Four Simple Ways to Practice Self-Care Outdoors

Written by: Mike Murawski

There is no doubt that the past six months has been a jarring roller coaster of emotions, with everything from the pandemic and having kids in online school at home to the constant barrage of racial injustices and the highly divisive political season leading up to another election. The long list of daily stresses and anxieties keep piling up. Yet amidst everything going on right now, it’s important to take the time to slow down and find some easy ways to take care of ourselves.

For myself and my family, getting out into nature has always been our go-to strategy for some calm and decompression. This was a big driving force behind Super Nature Adventures — finding ways to connect more deeply with nature, along with helping kids, families, and communities create more meaningful connections to the world, to nature, and to the places where we live.

Earlier this month, wildfires here in Oregon reminded me just how precious and meaningful this form of self care can be. For more than a week, hazardous air quality confined us inside our homes as we waited for the rains to come and the smoke to clear. Since this ‘smoke quarantine’ within a quarantine, I’ve been reflecting on the value of having some time with nature each and every day. Here are some of my thoughts on how and why a daily routine of outdoor time can play a central role in reducing our stress and anxiety.

Why Connect with Nature?

Across the long history of our human species, we’ve only been sitting at a desk, in front of a screen, walking on pavement, hearing the sounds of cars and trucks, or even wearing shoes on our feet for a tiny fraction of that time. Being immersed in a world of technology and machines is a very new experience for us as a species, and this has largely replaced our time spent outdoors in nature. Think about the last time you were somewhere where you couldn’t hear the sounds of the human-made world — the humming of someone mowing their lawn, the rumble of a car passing by, or the swooping echo of a plane flying overhead. I honestly can’t remember, because even when we’ve been in the middle of a national park or wilderness area, we usually still hear some lingering sounds of our human world.

In her book The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative, journalist Florence Williams notes:

“We don’t experience natural environments enough to realize how restored they can make us feel, nor are we aware that studies also show they make us healthier, more creative, more empathetic and more apt to engage with the world and with each other.”

It’s true. We’ve simply lost a deeper connection and relationship with the natural world at the same time that our actions are taking a toll on the natural ecosystems surrounding us. We don’t connect with nature in slow and intimate ways any more, even though a desire for that connection is ingrained in our DNA.

Immersing ourselves in the natural environment can be one of the most powerful and effective strategies for self-care and healing — rebuilding and fostering a deeper connection between ourselves and the natural world. And there is a lot of interesting and compelling research that has been done in the last several years about the positive impact of being in nature on our health and physical well-being. For instance, did you know that spending time in nature and the outdoors can lower our heart rate and blood pressure, boost our immune system, and increase relaxation and mental clarity? A July 2018 Harvard study found that even just 20 or 30 minutes in nature can significantly reduce stress, anxiety, anger, and sadness.

M. Amos Clifford, author of Your Guide to Forest Therapy, suggests that we need to let go of our expectations that “structured time in the forest should have something to do with learning scientific facts about nature.” Instead, we need to find ways to slow down and experience nature through our bodies and through our senses.

It’s also important to remember that you don’t need to be hiking in an old growth forest to connect deeply with nature. It can happen in our backyard, our garden, a neighborhood park, or anywhere that can bring us closer to the natural environment. Laura van Dernoot Lipsky, an expert on wellness and founder of The Trauma Stewardship Institute, reminds us:

“We don’t have to scale mountains or ride rapids to benefit from being outside. Being outside for a few minutes, looking at a tree, and observing the light filtering through leaves can regulate your nervous system and allow you to be more present.”

4 Simple Ways to Build a Connection to Nature into your Daily Routine

Connecting with nature on a regular basis may be easier than you think. Try out these simple practices on your own, and see if you can begin to develop new habits of self-care and healing practice in your life.

1. Ground Yourself by Connecting with the Earth

It’s so easy to get swept up in the constant buzz of mobile devices, the 24-hour news cycle, and all of the worries and fears we feel each and every day. The addictive nature of social media and other technologies has the effect of distracting our attention and disconnecting us from our present moment. So one basic fundamental of well-being and self-care is finding some ways to ground ourselves in the here and now — in our present moment and in our present place.

Find a quiet space in your backyard or a nearby neighborhood park, and begin by just relaxing and taking some slower breaths. Scan the area around you and begin to notice everything from the grass, plants, and trees to the sky, clouds, and birds. Connect with this place, right here and right now in this moment. As you stand or sit on the ground, feel your physical connection with the earth below you. You might even visualize how your body is “rooted” to the ground and notice how gravity connects you with the earth.

