Moving from Head Space to Heart Space

A Guided Practice with Nature

May your experience in nature be supported by the light and love of nature’s divine energy.

Over the past few weeks, I was trapped in a loop of feeling unsafe in my body, whether from the one-year anniversary of my brain aneurysm surgery, distress from the current political climate, or myriad traumatic events for which I am holding space for dear friends and family. Telltale signs for my physical body include painful tension in my neck and shoulders resulting in occipital headaches, an inability to stop doom scrolling on social media, and a brusque attitude. I recognized that I needed to get into the forest, which I accomplished several times on those unbearable hot and humid weekends.

During one solo hike, I could actually feel my tension increasing. Adrenaline and cortisol - fear hormones - escalated because I was alone. I could not relax my posture. My hands clenched tightly to my hiking poles, and my eyes darted around the forest setting, as if I was a hunted animal. I did not have great cell reception. What if I fell? What if these occipital headaches I was experiencing were actually foretelling a new brain aneurysm? With each step, I became more frustrated that instead of sensing relief in my physical body, I was fighting disquietude.

I continued walking deeper into the nature conservancy preserve, and the trail began to parallel a creek. I craned my head left to admire the rushing water; then returned my eyes to the trail to navigate rocks and roots. Yet, the flowing water seemed to be calling to me, inviting me into its movement. So I heeded the invitation. 

Carefully placing my walking sticks along the water’s edge, I supported my legs and navigated to a sitting position on a flat rock, placing my feet on a large boulder below. I swiveled my head left and right several times, checking for predators, and then took several deep breaths - in and out, in and out - very slowly settling my mind and coming into my body. Instead of hunching forward, I consciously rolled my shoulders back and could feel that movement offering a sense of expansion in my chest. A few more deep breaths until I felt my shoulders drop away from my ears.

I sat there and focused on embodiment, engaging each of my senses in the delight of the water, not just observing the clear flow with my eyes but also hearing its command of the creekbed the water was navigating and smelling the earthy moss as water flowed over and around. I became aware of the coolness of the rock under my haunches and the humid air’s stickiness against my arm hairs. I recognized that this attention was releasing my heightened, negative headspace. In fact, my heart rate had slowed as I was coming into alignment with the heartbeat of nature around me. I crouched forward and placed my hand in the flowing stream, surprised by its relative coldness. I requested that the water move the pain, fear, and anger from my body.

This intimate interconnectedness was, perhaps, 15 minutes of time, but my body felt more alive, receptive, and connected than it had in weeks. When the time felt right, with no pressure to remain for any length of time, I stood and thanked the stream for its healing energy. I then returned to the trail and completed my hike, carrying that sense of awe and wonder - and a feeling of renewal - throughout the day and even the subsequent week, handling struggles with more mindful words and actions. 

Since this hike, I felt called to record a guided meditative forest therapy experience. While in Perry County during Labor Day weekend, I set an intention of strolling into the woods behind our cabin and audio recording a moment of energy exchange. If you are sensing stress or anxiety, I invite you to use this recording to explore how you can come into partnership with nature’s beings. Or simply walk into your backyard, an urban garden, or a deep forest and visit with nature’s beings. When you place your hands on a plant or a tree or within a creek, open yourself to the exchange of vibrational energy. Interrogate, “What can I release?” Then replace that with the vibrational energy of Mother Earth, experiencing nature’s presence to move from head space to heart space.

After recording, I took a photo of my “sit spot,” the place where I allowed myself to be chosen and connect with nature. Hours later, when reviewing the photos from our weekend, I was in awe to note the sun streaming across the photo.