Hello fellow traveller on this journey of life!
What is ‘Return to Your Trees’?
“Dewch yn ol at eich coed” is a Welsh phrase that means ‘return to your trees’. While taken literally, it can inspire us to return to a connection with nature, and the ‘other than human’ life forms that we share this planet with.
But at a deeper level, it also reminds us that we need to find a state of balance in life, to return to a grounded, simpler, more connected way of being. It reminds us that we need to live in harmony with the natural world. That we are, in fact, a part of that world. It doesn’t exist for us, we exist within it.
It is, in essence, a call for recovery, both of our own wellbeing, and our place in the natural world. A reminder that we are not separate from the trees, but that we are intimately connected and utterly reliant on them for our wellbeing.
In this newsletter, I will be sharing reflections about recovery and mental health, the restorative gifts of nature, and the search for belonging. Bringing together my experiences and learning of Yoga, meditation, embodiment, coaching and nature connection, I will share tips and wisdom to inspire your own journey to return to your trees, as well as my own stories.
Why subscribe to Return to Your Trees?
In this space, you will find essays on recovery, addiction and mental wellbeing, and nature and our connection to it. I aim to publish weekly essays, threads and invitations for your deeper connection to yourself and to nature. You can join in the first Monday thread here
Free subscribers will have access to my posts, chats and threads, and the community we can develop in the comments.
Paid subscribers, both monthly and annual, will receive
subscriber only writing prompts, meditations and guided nature connection practices
a 15% discount on my online and in person events (Yoga and meditation classes, workshops, retreats etc)
my deepest love and gratitude. By supporting me here on Substack, you are supporting me as I grow as a writer and teacher, and allowing me to restore my own wellbeing as I navigate the many challenges of being the neurodivergent single mother of a neurodivergent teenage boy
Founding members in the Cynefin (pronounced cinevin) will receive all the above, and will also be invited to join me for 4 annual online retreats, taking place on the Winter and summer equinoxes and solstices. These will be delivered live on zoom, and will include a mixture of meditation, yoga, nature connection and self exploration through writing prompts.
Why me?
I’m Esther Nagle, sober recovery and embodiment coach, nature connection guide, yoga and meditation teacher, writer, wanderer, single mamma, hag, neurodivergent human being. I am in recovery, and I am nature.
For many years, I thought that recovery was just about my escape from the chains that bound me to alcohol, cigarettes, and weed. For a while I thought I didn’t even need to think about the word ‘recovery’, that I was sober and didn’t need to recover anymore.
But life has shown me that, no matter how long I am sober, I am still recovering. That we are all in recovery. Because life is hard. There are always things we don’t feel that we can deal with, but we do.
We move through pain, loss, fear, separation, grief, and so much more.
And we recover.
And as we recover, we don’t return to who we were before, but we become the recovered version of who we were. The person who has walked through the fires of pain, and who has been reshaped by that pain.
We grow, we learn, we heal, we change. We discover new ways of being. We recover.
Recovery is not, then, a return to what was, but a renewal.
For me, the journey of recovery has meant a rediscovery of my true nature, and a rediscovery of my place in the natural world. And my connection to that natural world, to the ‘other than human’ community of life that exists here on this planet along side the human species, has brought me back to myself. I have returned to my trees, although I sometimes forget. I am only human after all..
We are recovering from something, and as long as you are a human trying to make sense of life in the 21st century, you are welcome. Your other than human companions are also welcome, and pics of your favourite places, trees, flowers, pets and more are always welcome in the comments!
I look forward to sharing this journey with you as we return together to our trees.
