Mindfulness in Nature

Start trying mindfulness in nature...

Explore the benefits and techniques of taking time out from this busy world, being mindful in nature, and bringing that back to our nature journals…

Spending time in nature mindfully

Mindfulness in Nature for Balance and Calm

I started to create NatureWithLotti.com when I truly understood that more than just ‘nature journaling makes me happy’, that how I approached my drawing and nature journaling, (and beyond that, my life as a whole), could affect my emotions… and could also dictate whether I spent my days feeling rushed, overwhelmed, and drained of energy, or whether I felt balanced, calm, fulfilled, and happy.

Before you think that I spend all-day, every-day journaling and drawing, or out in nature to feel like this… that’s not true… in fact, although I’m an illustrator and artist professionally, I actually often only spend a few hours a few times a week doing my art - and just a half-hour or so on most days doing my nature journaling.

The rest of the time, I’m working on all the behind-the-scenes part of my business including admin, accounts, marketing, preparing my teaching materials, and running my home.

So it’s being able to set aside this time for my nature journaling that allows me to reap the benefits of mindfulness – and also sets the scene for me to incorporate tiny moments of being present, noticing, and connections with nature into my everyday life.

I haven’t always got this right – and let me tell you that for many, many years, I got it so very wrong and I did this many times – so I can really tell the difference with how I feel, just in my everyday life, when I’m being mindful, when I’m connecting with nature, and when I’m in a relaxed and creative mindset - and when I'm not!

It’s because of all this that I wanted to share what I’ve learned with you, about how mindful nature journaling and connecting with nature can make such a difference to how we feel every day, in the hope that it can help and inspire you, too, to a happier, calmer, and more balanced life and to maybe start nature journaling too…

Mindfulness in Nature

Let me back up just a little: I get a lot of my inspiration for my drawings and artwork from nature, and I believe that we were meant to be in nature, to live out in the green, as part of nature – and we’ve lost this special connection to nature just a little, these days, in our modern, busy lives.

Gorse by the sea

I love that combining together journaling and nature can really allow us that much deeper connection with nature that’s so beneficial to our wellbeing.

New studies are confirming that experiencing nature can make us happier and healthier - see this study between the Wildlife Trusts and University of Derby...

Time in nature has been reported to help symptoms and depression, anxiety, and other physical and mental illnesses, as well as increasing feelings of life satisfaction, meaningfulness, and happiness.

Nature therapy and wilderness retreats are starting to be recognised treatments for mental ill-health. And in other cultures, such as Japan, nature is more highly esteemed and recognised for its health-giving benefits as an aid to wellbeing.

Forest bathing

In Japan, a practice called ‘forest bathing’ is increasingly used to healing and maintaining good health. Forest bathing involves spending mindful time in a woodland – and it is reported that after as little as a quarter of an hour forest bathing, the stress hormone cortisol drops, blood pressure lowers, mental clarity improves, and the immune system is boosted.

Of course, this taking time in nature does not need to be a big trip out – in fact, taking just a small amount of time and effort to work a connection with nature into your everyday life takes minutes, costs next to nothing, and makes you feel good. Even looking at photos of nature do make a difference, too!

Just being ‘in the green’ is helpful, but it’s more important that you’re in nature ‘mindfully’ as this is what created the feeling of connection to nature and the greater benefits to health and happiness.

Approaching nature with this mindset will help to develop help to develop this mindful and meaningful connection with nature that is most beneficial to our wellbeing AND makes for meaningful, personal and enjoyable nature journaling, too.

What I want you to know, now, is that it matters how you spend your time… and your mindset matters. The gains that you can achieve by spending time in nature, spending your time nature journaling, and learning a new skill are huge and may be life-changing.

Getting off the merry-go-round of life - why stopping is good for us

I’m going to give you permission to stop, just let go, just be…

In fact, I’m going to try and persuade you to give yourself permission. We all know you don’t need my permission… you don’t need anyone’s permission… except, perhaps, your own! And yet… I know from personal experience how hard it can be, sometimes, to just stop with the ‘busy’.

For me, in order to feel healthy in mind and body, in order to be creative and to be mindful, I need to spend time off the ‘merry-go-round of life’. This is a quiet time, ‘nothing’ time – just stopping and not being busy… learning just to ‘be’ – quiet, no TV, no music, letting the mind-chatter fade.

This ‘nothing’ time is valuable. It’s unendingly precious. It’s the time we allow our bodies to rest and our minds to process our day. And I believe it’s essential for our own self-care.

Rosebay willowherb

This ‘nothing’ time is not the time you use to be creative, journal or connect with nature – but I believe that we need this ‘nothing’ time as down-time – a buffer between the busy and the mindful or the creative – just so that we have this opportunity to decompress and our creative time does not become just another opportunity for ‘busyness’.

Our mind and our soul needs time and space to breathe – so let it.

We can’t be creative when we’re anxious, so we need to practice stillness so that our nature journaling time is mindful, calm, meaningful, and fulfilling – and not just an exercise in getting something done - when I do mine in a rush just to get it done, I don't feel engaged and I don't feel the benefits.

Taking time for ourselves is as simple as believing that we are worth taking care of, we are worth a little self-kindness, and that our physical, mental and emotional wellbeing is our own responsibility and must be our priority.

