3 Ways Ecotherapy Will Cure Your Stress
Why Tree Hugging and Forest Bathing Are The New Therapeutic Trends
Nature is our gift from God. It’s ours to touch, to feel, to breathe in and to be encompassed by its limitless beauty. Nature is all around us. Nature is there to uplift us when we are down and to comfort us when we’re sad.
Nature is there to maintain our happiness when we’re feeling blessed and to provide solace when things are not going the way we may have wanted. Seeing the abundance of nature gives us strength in knowing that everything is going to be o.k. Nature serves as a simple reminder that lets us know that as powerful as we think we are, we don’t know everything. And everything is unfolding according to a divine plan.
If there is one positive thing that we can take from the pandemic, it’s our return to nature. We hear stories of people leaving big cities like New York and San Francisco in historic proportions for more space, more land and more nature. And in most cases at a much more reasonable price than their city abode. Sure you can blame rising rents, politics or the mismanagement of resources but moving out of the big city almost always has people reconnecting to nature in some way shape or form. The vast majority of the people that have left the city aren’t looking back either. Leaving some to wonder why they hadn’t made the move sooner. They are in total enjoyment of their new surroundings.
Leaving the city for the suburbs or for the country is great if you can but you don’t have to leave the city to enjoy nature. Even if trekking to the nearest national park is out of the way you can enjoy nature by simply wandering out your front door and taking a leisurely walk. Take notice and you’ll see wonderful nature all around you. Look at the trees so tall and so strong. They stand tall and sturdy for hundreds of years hence they represent strength and stability. You don’t have to wonder if the old oak tree will be there come morning, rest assured it will. No wonder that tree hugging has become a great pastime during this pandemic. Sure tree hugging has been around for years but it’s really taken off recently and it’s only gaining in popularity.
Forest bathing has also taken off. Forest bathing is not going to the forest and taking a bath as the name would imply. It’s the practice of connecting with nature around you in a spiritual way. It comes from the Japanese word shinrin-yoku which literally translates to forest bathing. Forest bathing has many benefits that can lead to positive mental health, the release of stress, emotional stability, heart and lung health and increased focus and memory. Forest bathing has become such the thing that you can elect to have a guided tour in which a trained guide will lead you on your forest bathing experience.
Walking barefoot in the grass is another way to connect with nature. This is what God intended this is what God’s wants. He wants us to have a connection with His unlimited source his unlimited gift to us that keeps on giving. The often quoted phrase stop and smell the roses is not just cliché it has deep spiritual meaning. The hustle and bustle has kept us from nature but if you can point to one good thing that has come forward in recent months it’s our re-connection with nature and I can assure you this is pleasing to God. Walking barefoot has led to the practice of “grounding” or “earthing” which is basically you connecting to nature and getting an electrical charge from the earth.
It’s no coincidence that these once seemingly fringe fads, better known as ecotherapy, are catching on and they are not fly by nights, they are here for the long haul.
As technology seems to move us forward it also seems like we’re travelling back in time and enjoying the simple things life has to offer more and more. Back to a time when we appreciated nature for its beauty and its purpose. Ecotherapy is proof of this. Just remember that civilizations before us praised the land, the oceans, the trees, the sun, etc. So the next time you see your neighbor moving about barefoot in the backyard, hugging the maple tree while gazing at the sun for hours on end don’t be alarmed, they’re just reconnecting to nature and pleasing God in the process.
