Get a dose of ‘ecotherapy’ in your life.

Located in rural Wisconsin next to Lake Puckaway and near the Grand River Wildlife Area, taking the wonders of nature for granted is easy, that is, until Adeline’s House of Cool guests mentions how communing with nature during their stay was excellent therapy.

That’s fantastic 🙂 They were getting a dose of ‘ecotherapy’ in their life.

Ecotherapy, also called nature therapy, is for real. It is the practice of being in nature to boost growth and healing, especially mental health, which includes many activities like:

– Adventure therapy uses activities that explore nature and can be done in an individual or group setting. Hiking is a good example.

– Dark nature activities occur at night, like stargazing, for example.

– Green exercise involves physical activities in green spaces like running, walking, or taking a bike ride.

The Power of Nature: Ecotherapy and Awakening
Why is contact with nature so good for us?
By Steve Taylor Ph.D. published in Psychology Today, is interesting and informative.

Excerpt…

In recent years, researchers have become aware of a powerful new kind of therapy, which is just as effective against depression as traditional psychotherapy or medication. And the amazing thing is that you don’t have to pay for this therapy. It’s free and completely accessible to anyone at any time. It’s not even a new therapy either – in fact, it’s even older than the human race.

Why does nature have this effect on us?

It’s not surprising that nature has a therapeutic effect when you consider that the human race – and all our evolutionary forebears – have been closely bonded with it for all our existence. It’s only in recent times that many of us have been confined to man-made environments. For us, contact with green spaces is therefore like going back home, and fills us with the same sense of safety and belonging. We crave nature in the same way that a child needs a mother, and derive the same feeling of comfort from it.

But the main reason why nature can heal and transform us, I believe, is because of its calming and mind-quietening effect. In nature, our minds process a lot less information than normal, and they don’t wear themselves out by concentrating. And most importantly, the beauty and majesty of nature acts a little like a mantra in meditation, slowing down the normal ‘thought-chatter’ which runs chaotically through our minds. As a result, an inner stillness and energy fills us, generating a glow of being and intensifying our perceptions.

To read the entire article click here