In Buddhism, this practice is called “touching the earth” and is a way to remind ourselves that the earth is always holding us. “This is the most beautiful and intense gift of the earth,” writes Buddhist teacher Lama Rod Owens, “and it is something that we can evoke and rely on when we feel the most alone.” We are not separate from our environment, but a part of it. There are many ways to practice this, yet I think it’s best to start simple and find a way to connect with the earth that is comfortable for us and our bodies.

2. Spend Some Time Walking Around Barefoot

Have you ever had the urge to take off your socks and shoes and just run around barefoot in the grass? Well, you should go for it! Having the experience of physically feeling dirt, leaves, and grass under our feet is ingrained in our DNA. This tactile sensation of having our skin touch the ground is a great way to connect with nature, yet we’re depriving ourselves of this when we’re afraid of getting dirty or hurting our feet.

I have to admit, as a parent, I often catch myself shouting “put your shoes on” as my child runs out the door, worrying about him getting his feet dirty. But walking around the yard barefoot is a safe and simple self-care activity. And walking around barefoot in our yard or garden shouldn’t be something we just let our kids do — we adults need to let go and have more direct contact with the dirty, even muddy, ground. Research shows that taking some time each day to walk barefoot in the grass can help improve sleep, reduce pain, decrease muscle tension, and lower stress.

During a forest therapy workshop I facilitated back in 2017 in Santa Cruz, California, I invited everyone to remove their shoes as we walked down a short forested trail. Some were resistant at first, but then you could hear everyone release a deep breath when they felt their toes touch the cool soil and redwood needles beneath them. After the workshop ended, several participants remarked at how simple yet restorative it felt to walk barefoot in the woods. So the next time you’re headed outside for some time in nature, consider leaving your shoes behind and getting a little dirty.

3. Listen to the Sounds of Nature

Not only can a tactile experience with nature relieve stress, but research also suggests that listening to the sounds of nature can benefit our well-being in many ways. A recent study in the UK provided evidence that natural sounds can promote relaxation and help us respond to highly stressful situations.

Next time you find yourself outdoors, stop and take a moment to do some focused listening. First, simply relax and take in whatever sounds are happening around you. Try focusing your attention on the sounds that are farthest away from you, and then focus on the sounds that are the closest to you. Can you hear the sounds of your own breathing, too? This listening exercise can help us become more present and connected with the world around us. We don’t need to name or identify all the sounds we hear (try to resist that temptation, especially with birds). Just be open to noticing whatever we hear in the environment around us.

Can’t always find time to get outdoors to hear nature sounds? Well, studies show that even listening to recordings of sounds in nature can have many of the same benefits. There are many videos and audio tracks on YouTube with the sounds of old growth forests, babbling streams, or ocean waves. Find one like this and give it a try. Or you might want to listen to BirdNote’s Sound Escapes podcast which will immerse you in some of the incredible recordings of sound ecologist Gordon Hempton.

4. Get Into Gardening

During the quarantine moments of this pandemic, many of the nature spaces in our communities have been closed or difficult to access given social distancing guidelines. So we’ve needed to turn to those natural spaces right outside our door, including our own gardens. Home gardens — which can be anything from a large vegetable garden to a small patio with a few planters — are some of the most accessible green spaces in our lives. Home gardening not only provides health benefits through physical activity, but it is also associated with improved emotional wellbeing. According to a recent study from Princeton University, gardening is one of the most beneficial activities for mental and emotional health, even more beneficial than walking or biking.

Sarah Rayner of Psychology Today confirms that getting out and working in our gardens can release happy hormones like serotonin and dopamine. “Gardening can act as a gentle reminder to us that we are not the center of the universe,” Rayner says. “Focusing on the great outdoors — even in the pared-down form of a patio — can encourage us to be less insular.”

Jasmine Jefferson, therapist and founder of Black Girls with Gardens, notes that there has been a spike in gardening interest ever since the pandemic hit. She urges new gardeners to just get out there and plant something:

“Don’t worry too much about will it grow, or is it the right season, or whatever the case may be. Just get out there. Try it. Allow gardening to be that therapy, that peace, that calm. Whatever exactly that you need, allow gardening to do that. But just start.”

Build a Daily Habit of Connecting with Nature

As we all work to tackle the daily stresses and anxieties we are experiencing right now in our lives — no matter how big or small they are — it’s so important to take care of ourselves. Developing a simple daily habit of spending time with nature can truly reduce stress and improve our overall well-being.

We are all capable of carving out a bit of time every day to step outdoors, breathe, listen, and connect with nature. Turn a Zoom meeting into a phone call that you can take from your garden. Go for a walk to a nearby park in your neighborhood and find a place to just sit for a few moments. The more we build this into our regular daily routine, the more we’ll feel the deep benefits of reconnecting with the natural environment.

“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves a strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature — the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.” — Rachel Carson