How I discovered the healing power of nature

I have always had a strong connection with nature and for as long as I can remember I’ve felt more at home outside than in.

In 2006 while working as a photographer I became ill with what was later diagnosed as chronic fatigue syndrome. The extreme exhaustion and constant pain in my muscles was so debilitating that for 8 months even basic things like washing or holding a short conversation were very difficult.  Doctors advised rest and patience but offered little more.

I explored various alternative therapies but what I craved more than anything was to be outside, surrounded by nature. Once I was well enough to walk a little bit, I drove to a nearby wood and spent as much time as I could deeply immersed in the sounds, smells and calming beauty of the trees. And very slowly, over time, something began to shift. I was starting to feel better.

Every day I went back to the woods, tuned in deeply with my senses and watched as my energy was gradually replenished. Within the year I was able to work part-time. My health still fluctuated a bit but I was able to function almost normally with very regular visits to the woods.

A few years later, I moved to Sweden — and during my first winter there, the fatigue returned. This time, it wasn’t as debilitating, but it was familiar. I instinctively knew where to turn. I sought out the nearest pine forest and returned to what had helped me before: being fully present in nature. I sat and breathed. I listened to the wind, I inhaled the woody smell of the moss and marvelled at the colours, shapes and textures that revealed themselves to me when I gave them my full attention. The shift in my body was immediate. Every visit brought calm, clarity, and a noticeable increase in my energy.

Without realizing it at the time, I had started practicing a very powerful form of meditation. It not only helped me back to health but gave me something tangible I could do whenever I felt the symptoms coming on. It is now an essential part of my life and something I practice every day in order to stay healthy. The meditations developed over time, each one helping to experience the natural world deeply through one of the senses.

My interest in this form of meditation developed further still when in 2013 I completed a MBSR (Mindfulness-based stress reduction) course at the Oxford Mindfulness Centre. Since then I have also completed a Forest Bathing Leadership Course, The Natural Mindfulness Guide Training Programme and a year level 3 training in eco-psychology and nature based practice with The Natural Academy. These courses introduced me to other therapeutic ways of experiencing deep nature connection too.

The sessions I currently lead combine nature meditation and deep nature connection activities with mindful movement, nature poetry and often a seasonal tea and craft activity. I have led sessions across a range of community settings including a local secondary school,  Enrych - a charity supporting adults with physical disabilities; a year at Cutteslowe Horticultural Therapy Centre; and a year at Restore - a mental health charity based in Oxford. I am currently holding sessions at Earth Trust and Oxford-based care homes.

After 20 years of practising nature meditation and deep connection, I am passionate about sharing it — particularly with those who feel overwhelmed, unwell, or simply in need of support. For me, nature has always offered a way home. I now help others find that same sense of peace and restoration in the natural world.

Laura