How To Use Nature Mindfulness Walks For Depression, Anxiety And Boost Your Emotional Mood

We have all been there. Just not feeling like getting up in the morning, starting our day, focusing on daily tasks, and achieving our goals. In a matter of fact, we can go through a period in our lives that nothing that we do seems to matter.

Feeling down in our emotional mood can often lead to a form of escapism. wanting to hide from our reality we do not really want to be part of. Or when we try to do things we can have these feelings of fatigue, boredom, loneliness, and isolation. We long for connection but we feel invisible in our world.

Distracting ourselves through entertainment or even addictive behaviors can eventually lead to mental health challenges. Such as feeling numb, depressed, bored-out, anxious, overstimulated, and lack of focus and concentration.

January was exactly a month like that for me. After coming back to London from the Highlands in Scotland I had to face once again my reality. A reality I wasn’t really satisfied with. So I had to make some major changes.

Losing my energy for not staying in touch with my purpose can always give us another signal that we must adjust. I also like to call this re-aligning ourselves.

In my next video, I would like to share a bit more on how to actually do this through a mindfulness walk in nature.

How To Overcome Depression, regulate your emotional mood through a Mindfulness Walk/Hike in nature.

What Goes Up Goes Down…

Remember the last time you were at a personal development event? Where thousands of people are being inspired by the guru and the energy is being lifted through the roof? Remember what happened a week after the event? You guessed it right!

You are back at “normal.” Back at the old boring routine that feels like a dead-end street. The discipline you told yourself you are going to develop has been left behind at the event. And you are back at the “addiction” we call comfort.

For me when I was in Scotland the last week of December I saw everything very clear. My work, my purpose, what I want to develop for myself and share as a gift with the world. Hence, my video about the Shamanic Path.

Coming back to London and this crystal clear vision vaporized right before my eyes. My energy levels and emotions took a nose-dive back to ground level zero.

No idea where to start, what to do, how to do it, and what exactly I had to offer the world that does not feel like “having to sell something.” Or giving something away from me that only depletes me even more.

My point is; we all have experienced an upliftment in our lives. Perhaps we went to a seminar, workshop, retreat, networking event, holiday, or travels. The question is; how do we stay in touch with that vision that ignites us?

Welcome to Reflection Time. Is here where you can give yourself some time to reflect. Reflect on your mission, cause, purpose, business, career, relationships, or your personal/spiritual life overall.

Why Mindfulness Walks or Hikes in nature?

Going out in nature can of course help us to improve our emotional mood. Hence the new evolving science of Nature Therapy, Ecotherapy or Shinrin Yoku/Forest Bathing. Forest Bathing is like emerging yourself in the atmosphere of nature. This very powerful Mindfulness practice is meant to use our basic senses of perception to simply observe.

Pay attention to what you see, feel, hear, smell, touch, and taste. Doing so will help you to get out of your rational mind that likes to divide/judge and categorize everything. Instead you will ground in the present moment.

Once you are present in this very moment you can relax and take a break from all your worries, anxieties, fears, and overthinking. Once you are more relaxed the self-reflection can begin. Reflect on your life, your business or career, purpose or cause, etc. It can give you more creative ideas and new inspirations for moving forward.

Is Hiking 12 miles needed in order to experience this relaxation?

Officially Forest Bathing or slow-paced Mindfulness Walks have nothing to do with following a hiking trail that goes from A to B. In a matter of fact, these Mindfulness walks can be and should be a very random wander. Whatever your senses and intuition guide you.

However, I am the kind of person that has more success when I feel more in touch with my physical body. A short wander or sitting still in a lotus position singing kumbaya is not really working for me.

The short wonder works for me when the restlessness has been released through some high-paced walking or other forms of exercise. Such as a high-intensity workout.

So it’s no surprise that I like to combine my long-distance high paced walking with many breaks for some stillness. I see a bird that got my attention I stand still and simply observe.

Is it the views over some stunning landscapes? I stand still and wonder my views into the distance.

I smell the smoke coming from a chimney of a nearby farm? I stand still and enjoy the fragrance.

Bringing a camera and taking a picture can often help to engage in the scenery. Where our eyes can follow the lines of the landscapes and capture the art from mother nature. You don’t have to become a professional landscape photographer with gear worth thousands of pounds. It’s the practice of paying attention. Do you see that the farm in the above picture is resting on the pole of that fence? That’s what I mean…

If you would like to join one of our guided mindfulness walks and hikes then please visit the event page for our agenda. I will also share these in our Facebook community. And of course, I will notify you through e-mail, so make sure you subscribe to my mailing as well.