Why connecting with nature is a foundation for health
Chinese Medicine understands that true health stems from harmony with both your inner world, and your outer world: the living matrix of Mama Nature. When you connect with nature, you align with the rhythms of the living world – a world that you are forever a part of! Every time you step outside, you receive vital information: natural light that optimises your circadian rhythms; microbes and plant compounds that enrich your health; electrons that boost your charge.
And modern research is catching up. In Japan, the practice of shinrin-yoku, or “forest bathing” is widely respected for its health benefits, and Scottish GPs now offer “nature prescriptions”.
Time to intentionally connect with nature is part of my holistic clinical approach, and something that I prescribe regularly. Here are my top 5 outdoor rituals to rekindle connection and boost your health.
1. Forest bathing – or a nature walk in your local area
Forest bathing, or shinrin-yoku, involves taking time to connect with nature: slowing down to appreciate the beauty at our fingertips. There’s been quite a comprehensive body of research surrounding the measurable benefits of forest bathing on mind and body, and the list of benefits is quite amazing!
Scientists have found that spending time in forest environments led to lower concentrations of cortisol, one of our stress hormones. Forest bathing could lead to a lower pulse rate and lower blood pressure, and increased parasympathetic activity – this is your “rest-and-digest” branch of the nervous system, where healing and restoration happens.
If you can’t get to a forest, time spent in any patch of nature, in mindful presence, can provide powerful benefits too. For example, some studies in America showed that patients recovering from surgery recovered faster and went home quicker if they were able to connect with nature via a view of trees outside their window. Other similar studies showed that a reduction in pain was available to patients from not only looking at real life nature, but also nature videos and pictures.
I’ve had patients share with me that the simple practice of going outside at lunchtime and getting their bare feet onto a patch of grass – and feeling the sun on their face, the breeze on their skin, listening to a bird, admiring the glint of sun on a spider’s web – helped them to get grounded and clear, and release stress from the day. In Chinese Medicine, we know that we are a part of the natural world, and we thrive when we are in relationship and presence with it.
2. Grounding, AKA earthing, to connect with nature
The practice of being barefoot in nature is called grounding, or earthing – and we don’t have to limit ourselves to the feet!
Connecting our skin with the Earth loops us in with its electromagnetic field, and a beautiful supply of negatively-charged electrons. Even the normal, daily processes of life can lead to the production of molecules called “free radicals”. Free radicals lack electrons, which means that they’re positively charged. But when we connect with nature via the Earth, we receive the Earth’s electrons. And by doing so, it allows us to revert to a more neutral charge by absorbing those electrons from the Earth.
Connection with the Earth’s energy field has long been prized in the ancient health sciences, and modern research is catching up. Studies on grounding indicate that it can reduce inflammation, and for this reason, it has been enthusiastically adopted by professional athletes. Other research suggests that the practice can lower stress and support nervous system regulation, ease pain, support sleep, and even help thin over-coagulated blood (for better blood flow).
Grounding has been shown to benefit many common health disorders, such as cardiovascular disease, and autoimmune conditions like lupus, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis. This practice has also been shown to beneficially alter the numbers of circulating immune cells, as well as certain immune markers and chemical factors related to inflammation.
For best results, the skin should be in direct contact with earth, or rock, or water. The longer the better, but even if you only have 5 minutes, you can take time to connect with nature and receive a power boost! Try this daily for 2 weeks and see what improves.
3. Gardening – even if it’s in pots or containers
Connecting with nature through touching soil has been shown to directly improve the microbiome of gardeners, as compared to a control group. We also know, from our understanding of health, that the health and diversity of our microbiome, and our gut health by extension, plays a significant role in mood regulation, mental clarity, engagement and purpose. On the flipside, disruption to the microbiome is linked to presentations like depression and anxiety, with even a single dose of antibiotics predisposing an individual to both. Therefore, anything that we can do, like gardening, to rebuild the diversity and resilience of the microbiome has all-round benefits.
And the benefits of gardening go beyond the microbiome. The truth is that healthy, nourished soil is the direct source of our own nourishment: without healthy soil, we don’t eat. On a deep level, connecting to the soil signals safety, security and abundance. It also brings our focus to the present moment, and draws our attention to the sensory inputs (the feel and smell of soil) and away from our busy minds. This gives the mind a break that is somewhat akin to meditation, in a way that may be more accessible or less overwhelming for some. As if that wasn’t enough, additional benefits include microbiome support and circadian regulation vie grounding and natural light exposure.
