile.

I determined my barefoot walking distance based on the availability of benches. After removing my socks and shoes, I gingerly stepped on the well-worn grass and then sank into the soft sand. My footprints obscured the many shoe prints along the way.

Tips on Walking Barefoot

Although I preferred walking around my yard barefoot as a child, now my feet aren’t used to the complexity of the ground after years of wearing shoes. Safety is always the first concern when walking barefoot. Here are some tips.

  1. Inspect the area first with shoes on
  2. Remove obvious debris that can injure your feet
  3. Consider starting with a concrete area that is in contact with soil
  4. Choose a location that is quiet
  5. Keep your eyes open, scanning the ground
  6. Perhaps walk with a partner who understands the sanctity of silence
  7. Start very small, a few minutes at first

Being Practical Too

Perhaps it isn’t possible to consider walking barefoot today where you live. What can you do to adapt in your situation? Even standing on the Earth is a type of grounding. Refer to my ground and release exercise while sitting and use it while standing.

In Conclusion

Consider walking barefoot today, enjoying the healing aspects for your physical body, energy body and delighting your Inner Child.

Wiggling my toes,
Dawn

Ideas to Help You Raise Your Vibration

Looking for ideas to help you raise your vibration? Or maybe you are just looking to feel calmer in today’s world. One of the best ways I’ve found to be happier, is to avoid that which stresses you. Specifically, I stopped watching the news, reading the newspaper, and posting or reading negative thoughts on social media. Maybe these ideas are too radical for you right now.

How About Meditation?

Meditation doesn’t come easy. Rather, it is a learned skill. My first exposure to it was at age 14 when Mom and I took a Hatha Yoga class together. The meditation was at the end in the Shavasana or corpse pose . I clearly remember how easy it was to relax as the leader led us through tightening each muscle group and then letting go.

Why Do We Stop?

For most of us, all it takes is an outside change. With the yoga class, it simply dropped off the recreation center schedule. I tried to continue on my own with a paperback copy of the poses. The unfamiliarity was more than I could overcome at the time. Other more familiar forms of exercise filled the void.

The meditation portion of yoga wasn’t something I considered pursuing. It seemed too ‘out there’ for me at the time.

What Motivates Us to Restart?

My next interest in meditation came nine years later. I was pregnant with my first child and decided to try the Lamaze method of natural childbirth. Meditation was still difficult. Consequently, when the idea of imagining a candle flame was offered, I jumped on it. That flame, coupled with breathing techniques, was my lifeline through the final stages of my nearly 24 hours of labor.

Why not just take the pain medications offered? Above all, the health of my unborn baby was too important to me to even consider it. Therefore, my motivation was functioning to the best of my ability, on a team in the delivery of a healthy baby. Thankfully, the same nurse who taught the Lamaze call at Orange Memorial  was on duty. She stayed with me the entire time. Her encouragement kept me focused when it seemed too difficult.

Are You Struggling Now with Meditation?

There are so many reasons it may be difficult to meditate now.

  • Continuing pandemic stress
  • Political turmoil
  • Stress in your personal relationships
  • Feeling pressured by the New Year expectations
  • Work or business anxiety

Perhaps your meditation habit is taking a holiday. Or you’ve never meditated in your life. The reality is meditation is more important now than ever.

We are all connected through our energy. Reading the scary newspaper headlines or watching the news lowers your energy field, resulting in a feeling of constriction and fear. Meditation calms your fears, centers you, and enables you to see what is truly important to you, the individual.

How to Start or Restart Meditation

There are many free meditations on YouTube; relaxing, brainwave changing, and help falling asleep. I’ve tried many of them, but found they didn’t help me stick to a schedule of daily meditation. Then I found Ten Percent, an app founded by Joseph Goldstein and Dan Harris, the author of the book 10% Happier and the 10% Happier Podcast.

After I downloaded the free app on the last day of the 2021 21-day meditation challenge, I checked the price, $99. My first thought was, “No way!” But since it was free for 6 days (you have to cancel 24-hours before the 7th day), I decided to give it a try. By the third day, I realized it is worth every penny.

