Thoughts About Nature & Healing on World Mental Health Day

Today is World Mental Health Day. We at Cultured Forest wish to remind you that as you heal in nature your desire to heal nature also grows. And as you find ways to heal nature, you feel empowered and healed as well.

Fully committing to your own self care gives you strength to impact the world in whatever way feels meaningful to you. When you partner with nature on your healing journey (if it soothes and inspires you) you might be surprised what gifts come your way. And soon, like us, you may find yourself falling in love with Forests and giving back.

This World Mental Health day we encourage you to find local opportunities to volunteer in nature. Perhaps planting trees or harvesting plants in community gardens. The sense of community and time spent outdoors will benefit you. And if that sounds too difficult right now, then self care is of utmost importance.

Nature Care is Self Care.

This post was written by Brooke Mellen, Founder of Cultured Forest. We love when you share, but please be sure to get permission. Copyright Cultured Forest, LLC 2023. All Rights Reserved.

Nature-Inspired Creative Activities to try at Home or in the Outdoors

Below are a few creative activities you can try whether you are indoors or outdoors to help you feel a bit more connected to and tap into the healing benefits of nature. Spending time connecting with and exploring nature is one of the best ways to tune into your creativity and intuition.

1. Write a Haiku Poem:  Take a moment to think of your favorite place in nature.  Remember how you feel there.  What’s the temperature?  Is there a breeze?  What do you smell?  What colors do you see?  What can you hear? Once you have a place in mind write three lines.  The first should be five syllables.  The second should be seven syllables. The third should be five syllables. Once done you have a Haiku! Share it with someone or on social media. Don’t forget to tag @culturedforest.

2. Draw Nature From Your Imagination: Sit down and dedicate time to drawing purely from imagination.  Remember a time you were in nature.  Think of the plants, animals, trees or people who were there with you. Without judgment of your skill, try to recreate these things from memory. 

3.  Make a Collage from Magazines: Cut out pictures of animals or nature landscapes that bring you peace, joy and inspiration for future adventures. Hang it on your wall.

4.  Pretend you are Charles Darwin or Jane Goodall: Imagine you are a scientist in an exotic location. Look for images of birds and plants online and imagine you are keeping a record of them for future generations.  Draw and/or describe them in a notebook. 

5.  Play With Nature Photography: Find Nature photos you’ve taken on your phone and post them to social media for others to enjoy.

6. Try a Little Nature-Inspired Modern Dance: Make-believe you are an animal.  Consider what animal you feel like. Move around your space as if you were that animal.  Really notice the sounds and smells. Try different animals.

7. Start a Nature Writing Journal Using Some of the Following Prompts:

·      Imagine you are a bird and you are looking down on yourself.  What might the bird say about you?  What behaviors would it observe?

·      Describe the sounds you would hear in a forest.

·      If you could be any animal what would you be and where would you live?

·      Describe how you feel when you are in one of your favorite nature spots.

·      Tell the story of your last adventure outdoors.

·      Set nature connection goals.  What can you do each day, week, month and once a year to better connect to nature.

·      Find a nature photograph online, and make up a story about what happened there.

·      Express gratitude for all the ways nature benefits you.  Write a few commitments about how you can give back to nature.

·      Find a rock.  Write about the journey it went on to get to you. Imagine where it might have travelled from and some of the things it might have seen

·      Look out your window and see the outside as if you were a child seeing the world for the first time.  How would you describe it?

Please share your ideas with us below! This information is copyrighted to Brooke Mellen. Feel free to share it, just kindly give us a mention. Thanks!

Ideas for Bringing The Outdoors Indoors for Better Nature Connection

Right now in history many of us find ourselves indoors self-quarantining to avoid spreading Covid-19. This does not mean we need to feel disconnected from nature. Below are a few ways you can bring nature into your home. As you do these activities we hope you will find a bit of calm and peace to ease anxiety and stress.

-Aromatherapy.  Aim for scents that are nostalgic and citrus to boost mood.  Scents such as Pine, Fir, Hinoki Cypress, Cedar or Eucalyptus for their phytoncides, which have been shown to boost immunity. You can drop a little into your bath, use a diffuser or dabble a bit on your wrists to really get the benefits.

-Start a rock or shell collection.  Place some on your desk where you work.

