Our Mental Health and Nature, by Team Boo
Our Mental Health and Nature, by Team Boo
Things our souls love about nature.
We know that spending time in nature can help us thrive. This may be something you’ve noticed yourself, and there’s research to confirm it.
Being present and noticing. Light and air. Calming colours. Soothing sounds. Feeling small, yet part of something bigger. Seeing purpose all around you. Shin, Priya, Patti and Amy talk about the things we love about nature.
Shin
I love that it just instantly calms my soul and makes me think about all that is good
When I do get out, I love that it just instantly calms my soul and makes me think about all that is good. I find being out in nature gives my mind a break from whatever I have going on, time to reflect and think of steps to move forward. Need to remind myself to do this more and give myself and my mind the break it sometimes craves and needs.
Priya
I like to be near flowing water, it reminds me to go with the flow.
Mother Earth was how I was bought up to refer to the world around us, my grandparents would always say when you wake up and your feet touch the ground always honour her with gratitude and love – something I still do.
I love the seasons, I can connect with the changes through each season from my diet, sleep pattern my social activity, my yoga practice it all changes seasonally… its very much how I manoeuvre through the year, nature gives me that guidance.
Whilst I was shielding during the pandemic there were days where I would go out for a walk and hug a tree or sit and meditate it gave me that deeper connection I was missing. I like to be near flowing water, it reminds me to go with the flow.
Patti
Feeling part of something much bigger. Feeling like the worries I have would be inconsequential in nature.
Patti – The peace and tranquillity of hearing birds and wind blowing through the leaves of trees. I don’t know how to articulate this exactly- being surrounded by life that is thriving without technology. The simple pitter patter of animals running across the ground. Seeing light be dispersed by the shapes of leaves and trees. Feeling the cold air on my face, reminding me I am alive. Imagining what an animal is doing with its day. Seeing green in abundance to any other colour. Seeing the different shades of blue in the ocean. Noticing how the colours change when the wind blows or the sun shines brighter. Not hearing the humdrum of cars or city life. Feeling part of something much bigger. Feeling like the worries I have would be inconsequential in nature. Feeling the sun warm my face. The sound of crunchy leaves underfoot. Smelling clean air. Smelling smells that remind me of being a child.
Amy
We aim for a minimum of two hours in nature every day, and in those two hours, I feel like I am truly living.
Spending (a lot of) time out in nature helped me to navigate new motherhood. When sleep wasn’t an available option to me, I would boost my wellbeing with the great outdoors. I’d say spending time outside remains the single biggest contributor to my mental health. I’m probably addicted to it. I’m definitely addicted to it.
When my son was very tiny I would sit on sit on a fishing platform hold him whilst he slept. I would sit and admire sunlight glimmering between the reeds. Noticing the water full of fish, or swarms of tadpoles. I never took him to baby sensory classes. Instead, his little hands explore rock and bark and petal and leaf; snow and sand, cold sea and glistening brook”
Now that he’s older, we visit our favourite trees, collect sticks, throw stones into the water. We aim for a minimum of two hours in nature every day, and in those two hours, I feel like I am truly living.
Here’s a lovely booklet from the Mental Health Foundation called “Thriving With Nature”.
Love, Team Boo x
