Everything is Connected!
“You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us. And the world will live as one.”
[John Lennon]
We humans are highly social animals. For most of our history we lived as nomadic hunter-gatherers, with complex social structures and interactions governing our day-to-day lives. The modern homo sapiens emerged roughly only 200,000 years ago in Africa, and it is fair to say that over the span of human history we have spent more time in nature than in civilized societies. I believe this is the reason why we feel a longing to connect with the natural world and other living beings. Experiencing a sense of belonging and community is essential to our feeling happy, safe and secure. Sure, the tech-boom of the past decades has provided many advantages and made our lives more convenient. But it has also lead to us being disconnected from nature and other beings - leaving a void and feeling of loneliness in people’s lives. Connecting to nature and other sentient beings - including horses - allows us to connect to our inner selves, our hopes, dreams and aspirations.
I have witnessed the profound impact on people of forging such connections throughout my work with Spiegelbild. I am therefore not surprised that a growing body of research points to the beneficial effects of exposure to nature on a person’s well-being, reducing their stress and promoting their physical and mental health. I find this quote by Richard Louv captures the essence of these benefits perfectly: “[Nature makes us feel] moments of inexplicable wonder, times when I received from nature just what I needed: an illusive it for which I have no name.” [1]
Welcome back to Spiegelbild!
At the start of a new year, I would like to take you along on a journey to explore our ancient connection to nature and all that is alive - and why this connection is so essential for our well-being.
According to Charles R. Darwin, we humans share a common heritage with all other species. I believe we have a special “sense" for this common heritage, for being part of “something bigger.” You could call it a natural feeling or instinct rather than something tangible, but we can certainly feel when the connection is missing. Against this background it seems to make sense that a “back to the roots”, us immersing ourselves in nature, creates such measurable positive health effects that a growing number of scientific studies is reporting on them.
The idea that humans possess an innate tendency to seek connections with nature and other forms of life is called biophilia hypothesis. A large body of both anecdotal and qualitative evidence suggests that humans are attracted to nature, and that spending time in nature plays an essential role for our physical and mental well-being. While progress such as the industrial revolution, or the tech-boom have significantly changed the way we live, it has not changed who we are inside, what makes us happy, feel connected, or keeps us healthy.
Especially the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of people connecting to the natural world. As little other activities were available people rediscovered parks in their neighbourhood, and bird watching as an outdoor activity increased immensely in popularity. It was well reported that the connection to nature played a vital role in mitigating the negative effects and stressors of the uncertainties and limitations that dominated our day-to-day lives during the height of the pandemic. The practice of bathing in the atmosphere of a forest is one great example for the health benefits that result from spending time in nature.
Shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing, emerged as a physical and psychological exercise in Japan in the 1980s. You could call it both a fitness trend and a mindfulness practice that uses all five senses. It was initially promoted as an important part of a healthy lifestyle through both politics and medical science, and quickly gained popularity. Several scientific studies that have been conducted since the 1990s support the comprehensive health benefits of exposure to nature and green environments on human health. While Japan is credited with the term shinrin-yoku, the concept at the heart of the practice is not new. Many cultures have long recognized the importance of the natural world to human health.
General benefits of immersing oneself in nature and spending time under the canopy of trees include the reduction of stress, improved creativity, lowered heart rate and blood pressure, as well as accelerated recovery from illness. More concretely, native evergreens such as those that can be found in the Adirondack Mountains, USA, release a high concentration of airborne essential oils (phytoncides) that have been found to provide a natural immunity boost. The health benefits of taking a “shower” in these essential oils can last for weeks.
However, forest bathing is not just for the wilderness-lover; you can gain similar benefits by simply walking in any natural environment and consciously connecting to what is around you. What is essential is the amount of time you spend in nature. A study using data from nearly 20,000 people in England found that people who spend at least 120 minutes per week in green spaces (town parks, woodlands, country parks, beaches or natural environments) were significantly more likely to report good health and psychological well-being than those who don’t visit nature at all during an average week. The two hours are a hard boundary. While it doesn’t matter whether they were achieved in a single visit or spaced over several short visits, the study found that no such benefits were found for people who visited natural settings for less than 120 minutes a week. [2]
In my experience with equine-assisted coaching I have witnessed the positive effects of connecting with nature - concretely with a horse - on people’s well-being first hand. As people allow themselves to be in the moment, tune into the energy of the horse and their own energy, and find the connection with the horse, any feeling of unwell, discomfort or anxiety subsides.
Granted, horses were domesticated in about 3500 BCE so they are not exactly wild. However, as prey animals horses are acutely aware of their environment. Due to this sensitivity they naturally pick up on human emotions and intentions. And they do so without any judgment. Horses live in the moment and reflect what is happening inside a human being. This allows the person to simply be, to check-in with themselves, their emotions, hopes and aspirations. The effect of time spent in the presence of a horse on self-awareness and well-being is profound.
Let me share just one example. One of my past clients arrived for their equine-assisted session feeling rather unwell. That morning they had forgotten to take their usual medication to mitigate acid reflux and by the time they arrived at the barn the negative side-effects were quite noticeable. They weren’t sure if we should even go ahead with the session. I recommended we give it a try and see how it goes. The client ended up working the full hour-long session with the horse. Everything went well and the client was able to establish a beautiful calm connection with the horse. They reported after the session that they hadn’t felt this good for a while and all the symptoms of the acid reflex had disappeared.
Civilization and modernization have increased the speed of virtually everything in our day-to-day lives. They have also increased our detachment from nature. As a society we are getting excited by the promise of artificial intelligence and enhancing the human body by genetic engineering. Maybe we are getting ahead of ourselves? There is so much potential for enhancing human capacities through the power of nature. Nature is not only a nice-to-have. The connection with, and time spent in nature is vital for our physical and mental health and our cognitive functioning.
Spiegelbild not only offers equine-assisted coaching programs. We also tailor to the “connection seekers” out there. If you’re wanting to discover the power of being present in the moment, or if you are seeking to rekindle true connections - with nature, with animals, with yourself and with others - come talk to us. You can book a free 30-minute consultation through our website. We are here to support you - one human-horse partnership at a time.
If you are interested in diving deeper into the beneficial effects that exposure to the natural world has on your physical and mental health I recommend these books to get you started:
Richard Louv. The Nature Principe. 2011
Florence Williams. The Nature Fix. 2017
I hope you enjoyed this blog. If you did, please sign up with your email to get more interesting insights and perspectives from the equine relatives in our lives.
[1] Richard Louv. The Nature Principle. 2011
[2] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-44097-3