Fun Ways Nature Helps Reduce Stress

Our kids are living with a lot of stress these days, including the uncertainty of schooling amid the pandemic, and navigating social media, along with the “normal” stressors of growing up. A proven, easy way to cut some of this stress is to spend time connecting to nature. Along with playing outside, going for a bike ride, or gardening, there are a couple of unusual ways to connect with the natural world and unplug from stress.

Yoga provides many benefits for every age, including a time for inner focus and a retreat from the stresses of daily life. When you add a cute animal to the practice, you get the pure pleasure of combining some great stretches with a lot of giggles. Incorporating animals into your family’s yoga practice can help your children feel calmer. Animals often help kids slow down and better regulate their emotions.

Excerpted with permission from Sandi Schwartz’ new book, Finding Ecohappiness

Across the world, yoga instructors are getting creative and finding the perfect animals to help their human students destress. In the United Kingdom, yoga classes with lemurs blend nature and mindfulness outside in a wildlife park. You can try some alpaca yoga on Martha’s Vineyard at the Island Alpaca Farm. Denver’s Butterfly Pavilion has a rainforest yoga class in the company of exotic plants and gorgeous butterflies.

Ask around your area and see what options may be available. Some yoga instructors are bringing adorable rabbits into their sessions and goat yoga has become extremely popular in California in recent years. Because goats are used as therapy animals, they create a calming, loving environment for a peaceful yoga session. Horse yoga involves great skill to balance on top of a horse in various positions and may be available through organizations that offer horse therapy.

Both spending time outdoors in nature and hugging can reduce stress, so why not try to combine these hugely beneficial activities into one?

Stone Kraushaar, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist known as The Hug Doctor and author of the book A 21-Day Journey to Embracing Yourself, Your Life, and Everyone Around You, recommends staying in a hug for a minimum of 21 seconds to experience the many benefits. Besides the oxytocin (the feel-good hormone) that is released into our bodies during a hug, we get lost in the moment and feel more mindful. Having a meditative hugging experience with a loved one, pet, or even a tree can help us feel happier, calmer, and more connected.

When we have physical contact with a tree, our senses awaken, our heart rate and breathing slow down, and we feel better emotionally and physically. Trees are the best non-animal natural element to hug because of their size and what they represent. Without trees, we would not be alive since they provide us with oxygen to breathe. Hugging a tree also builds appreciation and gratitude for nature. So, grab your kids and head outside for some soothing tree hugging.

Choose a favorite tree in your own backyard or at a local park.You can each take turns hugging the same tree, hug it together as a group or find your own. Hugging is really simple: Just wrap your arms around the tree and take a moment to feel it with your hands and arms. Take in some deep breaths and close your eyes to engage with the rest of your senses. How does it smell? What do you hear? Open your mouth and see if you taste anything in the air. Touch the bark and a leaf, if you can reach one.

Originating in the Netherlands and now spreading around the world, cow cuddling is all about the healing that happens when humans and cows snuggle. It takes place at a farm in a controlled environment. The session often beings by petting the animals. Cows typically lie down in a half circle, which creates a cozy couch-like spot for someone to snuggle up in. Cow cuddlers are welcome to stroke the cow’s belly as they digest their food and chew their cud, and scratch underneath their chin. The cow will literally fold into a person, almost embracing them.

Cows have a slightly slower heart rate than humans, so when our body is in contact with theirs, our heart rate naturally slows down as well. Their body temperature is higher than ours, which also helps us feel more relaxed. Cow cuddling creates an opportunity to be solely focused on touching and being around the animals in a gentle way. As a result, our stress level decreases.

You may not have a goat yoga or cow cuddler instructor nearby, but the North State is blessed with many welcoming farms where you can visit animals, stretch your legs and connect with nature. And, of course, there are trees aplenty all around us every day. See how much more relaxed you and the kids will feel after an hour or two without screens, out in the fresh air, hugging your favorite tree or laughing at the antics of baby goats.