April 7, 2025

Hello Followers,

Welcome to Monday!

NATURE The best way to predict your future is to create it.

Nature reminds us that our future is shaped by how we care for the world around us, fostering peace and sustainability.

Today Dan and I will explore how nature has an impact on our brains and behaviors.

Being in nature decreases stress!

Hiking and any physical activity can reduce stress and anxiety.

But there is something about being in nature that may increase those impacts.

In one recent experiment conducted in Japan, participants were assigned to walk either in a forest or in an urban center taking walks of equal length and difficulty while having their heart rate variability, heart rate, and blood pressure measured.

The participants also filled out questionnaires about their moods, stress levels, and other psychological measures.

Results showed that those who walked in forests had significantly lower heart rates and higher heart rate variability indicating more relaxation and less stress, and reported better moods and less anxiety, than those who walked in urban settings.

The researchers concluded that there is something about being in nature that had a beneficial effect on stress reduction, above and beyond what exercise alone might have produced.

In another study, researchers in Finland found that urban dwellers who strolled for as little as 20 minutes through an urban park or woodland reported significantly more stress relief than those who strolled in a city center.

The reasons for this effect are unclear; but scientists believe that we evolved to be more relaxed in natural spaces.

There has been evidence that being in natural spaces or even just looking out of a window onto a natural scene somehow soothes us and relieves stress.

So, join Dan and I and surround yourself around nature today.

Tomorrow, we will explore how nature can make you happier and less unhappy.

GROUNDING

Today as we continue our series on grounding, Dan and I will explore the seventh practice for you to try with us.

Mindful Walking: Walk slowly and mindfully, adjust your breath with your steps.

Pause in observing nature with all your senses, especially in rainy weather.

Feeling anxious?

This quick 5 Minute grounding exercise can help to calm anxious thoughts and keep you focused and mindful in your environment.

This is a grounding exercise that can be done almost anywhere, and it does not require any equipment or materials- just your brain!

Until Tuesday, there is pleasure in the pathless woods.

Sometimes, peace comes when we leave the familiar and explore the untamed wilderness.