This year’s pandemic obliged almost the entire world to retreat into their homes for several months. Some people, especially in the city, did not have a choice but stay within their 4 walls. Some however, seem to have rediscovered the forests and fields around where they live.
When there is nothing else to explore and you are reduced to a few kilometres from home, what you thought you knew, suddenly starts to look different.
I used to run at lunchtime at work and sometimes on weekends at home. Over the past months I have been running in the woods around my house a lot. I am a slow runner and I often stop to take pictures Now, when I look at the photos I have been taking lately, there is so much green! Trees, fields, flowers… Things I used to notice before too, but so much more now!
Running through he woods has also helped me stay sane during these crazy, unsure times. It helped me reconnect with something big, solid and safe. Out in the woods, there was no virus, there were no people, there was no bad news.
Running through the woods felt like recharging my batteries. I could literally feel energy seep back into my body.
I am sure there are many studies that reveal the importance of nature to a human being.
I recently came across this beautiful video that depicts all of this very well.
Hydrotherapy from Liam Cook on Vimeo.
Being in nature
- connects us to something bigger than ourselves
- helps us process things that cannot be processed otherwise
- makes us feel alive
When I am in the forest, I tend to stop and hug a tree.
It may look silly but it feels so good. And the benefits of tree-ging are many.
REWILD YOURSELF
There is a whole movement about ‘rewilding yourself’. Here are a few suggestions.
Rewild Yourself: 23 Spellbinding Ways to Make Nature More Visible
For anyone who wants to get closer to the nature all around them and bring it back into focus, this is the perfect read.
6 Easy Ways To Begin To ReWild Yourself In A Modern World
Try any, or all, of these simple ways to help re-wild your brain and body to restore harmony with your true biology.
Daniel Vitalis will be your guide through the world of human ecology and lifestyle design. He explores the strategies that our ancient human bodies and minds need to thrive in a modern world — awakening our instincts and freeing ourselves from the degenerative effects of human domestication.
Wildfitness, put simply, is the practice of listening to your body and mind and responding to your instinctual needs to move naturally, for deep relaxation and for unprocessed food.
Founder Tara Wood speaks about Re-wilding yourself in her Ted talk.
Their mission is to help human beings experience their own personal rewilding, thus discovering the passion, curiosity, and abundant joy that is every human’s natural birthright. Through this, we aim to shift our culture into a more meaningful relationship with nature, self and community. ReWild University strives to accomplish this mission through wilderness experience programs, videos, podcasts, and other outreach.
This June, join thousands of people taking part in our annual nature challenge, 30 Days Wild! We want you to do one wild thing a day throughout the whole month: for your health, wellbeing and for the planet. That’s 30 simple, fun and exciting Random Acts of Wildness.
You’ll get a free, downloadable pack of goodies to help you plan your wild month, plus lots of ideas to inspire you to stay wild all throughout June (and beyond!). For extra ‘bonus’ items, keep an eye on your emails for additional, fun activities, from instructions for baking hedgehog cupcakes to a beginner’s guide to wildlife photography.
On instagram you can find the pictures of the challenge here.
Rewilding Ourselves Back into Our True Nature
There is a term called “rewilding” often utilized within the frameworks of certain spiritual philosophies and areas of psychological study. To “re-wild” something means to restore it to its natural state or form.
Sometimes that does not mean going into the forest, but inside the natural state within ourselves through meditation.