Ecotherapy - Needed Now more than ever

     Tired? Irritable? Sad? Can't sleep? No motivation? Life feel empty? Feeling disconnected from yourself & your source? Numbing out in front of the fridge or the tube or with one more glass of wine? These are all signs of depression. Maybe a good physical has ruled out an organic cause of these symptoms; maybe medications & talk therapy have been tried  (all good strategies) but you don't feel any different. What if what you are suffering from is something journalist, Richard Louv, calls "Nature Deficit Disorder"? What if you could cure what ails you simply by walking outside?

     Ecotherapy is not a new concept and has been mentioned in literature as early as 1996 by Howard Clinebaugh. Clinebaugh referred to ecotherapy as work with the body and methods of healing that involve nature. He says "ecotherapy represents a new form of psychology that acknowledges the vital role of nature and addresses the human-nature relationship." (Ecotherapy, Healing With Nature in Mind, 2009). Ecotherapists not only want to know about your personal relationships, but what your relationship with Mother Earth is like as well. They are concerned with the mind-body-spirit connections with the earth and whether our disconnection from nature could be the cause of our feelings of emptiness, loneliness and loss of purpose. Is there a correlation between the rising rate of mental distress and the impact of the destruction of this place we call home?

     How is Ecotherapy different from psychotherapy? An Ecotherapist may ask a client different questions or even take a client into a "nature office", a place outside to explore oneself in more natural surroundings.  Questions an ecotherapist might ask are how often do you get outside; with whom do spend most of your time i.e. humans, animals, machines or electronics; did you have a favorite place in nature as a child; is the pace of your life fast or slow? Some ecotherapeutic strategies may include taking a media fast, decluttering or simplifying your life, using animal assisted therapies or horticultural therapy. Other strategies use sensory awareness activities, practicing yoga outside, journey dancing, dreamwork & wilderness adventures.

     Current research shows that Ecotherapy is establishing itself as an evidence based practice. Encounters with the natural world restore our sense of equilibrium, provide relief from everyday stressors, and help us remember we are part of the natural world and connected to something bigger. According to Craig Chalquist, "research consistently supports the connection between getting outside and improved psychological health. Stress, anxiety, gloomy outlook, anger diminish while self esteem and vitality increase. In some studies green exercise proves as effective as anti-depressants." (Ecotherapy, Healing With Nature in Mind, 2009) Actually getting outside maybe a challenge, but just adding plants to an office or a window with an outdoor view can have positive benefit. Pictures of natural settings and nature oriented guided imagery have positive, stress relieving benefits as well.

     Even with our busy lives there are many ways to heal ourselves and our planet. Cultivating a gratitude practice is a simple way to shift your attention to those aspects of your life that are of value to you. Just doing one thing can have an impact on the earth and on our feelings of hopelessness & despair such as planting flowers, riding a bike whenever possible, joining an environmental action group or writing to your political leaders. Simple steps can calm a sense of unease. Educate yourself about a particular environmental issue or about the interconnectedness of humans and this amazing ecosystem that we inhabit. Take ownership of the area where you live. Do a personal inventory and examine your lifestyle for more sustainable ways to live. Change thermostat settings, support a local organic farm, invest in companies that are environmentally conscientious. Join with others who are like minded and share your concerns. Check out www.goodguide.com to discover the environmental impact of your purchases.

     We can learn to use challenges to inspire creative responses and express love for ourselves and our planet. Being in nature is one of the simplest ways to boost feel good hormones. Indigenous cultures intuitively knew of our connection to this earth and many of us have lost touch with this wisdom. Ecotherapy is a timely reminder of the necessity to reconnect with nature and the missing link to healing ourselves. Henry David Thoureau says, "We need the tonic of wilderness". So go find a new place to discover, get outside, revisit a natural place from your childhood. Heal and retrieve those lost parts of yourself that are only a walk away.

More information and an extensive bibliography on this  subject can be found in Ecotherapy, Healing With Nature in Mind, 2009 edited by Linda Buzzell and Craig Chalquist, leading practitioners in the field of Ecotherapy and Ecopsychology.

