By Elizabeth Herman | Posted: March 29, 2019
When I look down a trail and can’t see where it’s going, the softness of the orange pine needles and fallen leaves underfoot draw me deeper along the trail’s passage. There’s something about moving over the actual earth, with no concrete or other flooring covering it, which makes movement healing and the body suddenly strong and healthy.
The constantly changing contours of roots, rocks, animals, rhododendrons, ferns, and fresh air make each hike into a new ecosystem like the discovery of a new world.
Nature’s welcoming
The process of patient and gentle exploration brings a sense of belonging whenever you enter a new space, and this has become especially apparent living in the mountains.
To sit and listen to flowing water as it occurs in nature calmly heals me. Some of my earliest hikes brought me an intuitive sense of great peace, and this experience has been so often affirmed by scientific studies showing the positive mental, emotional and physical effects of being in nature.
As in so many examples of literature as well as science, nature brings joy to my heart, a smile to my face, and peace to my churning, thinking mind.
Varying conditions
Nature offers a wider lens through which to see the world and one’s own life. A broader external and internal vision becomes especially accessible at higher altitudes, where the majesty of the landscape plays out before you at almost every turn. These big views can assist in many ways for the purpose of healing and recovering from stress and trauma in today’s fast-paced world.
Some factors important to emotional, mental, and physical healing that result from being in nature include:
- A sense of wonder and amazement about seeing a bigger picture face to face.
- An increase in the number of vocalized “Wow!” moments in your life.
- Higher levels of life force (prana) from breathing fresher, cleaner air.
- Appreciation for the friendliness of other hikers.
- Openness to giving and receiving help from others on rough terrain.
- Acceptance of the changes and inconsistencies in life and in nature.
A healing power in nature
In addition to all of these everyday benefits, gazing out over great landscapes, whether they contain mountains or oceans, can play a crucial role for those times when major life traumas have occurred. For instance, photographer John Bennett shared from his own personal history as he explored mountainous areas in the United Kingdom, where he could grieve and process the sudden loss of his spouse.
He describes camping out with his dog, Kelly. After gazing at changing sunset colors over the peaks, he experienced “a great feeling of spiritual warmth flowing through me as well, a happy feeling, the first for a long time, as things started to fall back into perspective inside my head… I know that as we returned to the tent, taking the path the long way this time, I was far happier and more settled than I had been hours earlier.”
For this hiker and many others, an exploration of nature at higher elevations “…certainly did more to help me on the road to recovery than anything or anyone else. There is indeed a healing power in mountains, a power that too many people simply can’t imagine.”
Learning about the land
Only a short, rocky walk up from the road are spectacular vistas. To help manage steep inclines, a wooden boardwalk over part of the trail makes the hike less strenuous. Once you reach the boardwalk, large signs with added information about the unique ecosystem around the trail provide valuable insights into small, fragile life forms along the way.
As I walk over rocks, cross a footbridge over a rushing cascade, and climb to the high wooden boardwalk along the cliffs, I sense how valuable it is to recognize the collective power of human beings’ pathways. At the same time, I realize my responsibility for the smaller, endangered life forms, such as delicate plants called lichens, which grow profusely on various outdoor objects.
A secret passage
When you first drive by many parts of wooded trails, they’re invisible. When I enter the forest, I realize how the woods offer us opportunities for what Shakespeare called “new friends and stranger companies,” in his play A Midsummer Night’s Dream. When I enter the company of the forest, I am both refreshed by a time apart from the company of others and all the more grateful for it.
Removing myself from the spaces of civilization, I experience a temporary freedom from social engagement. The forest, invisible from the road, forms an enclosure around me, and makes the open expanses of land more spectacular by contrast.
And I develop a connection with many of the plants. Some remain green and small, like ferns or moss; larger rhododendrons and azaleas still have leaves, and other bushes and trees are hibernating with bare branches. The plants healers use in herbal remedies have provided generations of humans with Ayurvedic healing power, and being in the forest reminds me of all that ancient, traditional medicines offer.
In this way, I also gain an appreciation for human beings by taking time away from them, and enjoying the company of other living organisms. Such freedom from hearing, talking to, and seeing other people actually gives me time to gain perspective on relationships. It encourages new discovery, not only about species living in the forest, but also about myself and others back in human territory.
The enchanted healing terrain
What makes nature so enchanting for those of us who love to hike? Many aspects of walking on forested trails have enchanted humans for ages:
- Breathing fresh air that flows in unrestricted currents.
- Direct contact with weather conditions, either moist or dry, cool or warm, still or windy. This may result in an easier balancing of diet and activities in the face of seasonal changes.
- Sounds, including birds, other animals, leaves, branches, and small rocks falling or blowing in the wind, and moving water.
- Opportunities for observation and imaginative creativity.
- Escape from manmade environments, including highways and cars.
- Chances to gain perspective on and distance from people and events in our lives.
As Sarah Wilson states, “Psychologists call it the “wilderness effect” and a number of studies show that green exercise “improves wellbeing and moves us to deep, satisfying realizations that reset thinking.”
As I approach the clearing at the bottom of the hill, I see through the trees a sudden, exciting view of rolling hills with cow pastures. In the late afternoon or evening, with the sky at least partly clear, the end of the trail lights up with a lovely view of the setting sun.
Transforming yourself in the woods in your area
All in all, the existence of a wooded trail allows for an easy escape from the world of humans. As in Shakespeare’s play, a forest is a place where transformations take place that solve human problems. Living becomes more pleasant and much less stressful for visitors as well as those who live nearby.
By Elizabeth Herman - PhD in English, with concentrations in Rhetoric and Composition, and Literature, she offers writing support to clients, teaches locally, lives in Boone, NC, and volunteers for a better world.
