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# Grounding in Nature

<figure class="page-hero">
<img src="../assets/images/nature_bathing.jpg" alt="Forest bathing — a person immersed in dappled woodland light" loading="lazy">
<figcaption>Photo by Adamu</figcaption>
</figure>

The earth beneath your feet has been waiting for you. Not metaphorically — literally. Every moment spent with bare skin on soil, grass, or sand is a reconnection to the electromagnetic field that humans evolved within for hundreds of thousands of years.

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## Why ground?

Modern life separates us from the earth: rubber-soled shoes, elevated buildings, concrete pavements. The simple act of barefoot contact — called *earthing* or *grounding* — allows the body to absorb free electrons from the earth's surface. Research suggests this can reduce inflammation, improve sleep, and calm the nervous system.

!!! note "Start small"
    Five minutes of bare feet on grass in the morning is enough to begin. You don't need a forest retreat — a patch of lawn, a beach, or even damp soil in a garden works.

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## Sun gazing: reconnecting with light

Sun gazing is an ancient practice of looking at the sun during the first or last hour of daylight, when UV levels are safe. Start with 10 seconds and never push beyond comfort. The practice is less about the eyes and more about allowing the body's circadian rhythm to realign with natural light cycles.

Sit. Breathe. Let the light wash over you. No agenda.

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## Sitting practice: temples, forests, waterfalls

Find a place where nature is doing its thing without human orchestration — a forest floor, a temple courtyard, beside a waterfall. Then do the hardest thing: nothing.

Don't meditate. Don't journal. Don't photograph.

Just sit and watch. Notice how the mind, given no task, eventually settles. This is *melukat* in the Balinese tradition — water purification not just of the body, but of the energetic residue we carry. Even sitting beside moving water, without entering it, can shift something.

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## Integrating nature time

The guideline is simple: for every hour spent on a device, spend an equal hour in direct contact with the natural world. This isn't a punishment — it's a restoration.

Start tracking it loosely. You may find, as many do, that the nature hours become the ones you crave.

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**Related:** [Nourishing the Body](../practices/nourishing-the-body.md) — bringing nature inside through food and materials.

*What patch of earth will you stand on tomorrow morning?*