Regardless of your favorite outdoor activity, there are ways to heighten the experience and maximize the pleasurable, stress reducing qualities. One of the many reasons forest bathing and nature therapy is becoming so popular is because of its focus on presence, intention and mindfulness. Here are a few ways to incorporate some therapeutic elements into every outdoor experience, from paddling, boating and fishing to gardening, hiking, horseback riding, biking and everything in between.

1. Be fully present.
2. Create a threshold and leave your to do list behind. Your threshold could be the trailhead, parking lot, boat ramp, a bridge, even your front door. You can pick it back up when you cross the threshold on your way back. Let yourself become fully immersed in your outdoor activity, free of worries and stress.
3. Follow your heart. Give yourself permission to feel what you’re feeling. Explore what calls to you. Give your body and mind what it truly needs.
4. Ditch your technology. Put your phone on forest bathing mode, a.k.a. airplane mode and stow it away in your pack. Worried about the time? Set a timer and don’t peek until it goes off. There’s no WIFI in nature, but I promise you’ll find a deeper connection.
5. Avoid the urge to take photos and video with your phone. Linger longer and really study the elements that capture your attention. Mental pictures make the best memories.
6. Get comfortable with silence. There’s a reason people say “Silence is golden.” Just be. Listen to Mother Nature. What is she whispering?
7. Engage your senses. Close your eyes. Listen. Smell. Taste. Touch. Feel. Then open your eyes and see.
8. Slow down. Fully experience the journey, not just the destination. Allow yourself time to explore.
9. Make time for stillness. It’s amazing what we see when we come to a complete stop and observe all that surrounds us.
10. Play! Allow your inner child to be nurtured and seen. Stoke your sense of wonder and awe for the simple things in life, like flowers and bugs, rocks and seashells. Skip a stone across the river. Splash in the surf. Swim in the spring. Let the sunshine warm your body. What do you feel called to do?

 
BONUS: Reflect. What are you noticing about your experience? How did it make you feel? Journal your thoughts or share them with a friend.
 
I would love to hear how you’re elevating your outdoor experiences. Send a message or tag me @naturalwanders.us.
 
Tree hugs and kisses!
xoxo Kelly

About the Author
Kelly Bruce is a Certified Nature and Forest Therapy Guide/Trail Consultant and the founder of Natural Wanders. She leads forest bathing and nature therapy walks in the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains of Western North Carolina. Subscribe to her e-newsletter for more inspiration from nature and to learn about upcoming walks, workshops and retreats. Each Wednesday, she’ll provide inspiration to help you wander into wellness, naturally. In the meantime, follow along on Instagram and Facebook. 
Photography by Kelly Bruce. This article originally appeared in The Swell Life, the official blog of Portfolio Vero Beach Magazine.

Next time you’re at the beach, try a little nature therapy to connect more deeply to Mother Ocean and yourself.
 
Find a safe, comfortable place to sit along the shore for 20 minutes or more. Scan your body from head to toe, releasing any tension, stretching, or moving in a way that brings comfort and ease to your body.
 
Close your eyes and breathe deeply for several rounds, inhaling the sea air and exhaling any worries or stress. Imagine that you are exhaling your troubles in a cloud of smoke. You might even want to emit an audible sigh, giving a sound to this release. Feel the breeze and salty air on your skin, the sunlight or shade of the clouds. Relish this sensation.
 
Next, tune into the sounds of the seashore. The waves, the birds, the laughter of children. This is all part of the symphony of this place. Tune into the sounds that you find pleasurable and spend as long as you like enjoying these melodies.
 
Take a deep breath in through your nose, inhaling the sea air. Does it evoke a memory or emotion? Breathe deeply for a few more rounds, letting your nose decipher any other scents the ocean breeze brings you.
 
Now, breathe through your mouth, as if you’re sipping the air through a straw. Let it pass over your lips and tongue. What does the sea air taste like?
 
Slowly open your eyes and let the beach reveal itself to you as if you’ve never seen it before. Spend some time here, enjoying the scenery and fully taking it all in.
 
Now that you’ve awakened your senses, what does the ocean invite you to do? Let your heart guide you. Give yourself permission to explore.
 
