What is Nature Walk Therapy?
“Stop and smell the roses” is a common phrase used as a helpful reminder to slow down, relax, and experience the beauty of nature. Many people live in artificial temperature-neutral environments that systematically cut them off from the natural world. This is unfortunate as nature has been found to be a powerful de-stressor. Therapy such as this has been especially beneficial to those enrolled in depression treatment facilities, eating disorder treatment centers and drug and alcohol rehab centers.
The restorative effects of nature are very powerful and can be highly therapeutic, especially to those in a treatment for drug abuse center or for those in alcoholic treatment. Therapies such as nature walk therapy can provide much needed relief from the stresses of life. This therapy gives our over-stimulated senses a chance to rest, and provides a great opportunity to get back in touch with our bodies and the life round us. Experiences in nature help people reawaken their senses and accept various changes in life.
Measurable benefits include improvements in personal development, healing, self-sufficiency, physical health, psychological well-being, and spiritual connectedness. All of these benefits can be very effective in an eating disorder treatment center or in trauma recovery. At the very least, nature walk therapy gets us outside, relaxes us and helps us to experience the serenity that comes from being in nature.
Benefits of Nature Walk Therapy
Specific benefits of nature walk therapy include:
- Reduction of stress
- Increased attention span
- Relaxation
- Decrease in worries and anxiety
- Reduction of blood pressure
- Exercise (strength and flexibility)
- Decreased risk for depression
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