It is common knowledge from the time that we are young that nature, and specifically spending time directly in nature, is good for us. Unfortunately, given our hectic, chaotic, and digital modern lives, most of us are unaware of just how important time spent in nature is and its immense healing power for our mental, emotional, and physical state of being.

Every time you are in nature, whether it be in a pleasant park setting, on a hiking trail, by a garden pool, or on a beach, your mind and body benefit in a multitude of areas. Every single time that we immerse ourselves in a natural setting, amidst trees, plants, wildlife, the open sky, sun, and air, all these elements of nature work their healing magic on every part of our physical, mental, emotional, social, and psychological wellbeing. Of course, there is a caveat. Be sure that you are adequately dressed for your time in nature so that you are not creating stress for yourself by being too hot or too cold. Likewise, be sure to spend time in an area where you can relax, one which is not swarming with human-biting insects and during a time where the weather will not be a source of stress for you.

Time well spent…

Reflect. Meditate. Contemplate.

Make love with nature, every chance you get.

Evita Ochel

To motivate you to improve your wellbeing through nature, below I will list 62 ways in which nature can improve your health and wellbeing. How you experience each of the below-mentioned benefits will depend on a variety of factors. Some of these benefits will be easily noticeable or even profound and create drastic shifts in your life. Others will be subtle, and will often go unnoticed. All of them are experiential, but not every person may be open to receiving or experiencing them. Most of these benefits have also been studied and proven scientifically and written about in books.

As you read through the list below, I invite you to keep in mind one or more of your favorite or easily accessible nature spots where you can spend more time in on a regular basis to increase these benefits in your life.

  1. Nature helps us become aware of and align our mind, body, and spirit.
  2. Nature offers a connection to spirit.
  3. Nature offers a connection to the soul.
  4. Nature fosters reverence for all life.
  5. Nature strengthens our energetic coherence.
  6. Nature uplifts our spirits and improves our mood.
  7. Nature fosters our sense of wonder and awe.
  8. Nature enhances sleep quality and quantity.
  9. Nature helps to enhance our self-confidence.
  10. Nature helps to improve our self-discipline.
  11. Nature enhances creativity. 11.Nature fosters inner peace.
  12. Nature calms the mind.
  13. Nature deepens our sense of community and belonging.
  14. Nature cultivates a natural sense of appreciation.
  15. Nature inspires gratitude.
  16. Nature gives us a sense of being connected to a larger whole.
  17. Nature improves overall physical health.
  18. Nature reduces feelings of depression.
  19. Nature improves our levels of happiness.
  20. Nature enhances energy and vitality.
  21. Nature decreases feelings of stress.
  22. Nature stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system and triggers the relaxation response.
  23. Nature reduces pain and inflammation, especially when contact with Earth is direct.
  24. Nature reduces stress hormone circulation.
  25. Nature lowers and normalizes blood pressure.
  26. Nature decreases anger and aggression.
  27. Nature helps us release worry and anxiety.
  28. Nature improves overall mental health.
  29. Nature offers enhanced healing and recovery benefits.
  30. Nature is mentally and emotionally restorative.
  31. Nature improves our focus and concentration.
  32. Nature reduces hyperactive behavior.
  33. Nature improves our sense of compassion.
  34. Nature strengthens our sense of meaning and purpose.
  35. Nature helps us to understand the bigger picture of life.
  36. Nature fosters selflessness and altruism.
  37. Nature increases our sense of sustainability.
  38. Nature promotes an understanding of the inter-connectivity of all life.
  39. Nature strengthens our connection between personal actions and consequences.
  40. Nature helps us connect with our basic values.
  41. Nature helps us to establish our priorities.
  42. Nature offers natural and health-promoting sounds.
  43. Nature provides us with optimal air quality.
  44. Nature offers positively stimulating visual landscapes.
  45. Nature fosters a sense of natural joy.
  46. Nature offers lots of opportunities for natural physical activity.
  47. Nature improves our sense of living in balance.
  48. Nature reduces feelings of distress and agitation.
  49. Nature helps us live connected to nature’s rhythms.
  50. Nature enhances our sense of humility.
  51. Nature promotes states of meditation and stillness.
  52. Nature offers us natural silence.
  53. Nature reduces information overload.
  54. Nature helps us to overcome grief and trauma.
  55. Nature reduces selfishness.
  56. Nature offers us guidance for our life.
  57. Nature optimizes brain function.
  58. Nature helps us to open our hearts.
  59. Nature helps us to open our minds.
  60. Nature helps to make us kinder and more caring.
  61. Nature promotes optimal mind, body, and spirit wellbeing.

