Does Nature Make Us Happy?

“Turn your face toward the sun and the shadows will fall behind you.” ~Maori Proverb

Imagine a graph showing the number of hours that the average person spends on air today compared to 50 years ago. Imagine a graph showing the number of people suffering from depression, stress and anxiety compared to 50 years ago.

I'm sure there would be a direct correlation between the two graphs; decreased the other has increased.

As we turned to nature, we have lost our natural source of happiness. Put our faces to the sun again, we find sustainable and more happiness.

My life has led me to nature, away from her and back into the heart of nature again. Now I know that there are simple ways we can all reconnect with nature and if we live in the city, the woods, or somewhere in between.

I grew up on the west coast of Scotland, between the waves of the Atlantic and the hills. The village where I spent the first 17 years of my life had a population of 17 people, and we were 60 miles from the nearest cinema or swimming pool.

Primary school population peaked a year when we had 12 students gathered within 10 miles. 5-12 we have learned in a classroom by a teacher. They closed the school the following year I went to school because there was only one student left.

I could not wait to change the field for another wild type wild. When I grew up, I wanted boys, lights, great excitement and culture of the city, so I leaned in London.

On a daily basis my senses were assaulted by the bustle of urban life.

I was wide-eyed in the advertising posters in the subway and the hordes of people who came and were with me in an eclectic mix of style, race and age. I am absorbed in the beating heart of the bustling city and the countryside I forgot that I had left.

Never consciously relax landscape of lost childhood and my connection to the wild. She was tired of another type of wild.

Normally I spent Saturday morning trawling Camden Market for clothes and music; displace evenings timeless dark nights in bars and dance until dawn.

He gave me a party with galleries, museums, cinemas and theaters and I wandered the cobbled streets of Covent Garden to absorb the culture and color through all my senses streets. When Monday morning came around that the subway to my office and fired at work, almost without looking out the window.

No wonder I have migraines that lasted 3-4 days at a time. No wonder I became depressed, burned, exhausted, and disconnected from myself. No wonder I'm sick soul.

All my energy was in the welfare of the world active, busy and noisy. I did nothing to take care of myself, to recharge my energy and give me space and silence. All yang, yin not. Migraines are of my body to say that something had to change.

The turning point came when my doctor suggested I do a yoga class rather than my migraines increased drug against pain. The first yoga class was a homecoming, a return to a place of peace within me. I was in love!

The more I practiced yoga more patted me on the infinite wisdom of my body. I listened when my body did not want to get caught in an opening of the gallery or the latest movie. My body told me he did not want more alcohol and certainly did not want the line underground clubs punchy bass.

Through yoga, happy feelings that once seemed to come from external events began to come from a place deep within me.

The more I felt comfortable being quietly before me, who called me in nature.

Gradually, I moved to the southern outskirts of the city and we spent the weekend walking along the river and read books on park benches.

And then it was time to return to the Scottish countryside to create a nest for the baby growing in my belly. I had to heal and remember how to be yin and yang. I had to soak me so deeply in nature I want your touch wherever they live.

I found that reconnecting with nature is the journey back home, find inner peace and deep connection of the soul.

I would like to share with you my favorite 5 ways to connect with nature for you:

1 slow. Rhythm of nature.

When you walk slowly, breathe more slowly and you will feel more relaxed. As the speed decreases, begin to notice the nature around him.

It may be a small piece of foam in a crack in the pavement or a tree you've ever seen before. Look around slowly and consciously and see what you find when you install this natural rhythm of being.

February. Barefoot Try to breathe.

Human beings are the only creatures to place a shoe between the sole and the soul of the earth. The simple removal of shoes and barefoot on tribal land meets a need for reconnection.

Find out-of-doors a quiet corner of the park, a quiet spot in your garden, or your favorite wild place instead.

Take your shoes off, close your eyes and take slow deep breaths soft 100 barefoot feel the sun on your face, the air on your skin, and the warm heart of the earth through the soles.

Three. Spend time observing the cloud.

When was the last time you turn on the grass and watch the clouds float in the sky above you? I bet you did as a child, but did not nearly as much as an adult.

Cloud-observation clears the mind and brings peace of mind to all your senses. Try it in the evening when the sun paints the sky pink and orange on sunny days with a buzzing insect band, or a stormy day when you can see 10 shades of gray roll past just a few minutes .

April. Hug a tree.

When you think of the trees that the words come to mind? Forte? Grand? Sculptural? Forte? Antigua? The oldest trees in the world have lived for thousands of years and are based on trees to produce the oxygen we need to breathe.

"Tree-hugger" is often used jokingly, but hugging a tree is an easy way to recharge your energy levels to absorb all the strength and goodness oxygen rich! Lean in close and put your cheek against the trunk. feel the texture of the bark on the skin and opens its arms to embrace the tree.

May Plant spirit medicine.

Indigenous peoples of the world speak of the spirit of the plants used for healing. The spirit of a plant is greater than the sum of all the active ingredients, and you can operate the plants. Ever noticed how you are attracted to certain plants and cut flowers at different times of your life?

Go to a place with flowers and turn your awareness in your heart, focusing on her soft breathing in and out.

From this location, the power connection, note that the flowers attract the most appeal to your heart? Spend time to absorb its beauty and be open to the idea that you give the healing you need more.

So whenever you want to feel happy or inspired or soothed or remember your true nature, head and turn your face toward the sun.