Trail Rx Stop 1 on the Turkey Trail is a bench situated in a grassy area near the top of a ravine. Your mental health prescription for this Trail Rx stop is below. You may read the invitation or you may listen to a recording of the invitation. Be sure the volume on your phone or ear buds is turned up so that you can comfortably hear the speaker. After listening to the recording, you may need to stop the Soundcloud application from automatically advancing to another audio file. Perhaps you'll want to take some time after reading or listening to the invitation to reflect or to notice your environment.
Click here for a recording of the following invitation:
This forest therapy invitation is known as the Pleasures of Presence. You are welcome to sit on the bench, stand, or even sit on the ground for this. Make yourself comfortable, and if you're standing, allow yourself to let go of anything you were carrying, and make sure you are on level ground. If weather is appropriate and you are so inclined, you may choose to remove your shoes.
You are invited to begin by closing your eyes. Take a few slow deep breaths in through your nose, and out through your nose. As you take these deep breaths, notice the air you are breathing is the same air that is shared by the trees, plants, animals, birds, and all the other beings in the more-than-human world. Continue to notice the air as it enters your nostrils and leaves your nostrils. Notice first the temperature of the air as it enters and as it exits. Notice the moisture of the air. Is it dry? Is it moist? Does the air have a fragrance? Continue taking slow deep breaths, noticing the different qualities of the air.
Next, notice the way the air moves across your skin and hair on top of your head. Notice the air moving across your face and notice whether you can feel the movement of the air on your body, or whether your clothing blocks the movement of air. Notice the way your clothing feels on your upper body and arms. Notice the clothing on your lower torso, your legs, your feet. Notice the way your feet feel as they come in contact with your shoes, or if you're barefoot, notice the way your feet feel as they come into contact with the surface of the trail.
Imagine that you have roots growing out of your feet that grow down into the soil beneath your body. Imagine that these roots begin growing down, down, down through the layers of the earth, and as they do imagine that they weave around the roots of the wildflowers, and the shrubs, and the trees that are close to you on this trail. Imagine that this web of roots continues growing down, down, down, farther into the earth, all the way to the center of the Earth. Imagine that these roots are gathering the warmth and energy from the center of the Earth, and then that this energy slowly starts to rise back up through the roots, around the roots of all the other beings, back up through all the layers of the earth into the soil beneath your feet, and up into the soles of your feet. Imagine that warmth and energy rising through your feet, your lower legs, your thighs, up into your pelvis, and imagine that warmth rising through your spine all the way to the top of your head. As you stand or sit in a space, feel your entire body illuminated with warmth and energy from the center of the earth.
Next, as you sit or stand with your eyes still closed, bring your sense of hearing to mind. First notice any sounds inside your body. The sound of your heart beating, the sound of your breathing, the sound of your stomach rumbling. Now notice if you can separate and notice the sounds from around you that are within about 20 feet of your body. Imagine that you are bringing all of those sounds back into your body. Finally, notice all the sounds from as far away as possible in all directions. You may notice natural and man-made sounds. Just notice all the sounds and imagine that you were bringing all of these sounds from all around you back into your body.
Finally, as you continue to sit or stand with eyes closed, notice if there is anything that calls you to turn your head or body toward it. If so, go ahead and turn in that direction with eyes still closed. On the count of three, go ahead and open your eyes, and see this place and any objects that may have caught your attention as if for the very first time. On the count of three, you may open your eyes. 1…2…3. What did you notice during the Pleasures of Presence?
Benefits:
When study participants walked in nature for 90 minutes (as opposed to the controls who walked in an urban setting), they reported less “rumination,” or fewer repetitive, stressful thoughts. This was correlated by brain imaging tests showing decreased activity in the parts of their brains associated with sadness, withdrawal, and negative self-reflection (Bratman, 2015). Spending time in nature seems to be the perfect way to get out of our heads!
Click here for a recording of the following invitation:
This forest therapy invitation is known as the Pleasures of Presence. You are welcome to sit on the bench, stand, or even sit on the ground for this. Make yourself comfortable, and if you're standing, allow yourself to let go of anything you were carrying, and make sure you are on level ground. If weather is appropriate and you are so inclined, you may choose to remove your shoes.
You are invited to begin by closing your eyes. Take a few slow deep breaths in through your nose, and out through your nose. As you take these deep breaths, notice the air you are breathing is the same air that is shared by the trees, plants, animals, birds, and all the other beings in the more-than-human world. Continue to notice the air as it enters your nostrils and leaves your nostrils. Notice first the temperature of the air as it enters and as it exits. Notice the moisture of the air. Is it dry? Is it moist? Does the air have a fragrance? Continue taking slow deep breaths, noticing the different qualities of the air.
Next, notice the way the air moves across your skin and hair on top of your head. Notice the air moving across your face and notice whether you can feel the movement of the air on your body, or whether your clothing blocks the movement of air. Notice the way your clothing feels on your upper body and arms. Notice the clothing on your lower torso, your legs, your feet. Notice the way your feet feel as they come in contact with your shoes, or if you're barefoot, notice the way your feet feel as they come into contact with the surface of the trail.
Imagine that you have roots growing out of your feet that grow down into the soil beneath your body. Imagine that these roots begin growing down, down, down through the layers of the earth, and as they do imagine that they weave around the roots of the wildflowers, and the shrubs, and the trees that are close to you on this trail. Imagine that this web of roots continues growing down, down, down, farther into the earth, all the way to the center of the Earth. Imagine that these roots are gathering the warmth and energy from the center of the Earth, and then that this energy slowly starts to rise back up through the roots, around the roots of all the other beings, back up through all the layers of the earth into the soil beneath your feet, and up into the soles of your feet. Imagine that warmth and energy rising through your feet, your lower legs, your thighs, up into your pelvis, and imagine that warmth rising through your spine all the way to the top of your head. As you stand or sit in a space, feel your entire body illuminated with warmth and energy from the center of the earth.
Next, as you sit or stand with your eyes still closed, bring your sense of hearing to mind. First notice any sounds inside your body. The sound of your heart beating, the sound of your breathing, the sound of your stomach rumbling. Now notice if you can separate and notice the sounds from around you that are within about 20 feet of your body. Imagine that you are bringing all of those sounds back into your body. Finally, notice all the sounds from as far away as possible in all directions. You may notice natural and man-made sounds. Just notice all the sounds and imagine that you were bringing all of these sounds from all around you back into your body.
Finally, as you continue to sit or stand with eyes closed, notice if there is anything that calls you to turn your head or body toward it. If so, go ahead and turn in that direction with eyes still closed. On the count of three, go ahead and open your eyes, and see this place and any objects that may have caught your attention as if for the very first time. On the count of three, you may open your eyes. 1…2…3. What did you notice during the Pleasures of Presence?
Benefits:
When study participants walked in nature for 90 minutes (as opposed to the controls who walked in an urban setting), they reported less “rumination,” or fewer repetitive, stressful thoughts. This was correlated by brain imaging tests showing decreased activity in the parts of their brains associated with sadness, withdrawal, and negative self-reflection (Bratman, 2015). Spending time in nature seems to be the perfect way to get out of our heads!