To see a World in a Grain of Sand

And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,

Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand

And Eternity in an hour.”

William Blake, Auguries of Innocence

Natural Integrations

Whether you choose to live amidst natural surroundings, vacation in natural areas, visit a local park, or personal backyard, every connection with nature counts. Of course, the more we take in natural surroundings, the more we benefit. Many of the benefits above compound each other, where one has a natural progression of leading to another. The power for deep personal healing, evolution, and transformation lies with us.

Allow nature to be your refuge; your teacher; your friend; your therapist. Befriend her, get to know her, fall in love with her—all over again. We fear and destroy that which we do not understand. We cherish and appreciate that which we love. These two sides offer us an understanding of the two main relationships people on our planet have with nature. As we integrate ourselves with nature—our fundamental HOME—we become more WHOLE. We become more effective human beings. We become more responsible stewards of the Earth. We positively enrich the collective consciousness. We benefit; our Earth benefits. At a time in the history of humanity where so much chaos and negativity seem to blanket the planet, there is a solution for us to wake-up, come together, and come HOME. The cohesive energies of nature effortlessly lead the way.

Look deep into nature and you will understand everything better.

Albert Einstein

Whether it is spring, summer, autumn or winter, make a conscious connection with nature daily. Nature should not have to be scheduled into our lives, it should be a natural part of our lives. But we all have to start somewhere, so start wherever you can to increase the amount of time you spend in nature. Whenever you have the opportunity to choose your task, activity, or experience, choose nature. Our modern, man-made world is noisy, constantly competing for our attention, dispersing our focus, and offering constant distractions. It lures us in with false promises and illusions of some future-derived happiness. But it is not in the shopping experience, Internet or TV experience, or gossiping experience that you will find authentic joy and inner peace. It is in nature. True happiness cannot be purchased, it can only be created by you, from within you, and nature offers us the perfect landscape to engage in for this creation.

Whatever healing, growth, or guidance you seek, know that nature is always there for you. She is ready to listen, ready to speak, ready to heal, and love you. Allow yourself to be immersed in her warm embrace, her acceptance of you, and her unconditional love for you.

  1. The Lost Language of Plants: The Ecological Importance of Plant Medicines for Life on Earth — book by y Stephen Harrod Buhner
  2. Your Brain On Nature: The Science of Nature’s Influence on Your Health, Happiness, and Vitality — book by Eva M. Selhub

  3. Ecotherapy: Healing with Nature in Mind — book by Linda Buzzell and Craig Chalquist

  4. The Nature Principle: Reconnecting with Life in a Virtual Age — book by Richard Louv

  5. Ecopsychology: Restoring the Earth, Healing the Mind — book by Theodore Roszak et al.

  6. The Voice of the Earth: An Exploration of Ecopsychology — book by Theodore Roszak

  7. Nature and the Human Soul: Cultivating Wholeness and Community in a Fragmented World — book by Bill Plotkin

  8. Ecopsychology: Science, Totems, and the Technological Species — book by Peter H. Kahn Jr. et al.

  9. The Earth Has a Soul: C.G. Jung on Nature, Technology & Modern Life — book by C. G. Jung