When you’re done, take a few moments to reflect on your experience. What are you noticing? Share your thoughts with a friend or jot them down in a journal.

About the Author
Kelly Bruce is a Certified Nature and Forest Therapy Guide/Trail Consultant and the founder of Natural Wanders. She leads forest bathing and nature therapy walks in the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains of Western North Carolina. Subscribe to her e-newsletter for more inspiration from nature and to learn about upcoming walks, workshops and retreats. Each Wednesday, she’ll provide inspiration to help you wander into wellness, naturally. In the meantime, follow along on Instagram and Facebook. ​

Around the globe, nature and forest therapy guides are taking the Japanese art of Shinrin Yoku (a.k.a. forest bathing) to soaring new heights, offering countless health benefits for both body and spirit.
 
The practice of nature and forest therapy as taught by the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy includes a standard sequence of invitations led by a certified guide. It’s important to note: the forest is the therapist; the guide opens the door. Invitations are opportunities to connect more deeply with the natural world in your own unique way. It’s amazing what nature reveals when we quiet our minds and awaken our senses.
 
Next time you’re out in nature, follow your heart to a place that feels right, then try out this “sit spot” invitation:
 
Take a seat in nature's theater. Make yourself comfortable and notice that this theater is equipped with vivid 360-degree views, surround sound, even smell-a-vision. Today’s featured film is viewer's choice and lasts roughly 20 minutes or more. (Silence your phone and set a timer so you won’t be distracted by checking the time.) It will begin whenever you’re ready. Sit back, relax and enjoy the show.
 
After 20 minutes (or more), take a moment to reflect. What are you noticing? Share your thoughts with a friend or jot them down in a journal.

About the Author
Kelly Bruce is a Certified Nature and Forest Therapy Guide/Trail Consultant and the founder of Natural Wanders. She leads forest bathing and nature therapy walks in the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains of Western North Carolina. Subscribe to her e-newsletter for more inspiration from nature and to learn about upcoming walks, workshops and retreats. Each Wednesday, she’ll provide inspiration to help you wander into wellness, naturally. In the meantime, follow along on Instagram and Facebook. 
Photography by @zailaffitte. 

This week I celebrate my 40th birthday. While I’m still processing the gravity of this momentous occasion, I’m allowing myself to feel all the feelings that accompany such a milestone. 

In a youth obsessed culture, it’s not surprising that grief was the first emotion to boil up from the depths; thankfully it was short-lived. Then came gratitude. I’m literally and figuratively at the top of a mountain. I have the greatest perspective of my entire life, thus far. I’m more “me” than I’ve ever been before. And for that, I am so incredibly thankful.

In the last three and a half years since I’ve discovered the practice of nature and forest therapy, my life has changed in the most wonderful ways. Nature has taught me to slow down. To savor every moment and each little treasure that life serves up. Nature has provided beautiful lessons about diversity, adversity and resilience. Most importantly, I’ve learned that nature is not separate from me, that we are one and the same. And by going outside, I’m actually going within.

“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity; and that mountain parks and reservations are useful  not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life.” -John Muir

By connecting more deeply to the natural world, I have strengthened my relationship with myself. I have love and compassion for myself. I have a greater sense of who I am and what I want to contribute to the world.

As I reflect on my triumphs and mistakes throughout the past four decades, I can’t help but contemplate the advice I might offer my younger self, and remind my future self: Be kind… to others and yourself. Be quiet. Be still. Magic happens in stillness and silence, when you quit talking and truly listen. Slow down. Let go. Let loose. Get lost. Love hard. And ALWAYS follow your heart.

Tree hugs and kisses,
​xoxo Kelly

About the Author
Kelly Bruce is a Certified Nature and Forest Therapy Guide/Trail Consultant and the founder of Natural Wanders. She leads forest bathing and nature therapy walks in the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains of Western North Carolina. Subscribe to her e-newsletter for more inspiration from nature and to learn about upcoming walks, workshops and retreats. Each Wednesday, she’ll provide inspiration to help you wander into wellness, naturally. In the meantime, follow along on Instagram and Facebook. 
Photography by @zailaffitte. ​