Healing from Within: Healing Activities for a Happier You

How often do you do an activity for the sole purpose of feeling GOOD? How often do you do an activity for the purpose of HEALING? 🤔

What if.... We used THAT approach and tool as part of our healthy, lifestyle practices?? How do you think that might change you from the inside out? I want to share a couple examples of mine to possibly spark some ideas at your end....

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Those who know me, know that THIS is one of my happy places. 👇 Give me Mother Nature and I immediately feel a sense of calm and curiousity, that brings a smile to my face.

This picture is at the start of the trail, about a month ago, as I headed into the woods for my first barefoot hike of the year. Whether you believe or even care to attempt barefoot hikes is not the point of this post. The idea here is doing something that makes YOU feel good (whether you fully understand why or not) and then ALLOWING yourself the time to do it.

I approached this barefoot hike a little differently than in the past, coming off of some annoying I.T. band irritation. I was treating it and promoting recovery as best I could over the week and a bit that it was bugging me. Having been in the woods to do some backwards hill walks barefoot as part of my recovery, I got the urge to just take the shoes off again, simplify and go wandering. THAT decision and "plan" if you will, had me feeling fantastic by the time I left the woods and put my shoes back on. Not only was I feeling physically good, but all the rest; mentally, emotionally, spiritually... My soul was singing. Nothing else mattered.

It made me think about it from the perspective of doing something for the sake of healing and because YOU want to. "WHY?" was a very prominent word that kept popping into my mind. WHY don't more of us do these sorts of things?? The things that help us feel good in SO MANY WAYS.

Here's a more recent example...

My wife and I have had a couple "heavy" weeks. You know those weeks when life just feels heavy? Those moments where you want to ask the universe, "What other #$%^ are you going to throw at us?" (but you don't for fear that you'll jinx it and the universe will answer). No matter what, as humans you 100% get those "WTF" moments of emotion during those times no matter how much you try to manage it.

So, I ensured there were moments were balanced with things that will help my body rest and recover. To remind my nervous system that it can settle. This is where it gets tricky for some people. Too many actually. Those of us who DON'T have go-to's for healing and recovery. Those of us who DON'T have tools to recognize and manage the symptoms of stress. I, in this case, once again headed to the woods. This time, with my shoes on (though they're my minimalist hiking shoes so I still get to feel the ground some 😉).

This time I did something else that I enjoy; not only looking for all things nature, but learning at the same time. I love using the Seek app on my phone (which also connects to iNaturalist). This app allows you to scan all aspects of nature and it will help you identify them. From there you can learn as little or as much as you like. It also has challenges in it to find particular things; for example wildflowers or insects. Once you find 10 things in that category you get a badge. OH a badge!! 😯

What I love about it is, it not only offers me something different from my usual hikes in the woods (without technology), but it offers me ANOTHER way to have me SLOW DOWN and be present. When you use the Seek app, you're not going to go for a particular time or distance. You have to be ok with stopping, looking, searching, squatting, walking, moving etc... I find it very fun and very calming.

Yep. Here's some moss. I don't know why (and I don't care why) but I love moss. I'm the type of person who needs to pet the moss on the rocks or trees as I pass. It's so soft. 🥰 When I'm doing these kinds of hikes in the woods, I LET myself stop whenever I want to do so, because there's no "rules" or "have to's" other than FEEL GOOD and ENJOY being there. It truly is a powerful mindset in all aspects of health; Do what FEELS GOOD for your body. Not what you "think" feels good, or what you think "should" or "is supposed" to feel good... What your body says actually DOES feel good to you; inside and out.

Among the variety of pics of nature I found that day, I also was able to find something I have never seen in the wild before in my lifetime; my little weasel friend. I named him "Tom".

"Hi! I'm Tom"

I never would have encountered my new friend if I hadn't been slowing down and taking my time or present. I heard a rustling in the leaves (as l often do) and chalked it up to being a squirrel. Not too far after that, as the trail bent to the right, I saw a little fella run across the trail not very far in front of me. "That's no squirell!" I realized right away.

And that's when I realized it was "Tom". The picture isn't great because "Tom" wasn't too sure of me. But we had a good minute and a bit of saying hi. Then of course, as I got to a great spot for a pic, "Tom" ran off.

Boo, Tom. Boo. 👎

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The smiles and good vibes that that outing brought me is something that I KNOW more people NEED to ALLOW in their daily lifestyle routines. One unfortunate consistency most of us have is not being honest with ourselves and NOT trusting our own bodies. It's cultivating a culture of inaction, discomfort in our own body and a "blahness" in our daily lives. You know why? Because we practice it CONSISTENTLY. 🙁

You may not find a friend like my old pal, "Tom" during your healing activities...

Maybe you're not even outside for whatever you choose...

But whatever you decide - ALLOW yourself to JUST FEEL GOOD!!!! That's it! That's only goal!

Take some time before you close this post to think about these questions;

WHAT YOU WOULD DO to JUST FEEL

GOOD from the inside out???

How would your daily energy and mood change if you ALLOWED yourself the freedom of doing that/those things more often???

How would THAT approach, impact the consistently of your own health and wellbeing habits???