January 21, 2021

Grounding

(Ungrounding)

“We are all connected; To each other, biologically. To the earth, chemically. To the rest of the universe atomically.” Neil deGrasse Tyson

Shortly after Charles Goodyear invented vulcanized rubber, Humphrey O’Sullivan submitted a patent for shoe soles made of the then-high-tech material. By 1900, modern rubber-soled shoes had replaced the fragile Plimsoll and were being hailed as one of the breakthrough innovations of the industrial era. By 1917 newfangled “sneakers” branded as Keds, were being mass manufactured and distributed. Back then, who would have imagined that an unintended consequence of rubber soles would be the disconnection of the body from the grounding life force of our planet? The designed world is a tangible demonstration of what we collectively valued in the past. Back then, we valued durability, efficiency, and economy. As our collective values change, the subtle and complex relationships between the body electric and the Earth are only just beginning to be explored.

If you’ve ever experienced a burst of energy after walking barefoot in the grass or after resting against the trunk of a great oak or sycamore tree then you know firsthand the physical relief of the body after discharge of electromagnetic frequencies. The practice of harmonizing the body with the slow steady pulse of the Earth’s magnetic field, actually the resonant field between the Earth’s surface and the ionosphere, is known as Earthing or grounding. In addition to circadian rhythms of light and darkness, humans and other living beings have natural floes and ebbs of activity and rest called ultradian rhythms that cycle every 60-90 minutes. (Rossi, Lippincott) Learning to live these rhythms by engaging in restful activities for 15-20 minutes every hour and a half or so enhances physical and psychological thriving. Complex inter-functionings of the body are governed by magnetic cells in the hypothalamus that resonate at a frequency equal to the differential between the Earth and the ionosphere called the Shumann Resonance. When the body is grounded directly to the Earth by walking barefoot or by other means, electrons can freely discharge from the body and likewise negatively charged electrons from the Earth can flow into the body, resulting in significant protection from inflammation and mitigation of the effects of exposure to “dirty electricity” and electromagnetic fields (EMS).

During a gap year after completing his studies in mechanical engineering, Michael Dally received the inspiration he needed to marry his gifts of technical problem solving with his passions for barefoot trail running and the outdoors. Having gotten clear on his own abilities and consciously integrating his commitment to body, mind, spirit well-being, (“To share my simple developments that I have found useful to help remain connected with nature and remain creative and healthy”) Michael was alert to an opportunity to develop a creative platform with all the challenges of a start up, the rewards of innovating in the health and wellness space, and a way to support himself that advances his own personal values. After spontaneously improvising a pair of huarache sandals patterned on the ingenious time-tested sandal designs of Tarahumara Native American runners of northwestern Mexico, he was inspired to establish Earth Runners Minimalist Earthing Shoes.

Whether we live in the heart of the city, in the suburbs or in a remote natural setting, our bodies belong here. We are physiologically and biochemically dependent on the magnetic resonance of the Earth to help our mitochondria tell (circular) time, in addition to a host of other ways that the Earth provides our sustenance and shelter. As modern humans, it’s easy to forget or even to dismiss this primal interdependency — the ways in which we are of the earth and the earth is of us. Earthing practices are gaining popularity as part of the overall Rewilding trend toward balancing the varieties of cycles that syncopate our lives. Extreme health-seekers are early adopters of alternative ways to address increases in inflammation and reduction in the body’s ability to cope with electromagnetic energy that have been attributed to the un-grounding of the human body. The Earthing and EMF protection communities are actively seeking out footwear with soles made of leather, felt or other materials both durable enough yet also conductive enough to keep one’s energy field in resonance with Earth throughout the day.

Grounding is a health practice that allows the body to periodically drop out of clock time and to slow down to the speed of the body - the speed of kairos - by harmonizing with the Earth’s resonant field, close to 0 volts. The body is polyrhythmic. As ancient systems such as acupuncture demonstrate, our bodies thrive on varied rhythms and attunements of electrical charges all the way down to our intracellular equilibria. Rhythms are also experienced intuitively and emotionally. By paying attention for several months for example, we can observe ways in which we may be sensitive to the cycles of the moon. There are movements to repeal Daylight Savings Time - another industrial revolution era innovation- because growing numbers of people find their circadian rhythms disturbed by manipulations of the relationships between available daylight and clock time.

Positioned at the convergence of the maker movement, outdoor fitness, and the Earthing movement, this custom and small batch production launch is set up for success and learning. Dalley describes aligning the work of his firm with his values as “a never ending pursuit.” Refusing to choose between Goodness, Truth and Beauty, Earth Runners offers several styles of high performance sandals that aesthetically and literally enact rootedness to the Earth. Earth Runners are branded as “grounded minimalist sandals” —some of which are designed specifically for trail running with a very thin sole to simulate the sensation of running barefoot. The tough Vibram soles are embedded with heavy duty pure copper conduits that ground the soles of the feet, and thus the entire body, to the Earth. A voltage meter demonstrates the immediate discharge of negative ions bringing the voltage of the body down from 3 or 4 Volts to levels closer to 0 Volts.

Among several startups in this growing market, Earth Runners stands out as the truly integral venture, bringing together a simple, affordable means to enhanced vitality, with handcrafted elegant designs and demonstrably high-performance properties. As a life-positive entrepreneurial platform, Earth Runners demonstrates the unique way that design can serve as a bridge between the past and the future - timely and forward looking - and without getting caught up in reactionary fantasies about returning to an idyllic past. Reflecting on the tensions between doing good and doing well as a designer, Dally says, “We try to create a product that strikes a balance of functional, affordable, sustainable, natural, and consciously made.” Regarding his and partner Colin Evans’ shared ongoing commitment, “…Our goal is to have a positive lasting effect on Earth and it’s inhabitants.” Always already right here underfoot, the power of the Earth and its centrality to our health and well-being are commonly overlooked. Earth Runners reminds us to notice that there is still much to learn about the nested techno-natural ecologies within which we design and exist.

Conscious embodied designing breaks legacy patterns to enable wise choice-making. Reading this, I think you’ll see that the point is not that we should all go barefoot. Rather, after reading this I hope that you will recognize examples like this everywhere. Everyday experiences such as walking around in sneakers are opportunities for extreme innovation. Clues can be found in common lifestyle artifacts whose upsides “apparently” outweigh their downsides, but whose long-term impact on our health is poorly understood - and perhaps questionable. The design and manufacturing industries are well aware that athletic sneakers make up a significant percentage of landfill waste in addition to being largely un-biodegradable — yet these downsides are considered to be necessary and valid trade-offs for the performance they provide us. Shoe design is presently reinforcing the values of style, comfort and performance enhancement as opposed to choice creation. Conscious designing raises the bar, demanding that production of the artifact meets existing performance demands while also serving as a new choice architecture (Thaler, Sunstein) that empowers life-positive agency in consumers.

Previous post Focusing Enframing (Distracting) “Design is telling stories about the future.” Handbook of Cognitive Task Design Speculative design of artifacts Next post Improvising (Planning) “Jazz is not a what, it is a how.” Bill Evans “One Halloween, our group is excited to do a scary Halloween show. To start our