Nature-Based Mindfulness Practices for Physical, Mental & Emotional Wellbeing
Nature is an Ancient form of therapy. For time immemorial humans have lived in the wildness of Earth. Only recently has our existence been relegated to indoor spaces and concrete jungles, with our minds increasingly living in digital realms. When we trace our ancestral roots, we remember that being in Nature is inherent to our biology and likely a reason we tend to feel better when we spend time outdoors.
The benefits of spending time in Nature are immense.
Thousands of studies have explored the ways in which green spaces, blue spaces, plants and animals have tremendous benefits on our wellbeing. Recognition of Nature’s healing capacity can be seen in the rise of ecotherapy practices and earth-based interventions. Guided experiences such as ‘forest bathing’ offer people a way to access presence through the senses.
Nature supports physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health.
Physical benefits include:
Lowers blood pressure and heart rate
Reduces inflammation
Alleviates muscle tension
Improves production of stress hormones.
Emotional benefits:
Increased happiness
Improved subjective well-being
Positive social interactions and community cohesion
Reduced stress and anxiety
Alleviates depression
Improved meaning and sense of purpose in life
Mental Benefits
Increases attention span
Improves working memory
Encourages self-control
Supports cognitive flexibility
Spiritual benefits
Grows sense of connection
Sense of awe
120 minutes a week is all you need.
A study of over 20,000 people found that those who spent two hours a week in green spaces (parks and natural environments) were substantially more likely to report good health and psychological well being than others.
We are not separate from Nature.
It becomes a valuable practice to examine our relationship with Nature. Yoga and Ayurveda will explain how each human being is a microcosm of the macrocosm, the Universe. The more we pay attention to the perennial wisdom of Nature - the hidden patterns of interbeing, the ebb and flow of change - the greater we can understand ourselves. Part of this understanding requires reverent attention and mindfulness.
8 Nature-Based Practices of Mindfulness
Mindfulness has tremendous benefits for one’s health. Below are several Nature-Based Mindfulness Practices to support your wellbeing.
1. Forest Bathing
Forest bathing or Shinrin Yoku is a practice that was established in the early 1980’s in Japan. It is mindful walking in the woods, where one takes in the natural environment in through the senses. Research has found it has tremendous benefits for metal and physical well-being. In various studies, the aromas inhaled from the forests elevated the levels of Natural Killer or NK White Blood cells responsible for bolstering the immune system, and fighting tumors and infections. Now many forms of ecotherapy incorporate guided forest bathing experiences.
One Forest Bathing Practice is “Sit Spot”: Find a place in Nature to sit, with no agenda or expectation. Simply allow yourself te be in nature for 20 minutes. Spend time noticing. This practice can also be done with an indoor plant or looking at a tree outside a window. Spend time journaling after your 20 minute sit.
2. Walking Meditation
Walking meditations have been practiced for years by varying contemplative traditions. It invites awareness into the body and the senses. It’s not the same as taking a walk in Nature. The process calls for refined attention as one notices how the earth feels beneath the feet, how the body rests on the sole of each step, the blades of grass that weave between the toes, the subtle wind that brushes against the skin, the aromas that permeate from the plants and the visuals that saturate one’s sight. It is the process of awakening every sense to the aliveness of Nature in the moment. Often the slower the movement, the wider the circles of awareness ripple. Use the senses as a pathway to presence with walking meditation.
This can be a beneficial meditation for those who feel physically or mentally restless, those have trouble with sitting meditations, or experience any body aches and pains in a still meditation. To enhance the therapeutic benefits of practice, one may even approach it as an ‘Earthing’ meditation, removing shoes and walking barefoot. Traditional medicine systems recognize ‘reflexology’ or the science of subtle energy that recognizes various Marma or acupressure points present under the sole of each foot that can stimulate benefits for various organs of the body. If you choose to walk on soil, the Earth may even contain microbes that increase antioxidants, reduce inflammation and improve sleep.
3. Breathing with Trees, Plants and Other aspects of Nature.
Breathwork can be a powerful practice for building physiological and emotional resilience. Slowing down the breath, elongating the exhales, diaphragmatic and box breathing have profoundly beneficial impacts on the nervous system. Ancient technologies like yoga revere the breath as the bridge between the physical and mental bodies and a conduit for circulating Prana or one’s vital life force.
We have a symbiotic relationship with plants. We breathe in oxygen from plants, and they take in our exhaled carbon dioxide to produce their own energy. It is a virtuous cycle. Engaging in a breath practice with plants, be it your favorite tree in nature, a wildflower or an everyday house plant, can be a potent way to immediately release anxiety and shift the nervous system into a state of rest.
