Participating in outdoor activities for holistic healing can be helpful during your recovery journey. Now that summer is in full swing, it’s the perfect time to explore some of these options.
The Healing Power of the Great Outdoors
Fresh air, natural sunlight, and outdoor activities are simple but effective tools for healing. The healing power of the great outdoors can also apply to anything you may be struggling with, like addiction, trauma, or mental health conditions.
Improving Mental and Physical Health
The benefits of being outdoors in green spaces are abundant. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service (USDA), there are “many mental wellness benefits associated with being outside in green spaces.” These benefits include a decreased risk of depression and even quicker stress recovery.
The USDA also points to studies that show being in nature can “restore and strengthen our mental capacities, increasing focus and attention.” Nature can support an active and healthy lifestyle, which has been known to increase life expectancy and even reduce cancer risk.
Facilitating Addiction and Trauma Recovery
According to a 2018 research review published in Environmental Research, physical activity in a natural outdoor environment “has been associated with reduced negative emotions and fatigue.” These activities can also give you more energy, improve your focus, and inspire greater overall satisfaction in life.
Those benefits are extremely helpful if you’re struggling with addiction or trauma. Outdoor activities can help you reframe your focus, have fun, and experience a more positive side of life.
Activities for Holistic Healing: Why They’re Important
Most of us know that being outdoors is beneficial for overall wellness, but we don’t exactly know why. Environmental Research notes four major hypotheses for why outdoor green spaces are so important for our health.
- The first reason could be that natural outdoor areas simply provide more opportunities for physical activity. Increased physical activity can lead to greater mental health, physical health, and overall wellness.
- The second reason is that outside green spaces have been associated with increased social interaction. This uptick in social interactions can lead to improved well-being and happiness.
- The third reason is exposure to sunlight. Sunlight is an excellent source of vitamin D and can even counteract the difficulties that come along with seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
- Finally, the fourth reason is called the “old friends” hypothesis. This hypothesis is that outdoor green spaces can increase exposure to a range of microorganisms and bacteria. That exposure can help our immune systems and even regulate inflammatory responses.
Outdoor Activities for Holistic Healing
Now that you know why being in the great outdoors is so important, you may want to know which activities can help you explore holistic healing. Instead of the same old therapies, these unique modalities can help you overcome your struggles in fun and challenging new ways.
Adventure Therapy
When you think of outdoor recovery activities, adventure therapy may come to mind. This treatment modality was originally developed for at-risk youth. It has since expanded to help youngsters and adults alike as they learn to overcome difficult challenges in their lives.
At The Guest House, for example, we utilize adventure therapy in our large toolkit of activities for holistic healing. This modality allows you to be active, think creatively, and form bonds with peers as you work together in exciting obstacle courses or games. Adventure therapy can also include a focus on crucial survival and camping skills, hiking, and more.
Swimming and Physical Activities
The use of water as a healing tool dates back to the beginning of time. Swimming and other water-based activities can be considered “hydrotherapy” when used intentionally for healing. These therapies can help ease muscle pain, strengthen your body, and even promote mental well-being.
Other outdoor physical activities like hiking, sports, jogging, and more can all be highly beneficial for holistic healing. These activities can do wonders for both physical health and mental health. They can also help you improve your confidence and help you build an empowering new life for yourself.
Meditation and Mindfulness
Ancient Eastern practices like meditation and mindfulness have a plethora of benefits for your mind, body, and soul. These benefits can even be amplified in the great outdoors.
Mindfulness is all about focusing on the present moment. This focus can help you eliminate stressful thinking about a past that can’t be changed or an uncertain future. Meditation is considered a form of mindfulness practice. While meditating, you can focus on specific experiences including your breathing, a certain visual image, or the sounds around you.
When done outside, the sounds of nature, crashing waves, or even chirping birds can all help you ground into the present moment. Dwelling in the present moment allows you to release negative thoughts without judgment and feel a sense of deep inner peace.
Activities for Holistic Healing at The Guest House
If you’re looking for exciting and innovative activities for holistic healing, look no further than The Guest House. Our beautiful 52-acre estate in sunny Silver Springs, Florida, provides the perfect backdrop for both indoor and outdoor activities to help you heal your mind, body, and soul.
Our outdoor modalities like adventure therapy and equine therapy can help you connect with nature, peers, animals, and yourself on a much deeper level. We also offer a wide range of traditional Eastern healing modalities like yoga, meditation, and conscious connected breathwork to deepen your spiritual connection and find joy, peace, and empowerment within yourself.
Going through the journey of healing addiction, mental health, or trauma should not be a “one-size-fits-all” solution. This is why we offer a huge variety of cutting-edge therapies and modalities to help you overcome addiction, trauma, or mental health conditions in the way that works best for you. No matter what you may be struggling with, you will find powerful healing for long-term recovery at The Guest House.
Outdoor activities for holistic healing can be highly beneficial if you’re struggling with addiction, mental health, or trauma. At The Guest House, our beautiful 52-acre estate provides the perfect backdrop to explore all the healing benefits of the great outdoors. Modalities like adventure therapy can help you connect with peers as you learn how to develop critical survival skills. Being outside in the sun can increase your health and happiness, allowing you to reprogram your mind as you create a new life for yourself. We also offer a wide variety of other modalities like equine therapy, meditation, yoga, and more. For more information, give us a call today at (855) 483-7800.