What if you don’t have a garden handy?
The good news is that there are always ways to connect with nature. For those who may not have access to a garden, pot plants and planter boxes are a simple way that we can ease into gardening and connecting with the soil. Even a small pot of herbs on the windowsill, or easy-grow greens like bok choi, can strengthening our relationship with the natural world around us. It’s a beautiful thing to observe what is seasonal and flourishing right now, and to add that your meal, or a herbal tea.
Another option can be to volunteer at a community garden. These are a beautiful way to both connect with nature and with others, and work together on a common purpose.
4. Go for a walk & connect with nature
Getting outside for a walk is a great way to connect with nature, pump fresh air through your lungs AND move your body. Bonus points if you can do it barefoot! Leave the devices at home and take this time to connect to the environment around you.
One way I like to deepen nature connection is by anchoring into the five senses via the 5-4-3-2-1 technique: this guides you out of your mind and into your body. As you walk, pick 5 things you see, 4 things you hear, 3 things you can touch or feel, 2 things you smell and 1 thing you taste.
Get your whole body involved: allow your arms, ribs and torso to move freely, and let your breath find any tight spaces. Linking movement with breath and intention is a great way to pump fluids and energy around the body – plus, breathing into the whole abdomen, stimulates peristalsis (the automatic movement of our digestive tract). This in turn massages the bowels, so they can eliminate waste completely.
Walking further supports detox by boosting circulation of blood and lymph, pumping air in and out the lungs (for exhaled wastes) and promoting sweating (excretion via skin). So, we can add a natural detox to the list of walking’s benefits!
5. Walking Meditation
This is such a simple way to calm and ground the mind, and a busy nervous system. If you’re feeling anxious, dreaming vividly, hot & sweaty, not sleeping well, or having trouble settling down at night, this might be for you! When things feel really busy or “heated” in the head, we can encourage balance by bringing all of that action as far away from the head as possible – to the feet! And practicing this mediation outdoors – and barefoot – is a powerful way to connect with nature.
Walking meditation delivers extra benefits too. We have many acupuncture points in the feet, so this practice can be a treatment for the whole being. A really powerful anchoring point on the foot is Kidney 1, Gushing Spring. It grounds & calms, and is the point at which we connect to, and receive support from, the Earth herself.
How to practice walking meditation
• Go as slowly as feels good for you.
• Bring your awareness to your beautiful feet as they move through each moment of the step. Feel the skin as it connects with shoes, grass or floor, and become aware of the bones and muscles going through their cycle of activating and easing.
• Feel your energy anchor down and connect with nature: imagine roots sinking from your feet deep into the Earth, and feel the Earth hold and support you in return.
• Slow down the breath: allow the exhale to be slow and complete, and longer than the inhale.
• Extra points if you are barefoot on grass or sand (but this still works in shoes, indoors and even 20 floors up in the sky!)
What if you can’t get outdoors – can you still connect with nature?
If you can’t get outside, you can open a window (if possible, and if weather permits) to let in fresh air. You can also connect with nature by resting your gaze and awareness on a houseplant or a bunch of flowers: this is why flowers and plants are such thoughtful gifts for those in hospitals or nursing homes. Other options are to smell or diffuse an essential oil like pine or cypress, put on a forest or nature sounds audio, or watch a nature documentary. Even changing your phone screen to a nature scene can provide a symbolic breath of fresh air.
Bonus rituals to connect with nature
Qi Gong, literally “energy work”, is practical daily outdoors by millions of people worldwide. In Chinese Medicine, we understand that humans are the conduit between the Heavens and the Earth, and practicing Qi Gong outdoors is powerful way to charge up our energy and connect with nature.
I have shared a simple guide below to a Qi Gong flow that nourishes the Wood Element, to ease frustration, irritation, mood swings and pain. You can also read about the Qi Gong practice of “Arm Swinging”, or Shuai Shou Gong, and its benefits for the nervous system, joint mobility and stress relief here. And if you’d like deeper guidance on cultivating your Qi – your life force energy – and your chakras, I show you how you can do so in just 10 minutes a day.
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