Nature as Your True North: The Healing Qualities of Ecopsychology
Very soon, I’ll be on the road again.
I’ll be traveling to Portugal to speak on ecopsychology, one of the areas of my work that feels less like a topic and more like a remembering. From there, I’ll spend time in Europe, living inside the very rhythm I often speak about: a life that includes nature not as an afterthought, but as a relationship.
And recently, I came across a question that I hear often, phrased in a very honest way:
“We keep hearing that nature is good for us… but what is it, actually, that helps?”
It is a fair question.
Because most of us feel the shift when we step outside. We feel calmer. Clearer. Sometimes even more like ourselves.
But what is actually happening?
Ecopsychology: What Is It, Really?
Ecopsychology explores the relationship between human well-being and the natural world.
It rests on a simple but often overlooked idea:
When we heal our relationship with nature, we begin to heal ourselves.
This field brings together psychology, ecology, and indigenous wisdom traditions. It suggests that many of the struggles we experience today, including anxiety, burnout, and a sense of disconnection, are not happening in isolation. They are, in part, a reflection of our separation from the living world.
As Theodore Roszak, one of the founders of ecopsychology, wrote:
“The outer crisis is a reflection of the inner one.”
We are living in a time of profound disconnection. From the land, from one another, and often from ourselves. And many of our current models for mental health do not fully account for this missing relationship.
So What Is Nature Actually Doing to Us?
There are measurable, biological effects.
Spending time in natural environments has been shown to:
Reduce stress and anxiety by lowering cortisol levels
Decrease blood pressure and heart rate
Improve mood and self-esteem
Increase cognitive functioning, attention, and memory
Strengthen immune function, including increased activity of natural killer cells
But one of the most fascinating mechanisms is something most people have never heard of.
Trees release natural compounds into the air called phytoncides (pronounced fai-tuhn-sides).
These are antimicrobial oils that trees use to protect themselves from insects, bacteria, and disease. When we walk through forests, we inhale these compounds without even realizing it.
And our bodies respond.
Research has shown that phytoncides can increase natural killer (NK) cell activity, supporting the immune system in a very real, physiological way. They have also been associated with reduced stress hormones and improved overall nervous system regulation.
In other words, the forest is not just calming you psychologically.
It is interacting with your body biologically.
Shinrin-yoku: The Practice of Being, Not Doing
This is where the Japanese practice of Shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing, comes in.
It is not hiking.
It is not exercise.
It is not about getting somewhere.
It is about being in the forest, slowly, with no agenda.
For over 40 years, research on forest bathing has demonstrated that this kind of intentional presence in nature can:
Lower cortisol and calm the nervous system
Reduce rumination and mental fatigue
Improve mood and emotional regulation
Enhance immune response, in part through exposure to phytoncides
What matters is not intensity.
It is presence.
And this is often where the deeper shift begins.
“Everything in Nature Is a Womb”
Abadio Green, a linguist and wisdom keeper from Colombia, offers a perspective that moves beyond science into relationship.
He teaches:
“Everything in nature is a womb. It welcomes us, gives us life, and protects us.”
This is not metaphor.
It is a way of understanding that we are not separate from nature. We are held by it, in the same way a mother holds a child.
Rivers, trees, wind, and earth are not just scenery.
They are part of a living system we belong to.
And healing begins when we remember that we are not visitors here.
We are part of this living body.
Returning to What We Already Know
Ecopsychology is not asking you to become someone new.
It is inviting you to remember something old.
To step outside, not as a task, but as a return.
To allow your nervous system to settle into rhythms that existed long before urgency, performance, and constant stimulation.
To notice what draws you.
To follow that, gently.
Because for many of us, there is a place that is already calling.
And when we listen, even just a little, something begins to shift.
Not all at once.
But enough.
Enough to feel the direction again.
Enough to remember:
Nature is not just something we visit.
It is something we belong to.
A Quiet Invitation
If this way of relating to nature resonates with you, you’re welcome to stay connected.
I share reflections like this, along with upcoming offerings and spaces for deeper work, through my newsletter.
And if you are feeling a more immediate pull, I will be hosting a Solstice retreat in the Austrian Alps this June.
There is currently:
one single spot left in the main house
one apartment available that comfortably suits two people
Because I know how quickly airfare is rising, I’m quietly keeping early bird pricing open for anyone who feels called to join last minute.
Not out of urgency.
But because sometimes, the decision comes from somewhere deeper than planning.
Some places call you before you understand why.
If that feels familiar, you’re welcome to reach out or explore further.
And whether or not you join me there, you can begin here:
Step outside.
Slow down.
Notice what is already waiting for you.
Your nervous system remembers the way.