I’ll show you, now, how to expand your ‘nothing’ time into mindful connections with nature which can lead to meaningful, enjoyable drawing and journaling experiences…

How to Start STOPPING - Being Mindful Out in Nature

When we actually get out in nature, we can learn how to start being mindful in nature, rather than just marching through it. Having an emotional feeling of being connected with nature is what gives nature its physical, mental, and emotional healing benefits for us.

It’s not just as simple as physically putting yourself in a green place – you have to be there ‘mindfully’, ‘be present’ with all your senses – and it’s also this connection that makes your nature drawings and journaling feel so satisfying…

It makes them meaningful for you and it makes the process of drawing and journaling from nature enjoyable and calming.

I’m going to share with you exactly the concrete steps that you can use to get this emotional connection to nature, so that you can enjoy all the benefits of mindfulness in nature.

It’s not difficult and it doesn’t even involve hugging a tree!

Wild garlic woodland

I believe that we have the power within our own minds to choose and change our mindset and our way of being. Nature and nature journaling is a wonderful and very enjoyable way of doing this…

What we’re learning here is just how to ‘stop’, be present, and practice mindfulness in nature.

This stage is so important to any drawing you might want to do in your nature journal, as most of the skill in drawing is just looking – it’s just noticing – and what you notice is what makes your art.

And being mindful and feeling connected to nature is just noticing too.

We can take this sensation of feeling connected to nature and learn to put it into your nature drawings and journalings…

Mindfulness in Nature Exercise - Gather Your Nature Journaling Inspiration

Try my mindfulness in nature exercise to start feeling more connected with nature and also when you go out to gather inspiration for your nature journal...

Take yourself out on a walk in nature (by yourself or with someone you trust)

Please, don’t wait to do this until your holiday in the country or your weekend day trip to the country. We can find little pockets of nature in our everyday lives: parks, gardens, even window-boxes and house plants.

Please, try to start right now, even with just a little try – we don’t need to get it perfect – anything at all is a perfect first step

• STOP in a quiet and safe place where you’re unlikely to be disturbed - take a beat to enjoy that precious moment of stillness!

• Then, use your senses - look, listen, smell, feel (touch), and experience

• What can you see?

• What colour is the sky? Look closer. What colour is it really?

• Look at how the shadows fall, how they move.

• Look at a leaf or a flower close up, or a rock, or the trunk of a tree. What can you see? What’s interesting?

• What can you feel?

• What can you feel on your face? Wind? Is it soft or harsh? Rain? Sun? How warm is it? Can you feel it on your back? Your legs?

• What can you feel beneath your feet? Is the ground hard or soft? Can you feel the sensation across every bit of your foot, from head to toe?

• What can you touch? A plant? A rock? Grass? A tree? What does it feel like? Hard, soft, bumpy? How would you describe it?

• What are you experiencing? What do you feel inside? Do you feel calm? Excited? Still? A bit silly? It doesn’t matter – you’re allowed to feel however you feel. Just notice it.

• What can you hear? Can you hear birds? The drone of a road? Is it near or far? Can you hear grass or leaves rustling? Where are they? Can you hear a bird’s wings? How many different sounds can you hear?

• Walk on a bit and keep noticing. There’s no right or wrong thing to notice so look at whatever catches your eye or ear. Experience it.

• Keep listening as you walk.

• And keep feeling the ground beneath your feet.

This can be difficult at first, or it can feel overwhelming. Be kind to yourself and just practise ‘stopping’ for a few moments. You can continue your walk for a bit and stop again somewhere else if you like.

This is such an important practice – being mindful out in nature – that I really want you to get the hang of and enjoy, both for the personal benefits and for the difference it will make for your nature journaling practice.

Once you’ve practiced a few times, you will find that you can slip into this feeling quickly and easily when you’re out in nature. You can stop and notice while you’re walking and even as you’re going about your daily life.

It’s such a wonderful and therapeutic habit to get into, not just for your art but for your overall wellbeing, so I hope that you will take the time to do this.

Woodland walk

I hope you'll find benefit in exploring mindfulness in nature. It's so beneficial for our bodies and minds, and it's a great way of getting maximum benefit from our nature journaling practice too.

If you draw or write in your nature journal while you're out and about in nature and experiencing mindfulness, it helps you to feel really engaged and connected with nature.

If you don't like to, or can't, nature journal while you're out in nature, and prefer to take a photo instead to journal from later, taking a few moments to really experience the moment like this before and while taking the photo can help you to reconnect with this feeling when you see the photo again and experience the same feelings while you're making your drawings or writing in your nature journal.

If you'd like to explore nature journaling more with me, start here...

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I'll also send out regular ideas and nature journal inspiration to help you keep journaling, along with news of my own nature art and illustrations.

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Online Nature Journaling Course

Online nature journaling course

If you'd like to explore nature journaling more, please consider joining me for my 'Imperfect Nature Journaling' online course - I've called it this to remind us to nature journal for the process of connecting with nature to feel good and not to put pressure on ourselves to create pretty pages...

It's a series of 20 lessons or exercises that you can do in your own nature journal to help you try out different ideas and techniques to help you get the most out of your nature journaling sessions and understand what style of nature journaling is the best for you personally.

If this sounds like something you might like, you can find out more about the course here...