A Simple Life

Overwhelmed, stressed, unmotivated, feeling as if something is missing in your life? Maybe it is not because of having too little, but rather too much. We are a society of abundance but why then do many of us often feel unhappy, unsatisfied and unable to enjoy what we have? Much has been written about simplifying one's life i.e. decluttering, downsizing, etc. We have heard about it but are we paying attention? As a therapist I hear frequent complaints of no time for me, poor quality of life, excessive stress, ill health. Maybe it is time to take a pause and reevaluate, to reprioritize what is of value. What is the most important thing right now in your life? Are you spending enough time with your loved ones or engaged in activities that give you pleasure and meaning? And if not why not? What obstacles are in the way?

There are many reasons in favor of taking a pause and a self inventory of how you spend your time. According to Lose 200 lbs in a Weekend by Don Aslett, time scientists say " at least 40% of all our home cleaning, care and maintenance time is spent on junk and clutter - cleaning it, and cleaning around, under, and through it. Not to mention all the time we spend buying it, storing it, moving it around". Polls and measurements reveal "we spend 5 years in lines, 3 years in meetings, 6 years eating, 5 years doing housework, 4 or 5 hours a day watching TV, and so on".

There are many avenues to simplifying one's life. Decluttering is one.  A great resource to get started was created by Leo Babauta. Check out his Simple Living Manifest - 72 Ideas to Simplify Your Life, on line. It is full of suggestions from evaluating how you spend your time each day, commitments, & work tasks to learning to say no, limiting communications, media consumption & buying habits. Babauta suggests you ask yourself, am I doing what I love, do I eat & drive slowly, can I appreciate the present moment, do I know what enough is?

The classic Chinese text,  the Tao Te Ching,  teaches us the principle of simplicity. We live in a world of complexity and "much". The result of too much of anything; material possessions, food, drink, technology...... makes us numb, lose our sense of hunger, desire and zest for life. Everyday we are bombarded with sensory overload. Fortunately, there are ways to help us remember our simplistic nature. Think of all the choices we have in beverages for example. Consider taking a beverage fast and just drink water, the ultimate image of simplicity. Wait until you are really thirsty before you drink & savor the sensation of replenishment. When was the last time you took a long, slow walk? Walking is another exquisite example of simplicity at its finest, to restore balance and harmony to the body. So when you are ready there are many resources to help. Here are a few suggestions:

Lose 200 lbs in a Weekend by Don Aslett
http://zenhabits.net/simple- living-manifesto-72-Ideas-to-simplify-your-life by Leo Babauto
Walden, by Thoreau
Simplify Your Life, by Elaine St. James
The Tao of Daily Life  by Derek Lin

So go forth declutter, simplify, reclaim your life!

Yoga In The Woods

     So why take your yoga outside? We are longing for a sense of connection with each other and the natural world. Both yoga and being in nature foster and help us remember our need for one another and the earth, there is no separation. That is what yoga texts teach us. And the wilderness cultivates a non-dualistic view of the world as well, when we start remembering that what we do to the planet and each other, we do to ourselves. Recently, 10 of us set out for a hike at Gambrill State Park, in spite of mother nature's attempts to rain on us, to put this theory to the test. After greeting the dawn with sun salutations & a short meditation to connect us to the earth, we entered the woods in silence with the intention of using our senses & yoga postures to experience the trail.

    
The trail was the perfect metaphor. Sometimes the path is level and easy, sometimes steep and more difficult. Pausing, slowing down and looking back provided an alternative perspective on how far we had come and a realization that we don't always have to be the first or lead the way all the time. Engaging the senses offers alternative lenses within which to view the world. We tap into hidden resources that can only be revealed when we break out of habitual & routine patterns. When we stop, look, listen and feel, new information is revealed and we begin to harness the inner guide.  We need practices that help us to stay on the path even when it is difficult, to lead us back when we stray and ultimately to remind us that the journey is more important than the destination.

     And sometimes we just need to get out of our heads and feel the earth beneath our feet, the breeze in our hair,  smell the scent of outdoors and see the different shades of color on a fall day to remind us of our place in the world. That there really is no us and them, that our sense of separation is just an illusion. Ecopsychology pioneer, Robert Greenway says, "we simply cannot continue to live as if we are separate from nature and therefore one another". So the next time you are feeling disconnected step outside, take a sip of fresh air, walk barefoot on the grass, remember our collective beginnings, find that place of inner stillness, strike a pose and let your heart guide you.