Here are some reasons this app is different:

  1. It is customized to your meditation experience
  2. The meditations are without music
  3. Sleep meditations that actually work
  4. All the teachers are leaders in the field of meditation
  5. Dan understands meditation skepticism

Closing Thoughts

May these ideas to help you raise your vibration take hold this week. Furthermore, from a meditation led by Anushka Fernandopulle on Ten Percent, “May you be peaceful and happy, may you be strong and healthy, may you be safe from harm, may you be at ease today.”

With Compassion,
Dawn

From a Suicide Survivor to PTSD Diagnosis

When I wrote my suicide survivor article a few weeks ago, I had no idea I would go from a suicide survivor to PTSD diagnosis so easily. Although the likelihood you or a loved one will develop PTSD from any traumatic event is small (6.8% according to a 2020 Psychology Today blog), it is important to recognize the symptoms.

WHAT IS PTSD?

The acronym stands for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It was first brought to light in 1980. Yet, some World War I survivors in the early 20th century were known as suffering from “shell shock”. Today, we realize it was PTSD.

Although the trauma typically associated with PTSD is extreme, as in combat, it can also occur from many other types of trauma, such as long term abuse. This Psychology Today article covers the basic information about PTSD in much more detail.

HOW DOES IT AFFECT YOUR QUALITY OF LIFE?

Complex disorders like PTSD have a long list of possible short term and long term effects. The full list is included in another article.

A PEEK INTO MY THERAPY SESSION

As you might imagine, my therapist (I’m using her first name, Mary) asked me questions, allowed me to ‘tell my story’, took notes, and led me down the path of discovery.

When I used trigger words, like shame, she asked me where I thought that came from. I’ve been on my own path of self-discovery, so sometimes her questions were easy to answer.

“Shame was instilled in childhood by my parent,” I replied.

”Hmm.”

I continued my stories, clearly illustrating my PTSD symptoms with flashbacks followed by sudden emotional outbursts that I quickly quashed. There were many more nuances of my illness that Mary picked up on.

Near the end of the session, she took out a small book, which was a pocket handbook of PTSD symptoms. Reading each one, she noted her observations that matched my exhibited behavior. Thankfully, I didn’t exhibit every single symptom.

”Ahhhh…”

A huge sigh of relief escaped my body.

I had found the right therapist, there is a name for my suffering, and we will work together on a solution.

HOW IS THIS THERAPY SESSION DIFFERENT?

Unlike some therapists I’ve had in the past, Mary got to the root of the cause quickly. As I pondered the session this week, I believe there are a few clues about why this therapy session was more useful vs. past less useful sessions.

  1. I understood I had a problem.
    • I’ve allowed my intuition to guide me when I faced my sudden teary outbursts over the last few weeks rather than stuff down my emotion.
  2. I acted on my perceived problem.
    • Writing about the teary outbursts in an earlier blog resulted in research, which brought me to a suicide survivor group. The facilitators recognized my PTSD symptoms and recommended I seek out a therapist who specializes in trauma therapy.
    • A search on Psychology Today led me to a local therapist who specializes in trauma and PTSD.
  3. Finally, I was ready to acknowledge my true condition in order to grieve and come out of this.
    • My openness, honesty, and choice to not hold back during the session have developed over many small steps of journaling, seeking holistic and spiritually based avenues to peel away layers of self protection.

This list illustrates, in the bullet points, how small steps are truly the key to developing a life of fulfillment.

NEXT STEPS

This opportunity to share parts of my mental health journey is too precious to ignore. I invite you to join me as I move beyond viewing this week’s reality from a suicide survivor to PTSD diagnosis. In contrast I want to also share the many everyday discoveries that make us smile and keep us moving forward in difficult times.

By signing up for my newsletter, you will always receive the information in my blogs along with glimpses into more joyful moments of my life.

Hanging in there,
Dawn