Typically when you hear folks recommend grounding, you only hear about walking barefoot on green grass.
That doesn’t help in winter, when the winter grass is either non-existent, crunchy and dried out, or covered in mud or snow. Not to mention even if I could find living grass, I really don’t want to go barefoot on it when the temperatures are cold.
In fact, even in the summer, grass is not my favorite surface to get grounded on. Grass in the summer can be sprayed with chemicals, have fire ants, have dog poop, and sometimes just isn’t the best solution when you want to get grounded.
Most of the time I prefer to ground through my hands, and that goes year round. So thankfully there are lots of solutions, like trees and rocks and bushes and metal signposts and metal railings that can all ground you while you walk or stand outside.
Not that there is anything wrong with grass. It’s just that most of us (myself included) are not lucky enough to have a lovely backyard full of grass… and who knows what is sprayed on the grass in public parks… so more often than not it is a sidewalk or a rock that will tempt me to reach out and touch it more than grass will.
So here you go…
15 Alternative Grounded Surfaces Waiting For You Outside:
1. Gravel.
Yep, that gravel road, that gravel parking lot, that pea gravel patio… it’ll all ground you, particularly if it is damp.
2. Ferns.
I seem to be able to find these even when most other smaller plants have gone dormant or died in the winter… long after the grass is brown, I usually can find a fern on my winter walks. And yep, any rooted living thing, ferns included, growing out of the ground will ground you.
3. Moss.
Even moss growing on a tree, even moss growing on thick bark (as I show in the video here) will get you grounded and feels oh-so-good. So if you are trying to ground through a tree that has a lot of thick bark on it, see if you can find moss growing on it to touch instead.
4. Slate.
Slate walkways are my favorite thing to walk barefoot on, I have a slate area by my front door that I ground on and I love it so much… and yes you are grounded the entire time you stand or walk on one.
5. Your Pet
If you have a pet that goes outside with you, then every time you are near them you have an easy, warm, accessible way of getting grounded! As I talk about in this blog post, touching your pet will ground you as long as they are on the earth outside.
If you want to see it for yourself, I show you in this TikTok here:
@laurakonivermd Grounding through your pet #grounding #earthing #pethealth #laurakonivermd #intuitionphysician
6. Sidewalk.
The sidewalks around your home, the shopping mall, your office, that restaurant you are eating lunch in… if the sidewalk is directly on the earth then they are all grounded and waiting to support your health, even in the most urban of environments!
I give you tons more solutions on grounding in the middle of a city — far beyond just sidewalks — in my TikTok here:
@laurakonivermd There is something that can ground you on every city block #grounding #earthing #groundingtechique #holistichealth #laurakonivermd #intuitionphysician #conductivehealth #urbanlandscape #citylife
7. Cement.
This is another great way to ground directly to the earth: do you have a cement floor on your basement? Or your garage? Or is your driveway cement? Or your patio? Is the basement of your office building? Or your parking garage? It’s all powerfully grounded!
8. Pavers.
Similar to slate and cement and sidewalks mentioned above, pavers will ground you too. In fact, most natural walkways (everything I can think of except dried wooden walkways or painted surfaces) will ground you!
9. Brick.
Did you know that brick will ground you as well, as long as it is directly touching the earth?
10. Rock.
Yep, any rock that is on the earth or part of the earth — touch it and it will ground you.
11. Sand.
Sand is really just a collection of mini rocks, and so yes… sand will ground you (especially if the sand is wet, as you’ll see in #15 below!)
12. Flowers.
All flowers that are rooted and growing out of the ground outside will ground you just by touching their stems, leaves or petals! Might be hard to come by in winter, but keep this idea tucked away in the back of your mind as spring is just right around the corner…
13. Trees.
The moist parts on trees (leaves are best!) will ground you, no matter how high up in the air they reach, as I show you in this TikTok where I demonstrate grounding on a balcony!
@laurakonivermd Reply to @thecaliforniagirl1 yes absolutely! No need to be on the earth directly when trees are nearby ❤️ #grounding #earthing #natureheals
Just be aware that thick bark insulates you from the moist, grounded inner wood (and the circulation of the tree, the vascular cambium, which is what carries the ground connection up to the leaves) so if the tree has a layer of dry, thick bark, it’s better to touch a leaf, look for moss growing on the tree or find areas where the bark is thinner to get grounded.
14. Weeds.
Yep just like the fern and flowers, anything that is rooted in the ground — even a pesky dandelion or a thistle or thorn or other unwanted underbrush — it will all ground you just the same as soft grass would, no matter how gnarly or uninviting the weeds seem!
15. Water.
This is the most impressive, strong ground connection you can make — water. Just having one cell in your body touch one drop of water on the earth will powerfully ground you from head to toe. One fingertip touching the very top of a stream, lake, pond, river, puddle, or ocean will do the trick.
I show you this with my grounding test meter at the end of this video here.
Want to test these surfaces and more, where you live?
You can grab the same test meter I use to confirm if a surface is grounding you right here.
I have a special cord custom made, by hand right here in the USA, to use specifically with these test meters, so as far as I know, my Grounding Boutique is the only place to find the complete set up. I’d love to send one your way!
What about indoors?
There are lots of indoor ways to get grounded too, and I run through a bunch of them for you here in this TikTok here.
Your sink, bathtub, basement, garage… they are all waiting to give you some grounding support where it is most easily accessible in the winter — indoors!
@laurakonivermd Your sink, bath, garage, basement, pets, etc… can all ground you! #grounding #earthing #indoorgroundingtips #groundingtechique #laurakonivermd #intuitionphysician
Want some visual reminders?
Below, I’ve made some quick easy visuals of a few of the outdoor surfaces that will and won’t ground you, to help remind you. Feel free to share these images on any social media pages you like!
Have any questions for me?
I’ve got you.
Every single day in my Earth Connect class will bring you a new, uplifting, inspiring way to ground your body and support your innate health, as well an opportunity to ask me any grounding questions you have.
Have you ever wanted to personally ask me a grounding question? Let’s do it.
- Want to know the best way to ground for a particular health concern you have?
- How to ground inside your specific home or workplace?
- How to ground if you don’t have a yard?
- How long to ground for to meet your unique grounding goals?
- How to work grounding into an already over-busy day?
- How does grounding work?
- Why does grounding work?
If so, this class is perfect for you — ask me any question at all about grounding and I will personally answer you in our private class Q&A.
My Earth Connect class is the quickest way to jump start a grounding practice. It’s like a quick start guide to supporting your health through grounding.
Join my Earth Connect Class: starts on Feb 5th
Join me in this two week course and get materials, tips, and ideas for grounding that you can use again and again and again, for the rest of your life.
To your natural, grounded, ever-resilient state of health!
xoxox, Laura Koniver MD
