Music vs. Nature

When feeling stressed and anxious, I find there are two things that soothe me best.  

1. Music
2. Nature

You have heard me talk about music before, so today I thought I’d share a little about why nature can be an important part of your self-care. 

I recently came across an article that talked about the benefits of the so-called “Forest Bathing” for stress relief. In Japan, this practice is referred to as shinrin-yoku which literally means, forest bath. It involves the practice of immersing our senses in the forest atmosphere. This took on popularity in the 1980s as a way to help stressed-out Japanese workers. 

Chances are, you’re under an unusual amount of stress these days due the pandemic and/or socio-political climate. Maybe your work has been impacted – either be being an essential worker under increased risk, or by losing work and the financial strain that goes along with that. It’s a very real source of stress. That stress is probably impacting you in some way whether it’s your physical health, mental health or your relationships. 

So, can something that sounds as simple as forest bathing actually help improve your physical and mental health? I think maybe it can.

I have a couple of similar practices that I do as a part of my morning self-care routine. If you’re feeling like you could use a new and easy stress relief technique, I encourage you to try “earthing.”  Here’s what I do. I walk into my backyard onto the grass in my bare feet. I’ll stand there a bit as I listen to the birds. If I’m out there early enough, that’s the only thing I typically hear. Then, at some point….I hug my tree. Yup, that’s right. I hug my jacaranda tree. 

This might sound like some silly tree-hugging nonsense but there is some research that backs up the health benefits of earthing.  Earthing or Grounding as it is sometimes called is about realigning your electrical energy by reconnecting to the earth. Why is this important? Because we are electrical beings. Everything that is made of atoms has either a positive, negative, or neutral charge. When our frequency of wearing things like rubber-soled shoes (a non-conductive barrier) increases, we are no longer connected to the earth in this way and the resulting electromagnetic instability threatens our health.  

Let me ask you, when was the last time you touched the bare earth in your bare feet? As adults we probably do this less and less over time. So, if you want a super simple self-care practice to add to your routine that is absolutely FREE….walk on the grass in your bare feet. There are fancy devices that you can buy that will also give you these benefits. But, I prefer straight nature! 

So, which is better….nature or music…for stress relief. The answer is…

Whatever works for you!

Or, you can do what a lot of folks do and take an “all of the above” approach. 

If you’d like to explore a musical relaxation tool, check out the Relaxation Vacation. This is a guided meditation to music I created for lowering stress fast. Thousands of people have benefited from this guided relaxation technique. 

One person had this to say about the Relaxation Vacation:

“It has not only helped me through some anxious moments, but my kids (10 and 6) have also asked for it when they’ve been feeling uneasy! My daughter was having a particularly tough time the other day and my daughter asked if I can ‘play the music that helps calm her down.’” 

If you don’t have it already, you can get the FREE Relaxation Vacation HERE.

If you’ve tried either earthing or the relaxation vacation, drop a comment below and let me know what you thought!