Connect with nature, connect with yourself
The power of the natural world to help us come back to ourselves and restore our spirits
There's something about a walk in the woods for me that just helps me land in the present. Feeling a sense of containment and safety in a green tunnel of trees, the soothing sounds of a bubbling brook or rushing river nearby, the joyful chatter of songbirds, the disproportionately loud racket of a squirrel crashing through the underbrush that always cracks me up. Add a payoff view (or waterfall) at the turnaround point of a hike, then add that sense of awe and wonder. It helps me to feel like I have a place here just like all the flora and fauna of the forest ecosystem have a place.
Is there a place like that for you?? I feel it on the beach where I live, especially at sunrise or sunset, but I feel that sense of interconnectedness and belonging the strongest in a forest on a mountain. I chalk it up to my Celtic DNA - those rolling hillsides and green forests, with rivers and streams aplenty. No wonder I loved my time in Charlottesville so much - those Appalachian mountains are part of the same chain that creates the hills and highlands of Ireland and Scotland.
Lately I've been contemplating the invisible thread connecting us all through time and space and appreciating how I feel that thread strongly in nature. To our ancestors, to each other in our current time, to our true selves underneath the wear and tear and demands of the modern world. So this week I wanted to share a practice that can help you connect with wherever you feel that strong connection in nature, no matter where you are and no matter where your special place is.
In the practice, I guide you through imagining a place in nature which helps you feel peace and calm. Where nature feels like a balm to you. We engage each of the five senses, then end with noticing and appreciating the shifts we feel in our felt sense of things, simply with this imaginal practice. By making a pleasant memory sticky in our brain by engaging the senses and increasing its salience, we help to counteract the brain's natural (but frustrating) negativity bias. This in turn makes the memory more accessible in the future for us to recall when we need a little respite.
Feeling reverence for nature is literally in our DNA - at some point in time, all of our ancestors were practitioners of earth-based spirituality, before modern religion emerged. Feeling connected to nature is a wonderful starting point for helping us to feel reconnected to our true selves, to the human beings around us, to our community. Maybe it's because of these ancient genes in us, waiting to be expressed- maybe it's because it's a much needed break from the stimulation and demands of the modern world. However it works, I know I appreciate a nature experience for resetting my nervous system and bringing me back to myself. If that sounds like something you'd be into, here is this week's practice. I also added some background music once we get into the meditation, I'd love your feedback on that! I hope you enjoy connecting with nature from afar and seeing how powerful this practice is, and what a nice addition it can make to your resilience tool box. Tap into it whenever you need it to buffer the challenges and stress in your life 😌
In deep gratitude,
💕Carly
P.S. If you are interested in a nature-centric retreat (with lovely indoor accommodations, I promise!) come join me as I lead some yoga and drumming circles at my friend Tammy's Forest Therapy retreat April 23-26th in the central Florida wilderness: https://comewanderwithme.my.canva.site/april2026
Thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter!! If you know anyone who would benefit from these practices supporting self-awareness, self-regulation, and reconnecting to oneself and the world around them, I would be delighted if you shared the love and passed it along 🙏
You can find me on YouTube and Instagram with my Military Yogini handle, I'd love to connect with you there!
I greatly appreciate any feedback, comments, or requests for practices/info. I've got a lot of knowledge and skills to share with people, so tell me what ya need and we'll see what I can do!! Simply respond to this email to send me your thoughts 😊
