Magnetism and the Human Body

Q: My question is about magnetism. How do magnets impact the human body, and does magnetism have healing properties?

Sadhguru: If you wear a magnet on your body, it may bring some changes in your physiological parameters, but that does not really mean anything. This is too simplistic an approach. Human physiology is far more complex than that. Even if you stand next to an electrical transmitter, you can measure changes in your body. Even if you stand next to a tree, there will be measurable changes in your physiological system.

It is quite ridiculous that when the very planet we live on is a magnet, some commercial enterprises are selling little magnets which are supposed to change your life! If you live on a magnet, why do you need another one? This planet is a big enough magnet. And the very body that you carry is a part of this magnet.

Aligning With the Earth

The planet has substantial influence upon the human body. For example, the physiological parameters of your body function in different ways depending on whether you stand up or lie down on the earth. And the direction and impact of the planet’s magnetic forces on your body are the reason why we say you should not sleep with the head to the north (in the northern hemisphere), because that would not be good for you.

There are certain practices through which we could align you to the place you live in. But that only worked well in times when people did not move more than maybe ten miles from where they lived. When people only moved within a small radius around their habitation, their bodies naturally got aligned to that particular place on the planet. If, let’s say, we strongly align you to one place, and then you travel to different places, you would need the necessary knowledge and capability to re-align your body to those places. Otherwise, your body would freak out, one way or the other.

But in a more general sense, there are ways of getting more involved with the big magnet all of us live on and are made of, which would bring much more benefit than wearing small magnets on your wrist. If you have a garden and some privacy, what you could do is, in the morning after you finish your sadhana, dig a hole in your backyard, about two feet deep. Put your feet inside, close the hole up to just above your ankles, and sit there for thirty to forty minutes, simply stuck in the earth.

Your system will align itself very well to the larger magnet, and you will not have to carry magnets anywhere on your body! There are many benefits to this practice. In terms of health you will see that if you attune yourself to the ways of the planet, allergies will vanish. Fundamentally, allergies indicate that something within you is not in rapport with the life-making material of this planet – you are becoming a bit of an alien.

Supernatural!

You may have heard of yogis being buried right up to the neck, as a sadhana. You need not go that far, but being in touch with the earth is very beneficial in terms of health, wellbeing, and certain types of spiritual practices. When people acquire certain capabilities – let’s say they make their bodies like thin air, walk upon water, or do other kinds of things that are considered “supernatural” – in a way, it is all about the ability to align one’s physical existence with the celestial bodies.

There are nine celestial bodies that play a significant role in making things happen for human beings. Out of these nine, the Earth, Moon, and Sun are the most important ones. If your system is aligned to at least these three, and you are consciously sensitive to the changing relationship of the Earth with the Moon and the Sun on any given day, and you know how to adjust your system, then you will be competent in tantra. This competence and capability arises simply from the alignment with the forces that have shaped your physical body, and that have determined its nature and form.

You could start with burying just the feet, and if it works for you, go up to your neck! Another more cosmetic approach would be having a mud bath. You could try any one of these options, but the feet would be the easiest thing to do.

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A version of this article was originally published in Isha Forest Flower December 2016.