-Choose a rock to hold when you feel anxious or sad.  You can keep one in your pocket during a stressful meeting or sleep holding the rock.  Hold the rock over any part of your body that holds tension and imagine the rock holding that for you.

-Hang photos or paintings of nature/forests.  Look at some of ours for inspiration.

-Get creative with nature: paint, write, poetry or play music. See our creative activity blogpost for a few ideas to get you started.

-Create an outdoors-inspired playlist.  Here is our nature and hiking playlist on Spotify to inspire you: Cultured Forest Nature Lovers Playlist.

-Experiment with nature meditations (use an app like Insight Timer if needed).

-Grow an Herb Garden.

-Surround yourself with plants.

-Get more nature in your feed. Start by following us on Facebook and Instagram @culturedforest!

Please share your ideas in the comments below. This content is copyrighted to Brooke Mellen. Feel free to share it and kindly give us credit when you do.

Shinrin-Yoku: The Japanese Art of Forest Bathing in Harriman State Park

Shinrin-Yoku is a Japanese practice that was developed in the 1980’s as a means to get overburdened workers into the outdoors.  It translates as “Forest Bathing” or taking in the outdoor atmosphere.  Since that time studies have been conducted showing the many health benefits of spending time in nature including lowered blood pressure, increased immunity and decreased levels of the stress hormone cortisol.  I recently learned about this practice and have since been incorporating it into my hiking adventures. 

 I recently hiked to Pine Meadow Lake at Harriman State Park on a solo trek to do Forest Bathing. I am training to be a Forest Therapy Guide and in my studies have learned that the Japanese version of Shinrin-Yoku basically encompasses a childlike appreciation of the forest while opening the five senses and expressing gratitude.  The American version takes it a step further by incorporating Mindfulness activities, which have also been shown to reduce stress.  So I ventured out to Harriman and channeled my inner child and desire to heal.  It differs from hiking in that you focus on BEING in nature rather than trekking through it.  It takes patience and imagination. 

 Each session begins with setting an intention, similar to a yoga class.  On this particular day I toyed with a few ideas and settled on wanting to open my heart.  So I embarked on my favorite trail that had finally thawed out after winter.  First I paid attention to sound and heard the stream and the sound of trees creaking in the wind and the sound of my feet hitting the dirt.  I noted the different shades of green in the moss on the rocks and expressed gratitude for spring.  

I spotted a fallen tree that once stood mighty and placed my hands on it to commiserate after the rough winter, but also imagined the haven it would become for new life in the forest.  If along the path I needed to grab hold of a tree for balance I did so and expressed gratitude out loud for the support.  While contemplating opening my heart, if a particular difficult memory or emotion surfaced I would find a solid tree or rock and lean on it and imagine those emotions transferring over for safe keeping.  I see these not as literal actions, but symbolic gestures.  Either way I do feel relief in doing this as if these objects, which have withstood the elements could bear the burden.   

 Another element of Shinrin-Yoku is finding a sit spot.  I took advantage of sitting on a rock near a stream and eating lunch.  Here I practiced a Yoga Nidra meditation where you scan your body using your mind.  This is a particularly good exercise for connecting with the body and living in the moment.  I paid attention to the connection between my body and the rock on which I sat and the sound of the stream.  I felt gratitude for the food I ate and slowed down to actually taste it.

 Finally I reached my favorite spot on the trail where the stream turns almost into a waterfall.  Here is one of the biggest stones on the trail, and I always stop to lean on this rock.  This time I discovered a rock underneath the point where this boulder leaned against another that was perfect to lie on.  I crawled inside and imagined the strength of these rocks and meditated focusing only on the in and out of my breath.  With the sound of the stream in the background all my worries seemed to fade.  When I stood up and walked to the stream I discovered another fallen tree and that it had fallen in such a way that I could hang on it and let my legs dangle like they would when I was a kid.

 In Japan, Shinrin-Yoku sessions end with a tea ceremony.  A guide would also take your blood pressure at the beginning and end and you could consult with a Dr. in the forest.  A session can be anywhere from 2 to 4 hours but they don’t recommend more than that.  It is also suggested that you walk no more than ¼ a mile.  For most adventure lovers this could seem almost impossible.  I have learned to slow down and notice the details and live in the moment.  This practice has rolled over into my daily life as I express gratitude for the small pleasures of life.