Several scientific research papers tell how nature, as in the physical environment, calms our nervous system, can help us create happier, healthier lives and connects us to something more than «the mind» and «the body».
Ayurveda speaks of our own true nature, our prakriti, and provides insight so each person can create a life in harmony with nature - with the elements (earth, water, fire, air and ether). But how can we speak of a connection between the two?
On the basis of holding a bachelor in Outdoor Education, a master in Sports Science and now a 200H Ayurveda and Vinyasa Yoga Teacher training, I´ve been trying to reflect upon this and how we get nurtured by nature.
After studying a bachelor in Outdoor Education and a master in Sports Science, I have read several research papers about nature´s effect on humans well-being. There are many examples of books out there explaining the connection. One is «the Hidden Life of Trees» by Peter Wohlleben another is «Entangled life» by Merling Sheldrake, a third is «the Nature Fix» by Florence Williams, another is «the Nature Pricnciple» by Richard Louv - just to mention some.
When writing my bachelor thesis I examined how nature can prevent and treat symptoms of Stress*. Through writing the thesis and taking subjects about the connection between the outdoors and our mental health, it also became more clear to me how this connection played a part in my own life.
Ayurveda and nature
Therefore it was not surprising to me that Ayurveda also points to the importance of this relationship. Ayurveda is a 5000 year old holistic healing modality originating from India. Like Yoga, it holds a long story of much diversity and continuous development, and therefore makes it relevant for all people and all times (Frawley, 1999, p. 4). According to Ayurveda the primary cause of dis-ease** is forgetting our own true nature, prakriti. Therefore Ayurveda seeks to provide insight for each person and each culture so they may be able to create a life in harmony with nature, with the elements (earth, water, fire, air and ether). The elements that make up our constitution of vata, pitta and kapha (Frawley, 1999, pp. 39-40). Now, the terms «our own true nature», as in prakriti and nature, as the physical environment, refer to two different things, but they are also interconnected. According to Ayurveda we can understand all experience as an interaction of the five basic elements, where on the individual level the elements give rise to the five senses, and on the bigger scale they are what forms the physical universe (Raichur, 1997, p.34).
With this in mind, I do not find it surprising when research points to how nature can soothe our nervous system (Song, Ikei & Miyazaki, 2016), make us happier and healthier (Russell et al., 2013), and create a feeling of connection with something outside of «our mind» and «our body» (ie. the theory of Ecopsychology***) (Roszak, T., Gomes, M., & Kanner, A. (1995)). .
Nature nurtures us, and through connecting - or rather reconnectiong - with nature, the outdoor world can help us feel fully alive and bring us harmonious, happy and healthier lives. It can help us balance our prakriti.
So what can we do in our daily life, as modern citizens maybe living in bigger cities, where we find ourselves more and more dependent on technology? And how can the natural world benefit us, while it is slowly getting destroyed? Louv is one who attempts to answer this question. Through his book «the Nature Principle» he emphasises how it is ‘‘about conservation, but also restoring nature while we restore ourselves’’ and ‘‘It´s about the power of living in nature - not with it, but in it’’ (Louv, 2012). Nature nurtures us, and through connecting - or rather reconnectiong - with nature, the outdoor world can help us feel fully alive and bring us harmonious, happy and healthier lives. It can help us balance our prakriti.
Nature practices to balance your Prakriti
In general, getting outside in whatever way you can is to be recommended. Maybe set your alarm 10 minutes earlier and take a small walk in the morning, or maybe just before you go to bed? For more specific nature practices to help you balance your prakriti, try looking to some of these ideas:
To balance Vata try taking a walk by the water, listen to the sound of a flowing river or ocean waves, look at the sunrise, plant and garden or relax in front of a fire and watch the flames (Raichur, 1997, p. 384).
To balance Pitta try walking in a flower garden, find a place to sit and look at nature, listen to birds sing, swim in a cool riwer, make a flower arrangement or walk in the moonlight (Raichur, 1997, p. 385).
To balance Kapha try taking a mountain hike, a vigorous walk in the forest or get up early enough to watch the sunrise (Raichur, 1997, p. 385).
For me, it helps to set my bar low. I live on a sailboat, which means that on the good weather days I will most likely be outside all day, and on the not so good ones - maybe only a couple of times. On those days I promise myself to go out for a walk. It doesn't have to be long. But after taking the first couple of steps, it often turns into a couple of thousands, if not a run. As Ayurveda points out, all healing starts with Ahimsa - non-violence. It encourages us to not only be kind to ourselves, but also the nature around us. So try to reflect upon your relationship with nature? Is it what you want it to be? Or could you live more in nature, and not just with it, in order to nurture yourself and your surroundings?
*Note here that stress is not a diagnosis, but a state of mind where our psychological, physiological and behavioral preparedness is increased. Stress is a natural and to some extent necessary reaction. But being in a constant state of stress will affect our health negatively (Jonsdottir & Ursin, 2009).
**Dis-ease; Dis meaning having a negative or reversing force, Ease meaning free from difficulty, effort or trouble. Therefore behaviors that reverse the flow of ease develop disease (Stillman, 2015).
***Ecopsychology recognises that living in balance with nature is essential to humans emotional and spiritual well-being. Further, it points out that we experience an emotional and physical effect just by being in close proximity to nature and experiencing it with our senses (Roszak, T., Gomes, M., & Kanner, A. (1995)).
References:
Frawley, D. (1999). Yoga & Ayurveda: Self-Healing and Self-Realization. Wisconsin, Lotus Press.
Jonsdottir, I. H., & Ursin, H. (2009). Aktivitetshåndboken - Fysisk aktivitet i forebygging og behandling. In R. Bahr (Ed.), Kap. 46 Stress (pp. 602-609)
Raichur, P. & Cohn, M. (1997). Absolute Beauty: Radiant Skin and inner harmony through the Ancient Secrets of Ayurveda. New York: HarperPerennial.
Roszak, T., Gomes, M., & Kanner, A. (Eds.) (1995). Ecopsychology: Restoring the earth, healing the mind. Sierre Book Clubs.
Russell, R., Guerry, A. D., Balvanera, P., Gould, R. K., Basurto, X., Chan, K. M. A., Klain, S., Levine, J., & Tam, J. (2013). Humans and Nature: How Knowing and Experiencing Nature Affect Well-Being. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 38, 473-502. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-012312-110838
Song, C., Ikei, H., & Miyazaki, Y. (2016). Physiological Effects of Nature Therapy: A Review of the Research in Japan. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 13(8), 781. Doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.3390%2Fijerph13080781
Stillman, C. (2015, November 24th). How to Sink Your Ship (Ayurveda and the 3 Causes of Disease). BanyanBotanicals.Com: https://www.banyanbotanicals.com/info/blog-the-banyan-insight/details/how-to-sink-your-ship-ayurveda-the-3-causes-of-disease/
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