Healing Power of Nature

Sadly, today a great majority of the population lives in what I call the cement jungle. Unfortunately, the word jungle here does not stand for massive plants and trees, it stands for just about all cement. This is just one of the reasons you find yourselves ungrounded and unconnected from yourself.

Also, more and more, our lives circle around technology. Whether we’re working on our computers, watching TV, playing on our phones, or driving in cars that keep us separate from the outdoors.

There is an easy fix. Get out in nature as often and as long as possible.

Nature is good for our health physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

What exactly does it mean to say nature’s good for our health?

Studies are showing that being in nature produces some pretty remarkable health benefits that far exceed simply feeling good.

Data from over 140 studies that included results gathered from over 290 million people show:

• Spending time in, or living close to nature areas and green spaces reduces the risk of type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, premature death, preterm birth and increases the duration of your sleep.
• People living closer to nature also had reduced diastolic blood pressure, heart rate and stress.
• Exposure to green space significantly reduces people’s levels of salivary cortisol — a physiological marker of stress.

Another study from the University of Exeter suggests there is an optimal amount of time we should spend in nature each week. This study drew data from nearly 20,000 people living in England. The sample represented a variety of age groups, genders, occupations, socioeconomic groups, and ethnicities. It also included people with disabilities and long term illnesses.

This study found:

• People who spend at least 2 hours a week in nature are significantly more likely to report good health and higher psychological wellbeing.
• However, no such benefits were found for people who spent time in nature such as town parks, woodlands, country parks and beaches for less than 2 hours a week.

The magic number is 2 hours a week to take advantage of this natural health benefit. The great part is they found it doesn’t matter if that 2 hours occurs all at once or is spread out in smaller intervals throughout the week. That means, just one afternoon of natural health in the park can give you all you need for the week or if it is easier for you to spend smaller increments more often you will still reap the benefits.

Do A Little Forest Bathing

What is Forest Bathing you ask?

Forest bathing is a Japanese tradition developed in the 1980’s. It’s known as Shinrin-Yoku, or forest bathing and it recently made its way into the United States. People are discovering and embracing the practice. Shinrin-yoku involves walking in a forest, or a nature area with lots of trees, and mindfully tuning into it with all of your senses.

It’s basically what we call hiking, but, there is specific intention put into the forest bathing practice that sets it apart. It also involves a more relaxed pace with an intention to engage with nature in a mindful, meditative way.

The Shinrin-yoku organization reports an impressive list of benefits.

These include:

• Immune system improvement, an increase in the body’s natural killer cells, lowered blood pressure, improved concentration (including for children with ADHD), improved mood, and faster recovery from surgery or illness, among others things.

• Your energy is tied to the rhythms of nature. As women, your monthly cycle is tied to the moon’s waxing and waning. All of you, men and women, are guided by circadian rhythms that control your sleep and eating patterns. Environmental cues, such as sunlight and temperature, impact these rhythms. Lack of sunlight in the fall and winter months can cause seasonal affective disorder, producing symptoms of depression.

• Nature is intricately tied to your health. These studies show that the widespread stress and stress-related illnesses people are experiencing has something to do with your disconnection from nature?

Given all this research this is something you should be taking seriously.

One of the really interesting phenomenons being looked at in connection with nature therapy is the effect that breathing in volatile substances, called phytoncides (wood essential oils), which are antimicrobial volatile organic compounds derived from trees, might have on our immune system. It appears being exposed to them when walking among the trees improves our immune system’s function.

Talk about natural health!

It makes me wonder…what other healthy exchanges with nature’s life forms are we missing out on by removing ourselves from a natural environment?

Natural Mental Health

A report done by Stanford University gives some surprising statistics regarding how nature can impact our mental health. According to their research, “city dwellers have a 20 percent higher risk of anxiety disorders and a 40 percent higher risk of mood disorders as compared to people in rural areas. People born and raised in cities are twice as likely to develop schizophrenia.” Their study “found that people who walked for 90 minutes in a natural area, as opposed to participants who walked in a high-traffic urban setting, showed decreased activity in a region of the brain associated with a key factor in depression.”

Harvard University reports similar findings, stating “Research in a growing scientific field called ecotherapy has shown a strong connection between time spent in nature and reduction in stress, anxiety, and depression.”

The bottom line is, you NEED time in nature to be your best, healthiest self. And doctors are starting to acknowledge this by prescribing nature time to their patients.

It seems odd that something so simple, something that isn’t a pill or a medical procedure, should be prescribed by doctors. And yet, it’s also understandable. When you spend so much of your life indoors, engaging with technology and attempting to keep your environment as germ-free as you can, it’s no wonder you might lose sight of how valuable nature itself is.

The good news is you don’t need a prescription from a doctor to reap all the natural health benefits nature has to offer. You just have to realize how important it really is to your health and well-being and commit to getting outside more. Make it a priority to schedule time in nature on your calendar on a regular basis.

Commit to 2 hours a week and you will feel more grounded, more at peace, and more connected to spirit than any indoor practice can give you.

Nature’s healing power can’t really be quantified. It’s so immersive and so transformative. Nature touches every part of you – the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.

This is why I love energy medicine, crystals and essential oils as healing tools. They bring a part of nature into your lives. God gave us everything we need to heal.

Now get outside and enjoy it!

Please share with anyone that you think might benefit from this information!