The Mental Health Benefits of Being Outside

Show Notes
In this episode, I’m out on a fall hike in the Chugach exploring a question that feels central to so much of what we do here: why does being outside feel so good for our mental health and nervous systems? 

We explore some of the nervous system processes that might help explain the magic — starting with orienting and the way being outside naturally asks us to use our senses, pay attention to our environment, and stay connected to what’s happening around us. I also talk about how outdoor experience itself is a skill, and why all that sensory information can sometimes feel stressful before our bodies become more practiced at interpreting it.  

From there, we get into bilateral stimulation, rhythm, and coregulation — including what happens when we move both sides of our bodies, find our own rhythm, or fall into a shared rhythm with other people. And finally, we explore some of the harder-to-explain gifts of being outside: beauty, awe, connection with the land, and the ways nature can model how to move through change, intensity, and cycles.

This episode is an invitation to notice what happens in your body when you spend time outside — and to get curious about all the ways the land, movement, beauty, and rhythm might be supporting you.

Timestamps
00:00 — The mental health benefits of being outside
02:00 — Finding more to say after a radio interview
04:00 — Fall events + getting ready for winter training
08:00 — Somatics, winter training + upcoming community events
11:00 — Why being outside supports the nervous system
12:00 — Orienting: using our senses outside
15:00 — Outdoor experience as a nervous system skill
17:00 — Orienting + resourcing in nature
19:00 — Why modern life gives us fewer chances to orient
21:00 — Bilateral stimulation + movement
23:00 — Rhythm, shared rhythm + coregulation
25:00 — Finding safety in your own rhythm
27:00 — Nature as a model for moving through challenges
29:00 — Trees, rivers + seaweed as somatic resources
31:00 — Beauty, awe + the nervous system
33:00 — The social impulse to share awe
34:00 — Closing reflections + how does being outside support you?

Submit your questions for the Q&A [here]

Photos and links from this episode:
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