Struggling to find balance in your life? Nature can help
If you’re struggling to get true balance in your life this article gives you tips to achieve it with nothing more than free and beneficial actions relating to all things nature.
These days finding balance in life is really difficult, isn’t it? Balancing your relationships, your career, mental health, physical health, hobbies and other aspirations, not to mention dealing with worldwide issues that take up mental space. Whew! It can be overwhelming. Luckily, there are many ways that you can get those areas of life in better shape just by taking advantage of the nature around you! From wild swimming wonders, to changing your diet, there are so many ways you can get the balance you need in life:.
What Does Finding Balance In Life Even Mean?
We throw around the term ‘balanced’ plenty, but what does it actually mean? In this article, balance is having a good grip on all the different elements of your life and aren’t pulled in any one direction too much. Some signs that you may have a lack of balance in your life include:
- Lack of time to recharge
- Important areas of your life are neglected
- Struggling with sleep, mood swings, lethargy or even aches and pains (and the cause is not medical)
- Not being fully ‘invested’ at work, home, or other places
- Your energy is zapped by one part of your life
Of course, balance means something different to everybody and different parts of your life will demand different levels of energy at different times. Feeling balanced can also simply mean that you are able to handle all the different aspects of your life and the way they change. If you’re balanced, you are also generally much stronger and able to deal with any extra events or challenges life throws at you. If anything, feeling balanced is a healthy sense of self and the best way to care for yourself.
How Do You Create Balance In Your Life?
You can create balance in your life by effectively managing and limiting the must do’s, while prioritising and encouraging yourself to get those need-to-do’s done. A must-do is going to work and doing a good job. A need-to-do is doing some exercise, meeting a friend for a coffee, getting some therapy. By balancing those two things well, you get a well-rounded life that ensures everything is well tended to.
So, How Can Nature Help Me To Find More Balance In My Life?
Nature is where we come from. It underpins the world that we live in, how it was created, how it exists, how we exist. There’s no need to explain all the scary things that are happening to nature these days because we’re all more than aware of that.
What we can focus on, though, is the abundance that we do have and its potential to gift us a much better balanced life.
The first step to achieving this is opening yourself to nature and the benefits it brings.
Around seven out of ten people admit that they are losing touch with nature. We are all pretty plugged in to technology and the rest of the world, but nature is a documentary on a screen or a packaged product that we eat, a plastic replica of a plant that we like the look of. We don’t touch the earth or the leaves, grow our own plants, swim in the sea or the streams, necessarily.
If you do, you probably don’t realize how beneficial those actions are for you. One study showed that the participants who spent just 120 minutes a week in a natural space were much more likely to say they felt better health, physically and mentally, than those who didn’t do that. Another study suggested just 20 minutes spent in nature is enough to lower your stress hormone levels. Other benefits of spending time in nature include:
- Cognitive benefits for children and adults
- Boosting recuperation (when listening to nature)
- Increasing our happiness levels
- Boosting our feeling of having a purpose or a meaning in our lives
- A lift in mood disorder symptoms
- Potential to lower blood pressure
Nature is considered extremely healing in Japan. They even prescribe something called Shinrin-Yoku (Forest Bathing) as a type of medicine to help you cope with the stresses of life.
So now you know why nature is so beneficial, it’s handy to understand how you can integrate more nature into your life. It is easier than you think, we promise. Here are a few easy ways to include more nature in your life:
Grow One Seed
Growing is fantastic, but it can be a little overwhelming if you haven’t done it before. By stripping it back to growing one seed, you nurture one plant, one life, and get a little bit of nature at home or on your desk without any pressure.
We recommend a dried pea, a sunflower seed or a nasturtium seed. Simply rinse out a used yogurt pot or cut off the top half of a used plastic bottle and pop a few little holes in the bottom. Fill halfway with any earth or soil, then push the seed in a little and sprinkle a little earth on top. Keep moist and in a bright spot and wait for your plant to grow!
Nurturing something natural from seed is incredibly healing and providing you with a little bit of nature in your home in an achievable way.
Try Wild Swimming
Wild swimming is thought to help fight inflammation, boost mental health, boost your connection to the natural world, and provide a fantastic escape from the stresses of daily life. It involves swimming (legally) in any safe, wild body of water — be it a stream, the sea, a river or a lake. You can find out details of how to wild swim safely here.
Look At The Tiny World
We don’t all have access to proper nature walks, so looking at the small world around us can be a great way to get to know nature. Using a magnifying glass, checkout ants, spiders and other small creatures. If you can, buy a cheap loupe for even closer details of that tiny, fascinating world. There’s a lot going on even in the tiniest tufts of grass in the pavement.
Start Birding
Birding has always been popular amongst middle aged and elderly people, but in the last few years many more younger people are doing it for relaxation. Grab a cheap pair of second hand binoculars and check out your local feathered friends. It’s a great nature-based activity providing distraction and encouraging mindfulness.
Get Planty
The indoor plant craze continues to boost our home aesthetic, but it’s also a great trend to invest in for the benefits of nature. As well as nurturing them, as per our ‘grow one seed’ suggestion, simply having plants around is really beneficial. They clean the air, they boost your mood and they can even increase your productivity so they are a great choice for your home office. Some easy-to-care for indoor plants include; monstera deliciosa, any cactus, mother-in-laws-tongue and spider plants.
Try Yoga Outside
Yoga strengthens and elongates your muscles, helps with mindfulness and relaxation, and it can help you nurture a positive mindset, as with Yoga With Adriene (fill your cup!).
If you can do it outdoors, though, you get even more of a boost. On a beach, in a park, in your garden, on your decking — it doesn’t matter where. As long as you feel comfortable enough to do it, you get double ‘rejuvenation points’ for doing yoga and doing it outdoors.
Eat Well
What we eat and drink affects our wellbeing, and therefore, how balanced and capable we feel day to day. A bad diet can contribute to illness, which then impacts our ability to thrive in our jobs, personal life and hobbies. A bad diet can also make us tired, undernourished and moody. If you eat well and consume more foods like veggies, fruits, wholegrains, healthy protein and fat and drink more water, you feel better, you are stronger and you are better able to balance your life. To help you get started, checkout this video guide to making delicious smoothies.
“They are sick that surfeit with too much, as they that starve with nothing.” — William Shakespeare
Hopefully with our tips and information above you are well on your way to embracing nature and all it has to offer, especially when it comes to finding more balance in your life. Soon enough you’re going to be well on your way to cultivating a more level-headed approach to all aspects of your life, so that you can thrive in the way you truly deserve.
Power and Peace to you!
Be well.
Yancy Berry Coaching
Looking for more coaching? Check out www.yancyberry.com for courses, group coaching, and private one-on-one coaching.
