How Nature Can Support All Aspects of Your Wellbeing
Taking care of ourselves doesn’t need to be timely and complicated. A simple nature walk can improve all aspects of our wellbeing and return us to our natural rhythms, in turn reducing stress and allowing us to live our lives with a greater sense of peace and presence.
A holistic approach to how nature can support all aspects of your wellbeing:
1. Physical Health
Going for a walk outside in nature can safely increase our heart rate, which strengthens our heart and trains our bodies to move oxygen and blood throughout our bodies more efficiently. The sounds of birds chirping and water flowing in nature have such a calming effect on humans, which allows us to engage in physical activity, such as walking, without our nervous system being as activated as it would be in the city.
2. Mental Health
Being in nature allows us to breathe in fresh air that’s far less polluted than being in a big city, which increases oxygen levels in the brain, in turn boosting our levels of serotonin (an important hormone that helps stabilize our mood). Nature also encourages us to slow down our breathing, to pause and mindfully take in the aroma of nature. When we take short, shallow breaths, we activate our sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight). When we take long, slow and deep breaths, we gently turn up our parasympathetic nervous system (rest or digest). How we breathe directly impacts our nervous system and therefore impacts how we think and feel. Being in nature is a natural and effortless reminder for us to slow down our breathing and support our mental health.
3. Emotional Health
In order to feel our feelings and process challenging emotions, we have to feel supported and believe that it’s safe to feel and process emotions. While in nature, we naturally feel supported and at ease because we’re exposed to far less triggering stimuli, such as sirens and traffic noise. When we are calm, we can relax and let go, knowing that we are safe. This is one of the first steps when it comes to processing emotions. Feeling supported and at ease allows us to process our emotions so we can move through them rather than bottling them up. When we’re in nature, we’re not as distracted, which opens the gate to time and space to feel our feelings and work through any stuck or challenging emotions.
4. Spiritual Health
The healing benefits of nature are universal, meaning that no matter what culture you come from, no matter what religious or spiritual beliefs you have or don’t have, all of us can experience the healing benefits of nature. Depending on what your beliefs are, nature can support people’s spiritual health in many different ways. For example, take the four elements – water, air, fire and earth. One thing that’s common among many cultures is that balance among the four elements supports our spiritual health. Simply the ritual of drinking more water can connect us with nature and support our spiritual health. Nature has the ability to connect people with their own sense of spirituality, which for some people can be a guide to their purpose and direction in life, which can help ease stress.
Nature is our greatest invitation to slow down, to welcome the aliveness of our senses and experience the present moment fully. When we are fully present and at peace in nature, stress can melt away effortlessly and we can support all aspects of our wellbeing.