How to practice: Begin by sitting with a plant that calls to you. Perhaps take it in through your 5 senses, grounding into full awareness of what the plant looks like, feels like, smells and sounds, even taste if that is accessible. Begin to breathe for a count of 4, slow intentional inhales. And exhale for a count of 4, emptying the breath fully. Do this for 10-20 minutes. Notice what emerges, how you feel in and after the process. Another element you can practice this with is the ocean, aligning breath with the waves on shore.
4. Fire Gazing
Sitting in circle, gazing at fires is deep in the human biology. Our ancestors sat around circle immersed in the elements of nature, tending to fire for years. In Yoga, there is an Ancient meditative practice called “trataka” or fire gazing. Lighting a candle at home, watching a campfire burn, or setting one’s sight on the sunrise and sunset are some ways to invite contemplation on the fire element. In fact, watching the sun in these liminal moments between day and night is when the human eye can stare without the intensity of the rays. In Yoga and Ayurveda, the fire element is responsible for digestion and transformation, which expands beyond physical digestion to the process of assimilating emotions, thoughts, and experiences. Meditation itself is thought to be a way for the mind to digest. The fire element also corresponds to the Yogic subtle energy center Manipura Chakra or Solar Plexus, responsible for strengthening personal power, will, discernment and discipline. It is said that the light of fire element can help clarify one’s sight.
How to practice: Choose your source of light or fire. Let yourself settle into a comfortable, yet alert seat. Settle your gaze onto flame and let your awareness and sight return to the flame as your focal point. Practice for as little as 3 minutes or as long as the fire burns out.
5. Create a Mandala in Nature
For those with creative curiosity, the artful and deliberate process of making a mandala in Nature can be grounding. Mandalas are devotional images that symbolize the universe. The word “mandala” translates to “circle” and represents wholeness amongst many other meanings. A mandala is often used in contemplative practices as a form to meditate upon.
How to practice: With mindful awareness, begin to gather fallen pieces in Nature. These may be rocks, pebbles, leaves, twigs. In my own practice I refrain from picking flowers or leaves unless consciously asking the plant and providing a personal offering such as tobacco or hair. The process of making the mandala, guided by your own intuition and creative eye can be a calm mindfulness practice in itself. If you want to go deeper, you may gaze upon your mandala after creating it. Sit with it and see what emerges.
6. Mindful water cleanse
Many traditions have long used water in rituals. Finding a river, a lake, an ocean or body of water and summoning your senses can be a powerful way to not only invoke mindfulness but also rinse yourself of any energetic residue.
How to practice: Bring your awareness to your senses as your engage with the water element. Notice how it sounds - if it’s moving or still, how it feels - the temperature and texture of the water. Examine all the details with curiosity. You may even add a visualization element, imagining anything that needs to shed, dissolving off your body.
7. Explore mindful listening with Plants
Herbalist Robin Rose Bennet says “all plants are consciousness altering.” The art of deep listening is one that can be lost in our modern world. Often when we do listen, we can confine ourselves to words rather than the subtle ways in which communication occurs. It was said that the way old seers discovered the remedial properties of the plants was by sitting in deep meditation, to a point of complete absorption with the plant. There are many ways to sit in meditation with a plant.
How to practice: If you’d like to set an intention or question, you may do so. Find a plant that speaks to you. Sit with it, examine it, notice how it looks, what it evokes in your memory and imagination. Pay attention to it’s intricacies. Scan through your senses as your sit with this plant, perhaps inviting a breathing practice into it. (See earlier example).
8. Visualize your sanctuary in Nature
We may not always have access to Nature, but we do carry our imagination with us wherever we go. Visualization is a powerful technique. When you visualize, it stimulates the same brain regions as the actual event. I.e. if you visualize yourself relaxed in nature, t
How to practice: Take a moment to settle your body. Bring to mind your favorite place in Nature; it can be one experienced or imagined. Paint the imagery of this sanctuary. What does it look like? What colors saturate the leaves and sky? What sounds permeate the space? What smells emerge in your memory. Fill in all the details. Once you’ve returned or created your Nature sanctuary, begin to notice how your body is responding. With each inhale drink in this memory, with each exhale let your body soften.
These are just a few practices you can explore to deepen your connection and presence in nature.
Research & Articles:
Ecopsychology: How Immersion in Nature Benefits Your Health via Yale Environment 360
How Does Nature Impact Our Wellbeing via University of Minnesota
Kick off Your Shoes: The Surprising MD Approved Benefits of Walking Barefoot via MindBodyGreen
Nurtured by Nature via American Psychological Association
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