Mother nature has incredible healing and destressing powers. Nature creates an internal settling almost like a natural Valium in an otherwise synthetic world. We might have forgotten but our heart remembers. All she asks of you is that you spend time with her and when you do that she readily gives us her energy, all you need to do is receive. No matter what the season whether you are enjoying the sun, playing in the leaves or making snowmen. All connection with nature gives you a sense of comfort easing your worry and stress helping you to relax and think more clearly. In other words she teaches us to dance with life in a natural rhythm we all remember.
- “Nature tops the list of potent tranquilizers and stress reducers. The mere sound of running water has been shown to lower blood pressure.” Patch Adams
- When we spend time in nature our intuition comes alive and it evokes a feeling hard to describe in words. In Japanese they have a word for it: yugen. Yugen gives us a profound sense of the beauty and mystery of the universe.
- Do you work in an office or department store with bright lights? If so you need daylight and nature to help keep your immunity and circadian rhythm in balance. So go outside during your breaktimes.
- “Life is really simple but we insist on making it complicated” Confucius
- In Japan they have a practice called Shinrin-Yoku. Shinrin means ‘forest’ and Yoku means ‘bath’. It means bathing in the forest atmosphere using all your senses, sight, sound, taste, smell and touch to tune into mother nature. Spending a minimum of 30 minutes in a forest has incredible health benefits.
- Biophilia hypothesis is the concept that humans have a biological need to connect with nature. American biologist E.O. Wilson said “We are hardwired to affiliate with the natural world- and just as our health improves when we are in it, so our health suffers when we are divorced from it.”
- Contact with nature is as vital to our wellbeing as regular diet and exercise!
- DIFFUSE ESSENTIAL OILS: A study at the Department of Psychiatry at Mie University in Japan, has shown that the citrus fragrance of the phytoncide (natural oils within a plant) D-limonene is more effective than antidepressants for lifting mood. Try diffusing essential oils in your own home or workplace to help with stress and energy levels. Lavender, lemon, orange, ylang ylang and bergamot are all wonderful to use.
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- BREATHING IN MICROBES: There is a common and harmless bacteria in the soil that we breathe when walking in the forest which makes us feel happier called, Mycobacterium vaccae. Its benefits were discovered by Dr Mary O’Brien, an oncologist at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London.
- When outside listen to the birds singing and the breeze rustling through the trees
