Looking for inspiration from Dr Google today, I stumbled upon the term “nature therapy.” No, itds not a faddish term coined by a business-minded psychologist with some leafy plants in their consulting rooms. Its a field of health treatment describing the benefits to our mind, body and spirit of participating in outdoor activities and immersing in nature.
Also known as green therapy or ecotherapy, there’s a growing body of research evidence that it is effective in treating a whole raft of mental and physical health issues that afflict society today. There are the obvious benefits of physical exercise like walking, running, cycling and swimming, sunlight on your skin and fresh air in your lungs. But connecting with and exploring our relationship with nature has been used effectively to treat depression and anxiety, manage anger, improve confidence and self-esteem and increase emotional resilience. There’s a school of thought that stress is the root cause of lots of diseases of the body and mind, and there’s no doubt that taking a hike or a bushwalk, observing and listening to nature, being in, on or under the ocean and interacting with animals calms, soothes and uplifts us.
I started Byron Bay Adventure Tours from a love of exploring wild and beautiful places, and an idea that I could contribute to their conservation through an eco-tourism business. Ecotherapy, green therapy, nature therapy, the great outdoors, whatever its called I’m glad its what we do and love.
Read more about nature therapy from this article on Goodtherapy.org
Get more info on all of our nature and adventure experiences here.
