As much as I appreciate the value in the sleepiness of the winter months, this girl is an actual tree hugger, and she needs to be out! I find myself eager for spring with a couple of days of 60-degree temperatures here in late February I feel that shift in the weather just enough to entice me out of our hibernation.
Have you ever stopped to consider why we call her "Mother Nature"? It's because nature is life-giving like a mother. She has a feminine energy that nurtures and nourishes. Being among nature is a form of self-care that brings restoration on so many levels. With all its data, science will tell us how being in the great outdoors reduces stress, strengthens immunity, and regulates blood pressure, pulse, and heartbeat. But less science and more instinct tell us it feels natural, making sense of why we feel so good in green spaces or nature. Nature is natural to us; We didn't start out living in aluminum siding, wearing shoes, and eating from chipotle while cruising our cell phones. Being in the natural elements takes us home to Mother.
Our senses are the bridge that connects us to the healing powers of Mother Nature. The sounds of nature can be so healing and recalibrating. Sometimes you can even detect the subtle pulsating and natural resonance with the planet. Sound Of Earth's Natural Resonance. We are meant to harmonize with the earth and vibrate in sync with her. Our senses become more awake in nature's setting designed to keep us alert and engaged. Visualizing a nature scene can release the necessary hormones to reduce pain and trigger positive emotions that contribute to our well-being. Plantlife arrived well before us and established as an ally was not a coincidence in nature's medicine. Scents of the natural environment deliver phytoncides produced by plants to help increase our levels of white blood cells, strengthening the immune system. The oxygen exchange between trees and their abundant nutrition supply all provide a supportive structure for living beings.
Sunshine and oxygen-rich fresh air encourage the more natural diaphragmatic breathing (better breathing), taking us out of "fight or flight" and into the "rest and digest" mode of the autonomic nervous system. We can sleep more restoratively and feel refreshed in the morning when we shift more easily into that "rest and digest" mode. Energy-rich sunshine is received and exchanged with our breathing and skin, delivering essential vitamins and minerals to our body systems. The internal balance and rhythm of the sun tell us when to sleep, eat, rest, play, regulating the body, mind, emotions, and spirit. Doctors are now prescribing a trip to a National Park as therapy. Natural Parks Therapy.
So why is Mother Nature so profoundly healing? It's only natural; the earth and its inhabitants are electromagnetic. When we can connect with elements of nature, we begin to vibrate, and our heart beats at the same natural frequency as the earth. In our busy modern world, we pick up frequencies that don't support our overall health and conflict with our natural resonance. Different devices, stress, chaos, sedentary lifestyle, and lack of grounding, stresses our energy systems that serve the biological systems. Like batteries, we need to plug in and recharge, but we also need to discharge accumulated energy. When we walk in nature (Earthing), we literally can discharge energy or recharge by nature appropriately.
Being in nature and connecting with the earth brings us back to life. Mother Nature is a cleansing elixir restoring that natural part of who we are. There are always ways to bring nature to us when don't have access to it. City dwellers bring in patches of earth to their skyscrapers. You can bring in live plants, stones, wood, water, various elements of the earth to nourish. Ideally, we take time each day to step outside and breathe, feel the grass/dirt ( barefoot when we can), hug a tree, put our feet in the water, listen to a river flow or birds chirping, and bask in the warmth of the energetic sun or the crispness of snowy air. Go home, go back to nature; it's food, fuel, and medicine for the body, mind, and soul it's only natural!
See you in the forest,
XO Donna
