Tying on Nature’s Buzz with Happy Feet

Sure, you say – you need exercise as part of the Universal conquest to not be a fat ass. But do you really need to hike in nature? After all, you pay for a gym membership. Why not put your workout where your money is?

But studies show that exercising in nature, even in urban green spaces, is linked to a decrease in heart rate, violence, and even mortality, as well as an increase in mood, physical activity, and attention span. Outdoor activities have been found to increase physical fitness, improve the body’s production of vitamin D, and even enhance distance vision. It’s great for ADHD and can be deeply calming, soothing, and relaxing – its own form of meditative release against stress.

How to Go on a Walkabout

Like Miss Manner’s advice for the proper way to walk in high heels: Left-right, left-right, left-right, left-right, left-right.

If you survived toddlerhood, you probably figured that part out already.

But there’s a bit more to it than that, at least when it comes to turning on that Buddha bounce. To truly melt away the stress of modern life, you need the proper mental mindscape to step into a hike and become one with the chlorophyll.

First, kill the music. Leave the earbuds in the car, or at least in your pocket. Otherwise, you’ll miss the music of the birds, the symphony of the wind in the trees, the meditative rhythms of the atoms vibrating steadily in the silence between your ears in the stillness of the forest. 

Second, murder your agenda like Sharon Stone with an icepick. Forget any worry about goals, heart rate, Fitbit steps. You’re stepping into the forest – the Here of the Now is everywhere you need to be. In today’s fast-paced world, we are often bound by schedules and to-do lists, leaving little room for genuine connection with nature and ourselves. Step into the wilderness with an open mind and heart – tell the pressures of achievement and timeliness to take a giant flying leap over the moon with a flaming cow. Allow yourself to immerse in the beauty of the natural world.

Third, don’t forget to sit down and shut the hell up. Counterintuitively, the most rejuvenating aspect of hiking is sitting and resting. Take time to lean on a tree, stare into the serenity of a slippery stream, let the breathing chlorophyll of the trees envelop and heal you. The Japanese have a tradition of forest bathing – simply sitting in the wilderness and letting the calm of nature wash over you. Like Ferris Bueller’s words of advice: Life moves pretty fast – if you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you might miss what the trees have to tell you.

DNA Destinty: Awaken the Instinct of Ancient Tradition

A walkabout in the woods is baked into our DNA. It’s what we’ve done for tens of thousands of years, long before the Internet and the IRS, even before we tilled and toiled in the dirt or owned a pig and all its shit, when we simply wandered the forest and ate from the trees and wildlife like original animals in Gaia’s Garden of Eden. 

A good walkabout is a reconnection to all that, bringing us back in time to remember and commune with our sacred ancestors. It’s in our blood, in our DNA, in our roots grounding our feet to the dirt of the ground.

Get back to your roots and plant your feet in the dirt path of the Earth. Escape this Concrete Jungle, if even for just a couple of hours. “Because life, sweet life must be somewhere to be found.” And on the other side of the Rastaman lyrics, “you use to live big today. Tomorrow you’re buried in a casket. Wake up and live!”

Open your eyes to everything Gaia has to give.