I was at a party the other night, sitting in a little bamboo grove in the backyard of a SE Portland home, when the girl who’d invited me started telling a few people that I am an ultra-runner and about my business, Animal Athletics. One girl sitting there perked up and said she was reading Born to Run. She’s caught the bug, been inspired by the book, had lots of questions and had, herself, begun to experiment with running. She was rolling cigarettes as I remember and looked more like an artist/barista than an athlete but her enthusiasm and newfound interest was clear. I asked how it was going.
“I can only run a few minutes right now before having to stop but I’m getting better all the time,” she said. “I’m really liking it though. It’s like therapy for me.”
There it was. So simple. So obvious to anyone and everyone who runs or exercises or gets their heart rate up in any way for that matter. Therapy. The word caught my ear and I smiled and was glad that she’d said it. I was so happy for her to have found that outlet. It’s a liberating discovery to be sure.
I recently saw an article posted (in response to a question on Ask Dr. Weil) titled “Is Forest Therapy for Real?” Now this Dr. Weil guy seems like he might know what he’s talking about but I’m not vouching for him in general as I’m not familiar with his work…but in this short piece he’s right on of course. This person asked the question, “Is Forest Therapy for Real?”, and then went on to explain: “I’ve heard of ‘forest therapy,’ and it sounds like a good idea to me – city life is making me crazy! But is there any solid evidence that spending time in a forest is actually healthy?”
According to Dr. Weil, researchers in Japan have found that time in the woods can lower levels of salivary cortisol, the hormone that rises when we’re under stress. Time in nature they found can also lower blood pressure and pulse rate and trigger an increase in the activity of certain cells produced by the immune system that ward off infection and disease. Japanese researchers reported that three days in the forest increases the activity of these cells by 50 percent, an effect that can last up to one month. Another Japanese study found that simply looking at forest scenery for 20 minutes reduced salivary cortisol levels by 13.4 percent. But it’s not like we need scientific evidence to be convinced of the obvious benefits of time in nature, as anyone who sits and watches the sunset after a hectic day instantly knows (read the whole article here). Add exercise in the mix and you’ve got yourself some potent medication.
Needless to say, the concept of “Forest Therapy” is nothing new. For decades (and I’m just talking about modern culture here) there’s been “Wilderness Therapy” for troubled teens, people partaking in vision quests, through-hikers tackling the long-distance trails, folks of all ages setting off on soul-searching journey into the mountains, solo, or with friends or family, for a day, a week, or a month. That’s the thing though, whether a trip or outing is technically designated as therapy doesn’t matter. All trips into nature are therapy whether they’re intended to be or not. Once again I need not go into the science but it’s well known that exercise causes the release of chemicals that make us feel good, look good and improve our moods. You can’t avoid feeling that lovely buzz during and after a workout. Bottom line: exercising in nature is a win-win situation. I’ve witnessed non-athletic people discovering the pleasureful release that exercise provides, getting hooked on the joys of these “active-meditations” and surprising themselves by developing a love and need for running–of all things!
It’s no secret. People are normally quite forthright in saying how much the therapy of nature and exercise does for them. In this day and age there’s no need to be ashamed–we’re depressed, anxious, sleep deprived, stressed, fearful, angry, stricken with ADD and the like, bludgeoned by a mind-numbing and disrespectful consumer culture, overwhelmed by the hard parts of life. People need to find a cure and they look in all sorts of places. Nature and exercise are some of the best and healthiest cures available and they’re pretty much totally free. These are time-tested methods and millions upon millions of people swear by them. As Edward Abbey said: “A journey into the wilderness is the freest, cheapest, most non-privileged of pleasures. Anyone with two legs and the price of a pair of army surplus combat boots may enter.” I might recommend a good pair of running shoes instead of the combat boots but you get the point.
Just as we came from the earth and are of the earth we must be in touch with earth and its processes in order to maintain physical, emotional, and mental well-being (not to mention spiritual.) Biologist E.O. Wilson coined the term biophilia, which means “love of life or living systems” to describe this innate human need. As our culture becomes further ensconced in its own technology and increasingly divorced from the natural world around us the necessity of real connection to that world will take on dire importance. I certainly use trail running and hiking in the mountains as therapy, as my method of staying sane and intimately connected with the “living systems” of the earth. I’ve used exercise, exploration, and nature as sources of refuge and as time and space for reflection for the past twenty years of this confusing life. I’ve dealt with break-ups, heart ache, death and existential confusion in the peaks and pine trees and felt cleansed and calmed traveling long trails in steep valleys. I’ve felt the anguish of heavy emotion tighten in my chest as I climbed toward passes but also felt lightness and elation breathing the air, looking clear to the horizon around me. Regardless of how I felt, nature was there to listen and my body was there to carry me to those healing places. The combination is always right, no matter the occasion; mind and body working together to exercise the demons!
“That’s really great!” I exclaimed to the girl at the party. “I’m so happy for you. Keep it up!”
It was as if she’d just told me she’d found the world’s best, most inexpensive psychiatrist. Now that’s a good find if you ask me.
Willie McBride is co-owner, personal/group trainer, and coach at Animal Athletics (AnimalAthleticsPDX.com)
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