Ecotherapy, or nature therapy, is about  connection to nature, a sense of belonging in the present.

The benefits of ecotherapy:

• Reduced stress levels
• A sense of happiness
• Improved self-awareness
• A sense of  peace
• Calming the nervous system
• Aids relaxation

If we are anxious or depressed, we are focused internally, on our worries, and our perception of what is around us is diminished. When we notice what is around us, we gain an understanding about ourselves.

How does it work?

Using Mindfulness outdoors is about paying close and full attention to something in our awareness, to still a busy mind, focusing on our breath. Listening to the birds, feeling the breeze on our faces, feeling the ground underfoot, touching leaves of a tree, all help to reconnect us with the world, our surroundings.

Talking about what you notice to a therapist can lead to talking about yourself,  helping to understand more about what is going on for you.

• Being outside connects us to nature, the here and now.
• Using our senses connects our mind and body to our surroundings.
• Gives an opportunity for self-reflection
• Creates a sense of calm and awareness of how we are feeling right now.
• It can be easier to talk about your worries when walking, moving around, exploring nature leads to exploring own thoughts.

Considerations

• Be comfortable, dress for the weather, being cold, wet, or too hot, distracts from being able to fully focus on what is around you.
• Being outdoors may evoke memories, which is where a therapist can be useful, to explore sad, and happy memories, to understand our feelings, and to understand more about ourselves, and why we feel as we do now.

Take a look with me at what Ecotherapy is and how it can benefit you.