“Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and winds long to play with your hair.” –Kahli Gibran

Hello my friends!

It’s Mental Health Awareness Week here in the UK. This is a week aimed at promoting greater understanding of mental health, providing support and resources, and reducing the stigma felt by so many experiencing mental health struggles.

The theme for this year is ‘'Movement: moving more for our mental health”. A theme very close to my heart, as it was the discovery of walking in nature, and all the joys and healing that can bring, that showed me a path to recovery from mental ill health, grief and addiction.

I wrote about this, and how walking in nature has helped me through the grief at my mother’s death here

Throughout this past few months of deep, agonising depression, time in nature, and sometimes very slow walks among the trees, has been my saviour. Even when the walk has meant that I’ve then needed to spend the rest of the day in bed, it has helped me immeasurably. I’m incredibly lucky that I live in a lush green place, although I didn’t always think so. We complain about the seemingly endless rain here, but it’s the price we pay for the green that surrounds us on the Rhondda hills.

I like to walk up and down hills, along the coast, and anywhere else I can see the green or blue of nature. Whenever I try to imagine peace, joy, happiness or awe, I always seem to find myself on the top of a mountain, filled with the delight and muscle burn of a good uphill climb, and the sense of contentment of the endless horizon of green beneath me, and the endless sky above. It’s funny how it’s never raining or foggy in those mental moments, even though I’ve probably walked in rain and fog as much as sun (if not more!)

If we want to adopt the theme of Mental Health Awareness Week, and move more for better mental health, then I can recommend nothing better than getting out into nature for your exercise. You don’t have to walk up a mountain to do it (although it is an AMAZING way to spend a day!). Gardening, walking the dog, running, swimming, cycling, and so much more are all good reasons to get out into nature and get the benefits to your mind and body.

At a Solstice surf lesson for Mums through The Outdoor Partnership

You don’t have to take my word for it. There is a growing body of research to back up what we know intuitively - being in nature makes us feel good. Kaplan and Kaplan talked about the Attention Restoration Theory, and how being in, or even looking at, nature can help boost concentration and reduce mental fatigue. As a late diagnosed ADHDer, this really resonates with me, as the cognitive benefits I get from being in nature are sometimes profound. Richard Louv speaks of the impact of ‘Nature Deficit Disorder’ as “a description of the human costs of alienation from nature”. I know when I don’t get much chance to get out into nature, I feel it in every aspect of my being.

With my youngest son, on the day he learned that walking n the mountains is enjoyable and not something to resist at all costs!

In 2020, when we were all in pandemic lockdown, millions of people started to notice the wellbeing that their short exercise time in nature, or their newly beloved gardens gave to them. The University of Derby conducted research that showed that even 10 minutes of simple 10 minute nature based activities make a difference. In a project that worked with 500 volunteers across the UK, they found that “every volunteer who took part in the project reported higher levels of wellbeing and greater connectedness to nature after taking part”.

I shared my own experience of the positive benefits I got from being in nature during lockdown here….

To my mind there is no better feeling than being at the top of a hill, and letting the winds play with my hair. I don’t hike barefoot, so the earth doesn’t get to feel my bare feet while I’m doing it, but I do walk in ‘barefoot shoes’ now, so I’m almost there! And now that the weather is getting warmer, I will be spending lots more time with my skin touching the earth, and letting it hold and comfort me.

Journey’s Peak

I am taking a short writing class at Cardiff University. It’s called ‘Writing Journeys’, and it’s all about writing about travel and journeys in life.

The theme of last week’s class was ‘means of travel’. This is the piece I wrote, about a walk I had recently enjoyed with a friend.

When they ask you why you do this, you wish you could bottle this moment an share it with them. If only they could inhale this air, see this view. They’d understand.

Inhaling deeply, the breathe that enters your lungs is pure and clean, your lungs expand to take it all, as your eyes do the same with the view.

The fire in your calves, that beautiful burn makes you feel so alive, reminding you that you’ve earned this view. Step by step, crunching on gravel paths, climbing over jagged rocks, stopping to ‘admire the view’ when you needed a pause. There were times you didn’t think you could do it, when your legs screamed for rest, your lungs burned with the effort of keeping you alive, and the weight you carry felt to much to bear.

But here you are.

And this is why.

Here at the highest point, you look back and see the spikes on the back of the dragon you conquered. The new spring grass turning his skin a hundred shades of green, as it blends with hazel shrubs, and last year’s dying bracken. The tiny moving dots along the path remind you that you’re not alone in taming the dragon today, but for now, you are alone, the air is all yours.

You sit down and pour some tea. The yellow warmth of turmeric and ginger give flavour to the warmth on your skin and in your body. As you cool the tea with your too warm breath, you can’t keep the smile from your salty sticky face as you take in the world around you.

The green of the Bannau Brycheiniog reminds you that life is good. You watch the colours change as the clouds move the shadows, delighting in the darkness and the light. The skylarks sing their joy from their invisible perch above you, and for now, everything is perfect.

Yes, if you could only give them this moment, they’d never again wonder why you like walking in the hills. They’d be there with you.

Monthly meditation for paid subscribers

On June 7, at 5.30pm BST, paid subscribers can join me for an hour on Google Meet, where we will explore nature connection activities and share some meditation together. I am really excited to share this session with you, hopefully the weather will be good and I can take you into my beloved Rhondda hills for the session!

If you’re a paid subscriber, look out for an email from me with the link soon, or if you want to become one, you can subscribe below…

Paid subscribers, both monthly and annual, will receive

• monthly meditations and guided nature connection practices held in community on Zoom

• weekly voice notes with inspiration and insights into recovery and nature connection

• 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 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.

Whether you are a subscriber or just passing, free or paid subscriber, I want you to know how much I appreciate you being here.

And I’d love to know, do you have a favourite place that makes you feel as alive as I feel on top of a mountain? Share in the comments, please, and if you can add photos, even better!

Hoping you have a wonderful weekend filled with joy, connection and maybe a couple of trees!

with love

Esther