How novelist Chris Bohjalian fell in love with the forest, with the help of his dog, Jesse.
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Physical and Mental Health - Exercise, Fitness and Activity
Healthy body, healthy mind! Physical Exercise, Fitness, Running, Jogging, Gym and Activity. Twitter Hashtag: #GymEd Curated by Peter Mellow |
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How novelist Chris Bohjalian fell in love with the forest, with the help of his dog, Jesse.
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Incorporating awe into your daily stroll can bring mental and physical benefits. Here’s how to get started.
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These three therapy skills can help improve your mental health: choose reflection over reflex; bring softness, not hostility; and be curious, not judgmental.
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The more trees planted in a neighborhood, the fewer people die, according to a recent study led by U.S. Forest Service researchers out of Portland, Ore.
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Older adults who lived in an area with more green space had a lower rate of hospitalization for some diseases and dementias, a large study showed.
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Rather than just moving from A to B, think about your surroundings and the wider ramifications of your walk
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Experts say wonder is an essential human emotion — and a salve for a turbulent mind.
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Whether you're a social butterfly or the type to walk your own path, here's everything you need to know about getting into bushwalking.
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That feeling—of being in the presence of something vast—is good for us. And, counterintuitively, it can often be found in completely unremarkable circumstances.
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Einstein’s daily walk was sacred to him. While he was working at Princeton University, New Jersey, he’d walk the mile and a half journey there and back. He followed in the footsteps of other diligent walkers, including Darwin who went for three 45 minute walks every day.
These constitutionals weren’t just for fitness – there’s mountains of evidence that walking can boost memory, creativity and problem-solving. For creativity at least, walking outside is even better. But why?
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Whether you call it a fitness trend or a mindfulness practice (or a bit of both), what exactly is forest bathing? The term emerged in Japan in the 1980s as a physiological and psychological exercise called shinrin-yoku (“forest bathing” or “taking in the forest atmosphere”). The purpose was twofold: to offer an eco-antidote to tech-boom burnout and to inspire residents to reconnect with and protect the country’s forests.
The Japanese quickly embraced this form of ecotherapy. In the 1990s, researchers began studying the physiological benefits of forest bathing, providing the science to support what we innately know: time spent immersed in nature is good for us. While Japan is credited with the term shinrin-yoku, the concept at the heart of the practice is not new. Many cultures have long recognized the importance of the natural world to human health.
Forest bathing is not just for the wilderness-lover; the practice can be as simple as walking in any natural environment and consciously connecting with what’s around you. For a more structured experience, you can join trained guides for a meditative two- to three-hour ecotherapy excursion. Here are five places to try forest bathing.
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Rather than just moving from A to B, think about your surroundings and the wider ramifications of your walk
Link thanks to @DrHinckson
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Even a fountain may do. A 2010 study (of which White was lead author) found that images of built environments containing water were generally rated just as positively as those of only green space; researchers suggested that the associated soundscape and the quality of light on water might be enough to have a restorative effect.
Although participants rated large bodies of water higher than other aquatic environments (and “swampy areas” were rated significantly less positively), the study suggested that any water is better than none – presenting opportunities for beneficial blue space to be designed or retrofitted. “You can’t change where the coast is, but when we’re talking about translating the benefits to other types of environments, there is nothing to stop a well-designed urban fountain,” says Elliott.
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“Forest bathing is about walking slowly and quietly and noticing what’s around you – you might only cover 1.5 kilometres in three hours,” D’Appio says.
“You just notice that leaf there, this tree over here, that bug crawling on the tree. It’s just [about] being in nature and watching stuff and seeing what happens. There’s something really different about slowing the body down as opposed to speeding it up.”
D’Appio says research links forest bathing with a reduction in stress hormones and feelings of depression and anxiety, as well as enhanced immunity, and he says that unlike a hike to a particular summit, forest bathing seeks no “destination”.
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Study after study after study has proved what we feel, intuitively, in our gut: Walking is good for us. Beneficial for our joints and muscles; astute at relieving tension, reducing anxiety and depression; a boon to creativity, likely; slows the aging process, maybe; excellent at prying our screens from our face, definitely. Shane O’Mara, a professor of experimental brain research in Dublin, has called walking a “superpower,” claiming that walking, and only walking, unlocks specific parts of our brains, places that bequeath happiness and health.
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Assistant Professor Kevin Kemp-Smith has discovered one of the best things people can do to tackle anxiety and depression is to just add water.
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We have long known that connecting with nature in green spaces is great for our mental health. Now fresh research is showing that time near water - by the coast, rivers and even fountains in the park - is even more restorative
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Amid pandemic stress and racial violence, many communities of color have turned to wilderness areas for healing.
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In Minneapolis-St. Paul, the nation’s healthiest urban region, almost everyone lives within a 10-minute walk of a good public park. Shouldn’t we all?
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The emotional connection or calming feeling that accompanies a walk in a park or forest is the result of psychological needs being met.
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OPINION: Nature lifts our mood, fights disease, and makes us smarter.
Link thanks to @stephenharlow
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The benefits of being outdoors for your physical and mental well-being are well documented, but in this coronavirus era, they may be immeasurable.
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Sydneysiders have continued to flock to parks and other public domains since COVID-19 struck, new figures show.
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Honestly don't even read this, just go sit in the grass, researchers say.
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Some previous research suggests people living in rural areas may be at a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. But these results tell a different story.