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Resiliency Training – Lesson 6, Nature

August 18, 2022

Welcome back to Resiliency Training - Lesson 6

Knowing resiliency is a core leadership capacity in 2022 and beyond, we have explored 5 different doorways that deactivate the fight/flight/freeze high-alert nervous system response. Each doorway is a different way into the same place – a state of being and doing where we feel fully resourced, connected to what matters most, and resonate with others we’re working with and for:

Nature - it’s all around me...nature, I think it found me

I asked women leaders in climate and energy what brought them joy – one smaller thing and one bigger thing they needed to plan for. 100% mentioned nature. 

Nature naturally calms the nervous system – and it’s not coincidental that it works for everyone. 

Annie Murphy details in her well-researched book, The Extended Mind – The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain, references research by Roger Ulrich, who inspired a revolution in the design of healthcare facilities, 

“Nature is indeed a highly reliable and effective “drug,” bioengineered by evolution over thousands of years. It appears to affect us all in the same fashion: within twenty to sixty seconds of exposure to nature, our heart rate slows, our blood pressure drops, our breathing becomes more regulated, our brain activity becomes more relaxed.” 

Sound familiar? Those are signals that your hijacked nervous system is being calmed.

Similar to movement, and in line with the research from Ulrich, any exposure to the natural world will serve as a nervous-system calmer. If you’re stuck inside, find a live plant and put your resting attention on it for 60 seconds, gaze at a picture of a natural landscape, step outside & take three deep breaths (one of my go-to favorites while working from home with a day full of meetings). 

Since this is Resiliency Training, I’ve created a practice that can help you go deeper. The prompts I provide, in this guided nature walk, will help you deepen your connection with the natural world and fully engage all of your senses for an embodied experience. 

For when you fully embody a concept or idea, it can speed up the rate in which you form a new habit around it. Your body will store a memory of the awareness, connection and calm you experience on this walk in nature, so you can easily reach for it later in your day-to-day life. 

Let’s get going! 

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Resiliency Training #6 - NATURE!

NATURE- guided nature walk

The purpose of this guided nature walk is to elevate your connection with the natural world and yourself, shift your perspective and build your awareness within the present moment – this is a felt experience that naturally calms your nervous system and stores a body memory of what being relaxed and connected to nature feels like. 

Similar to meditation, through repeated practice, this experience will build new habit patterns you can reach for, lowering your base-line level of stress. It will also give you immediate relief from overwhelm. No experience necessary – just bring an open mind, relax and enjoy! 

This guided walk in nature is something that will bring you joy – however, it does require a bit of planning…

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  • WHAT: Guided nature walk
  • WHERE: Your favorite trail or sidewalk
  • LENGTH: 1 hour (45 minute walk + 15 minute seated integration)
  • MATERIALS NEEDED: 1) cell phone 2) Guided MP3 or Video downloaded on phone or over cell service 3) comfortable clothes/shoes for the weather/terrain + water/snack when finished
  • MINDSET: Curious, open, non-judgmental & accepting of what is

Instructions:

  • Step 1: Find a time to walk outdoors for 1 hour. Put it on your calendar if you need to. 
  • Step 2: Decide on a place you’d like to walk outdoors for about 45 minutes where you can view nature + a place to sit for 15 minutes at the end. It’s ideal if you can walk on a nature path, but if access is an issue,  walking in an urban area is just fine as long as there are trees, plants, etc. within view. *If walking is not accessible to you, then finding a seat in a natural setting will work. 
  • Step 3: Have access to the guided nature walk audio or video track as you walk.  **Use only ONE earbud to listen to the track - the other ear should be left to listen to what is happening around you.**
  • Step 4: When you’re ready to walk, press play and be guided by my voice while you’re walking. 

Journaling or reflection questions to consider for integration:

  • Look around you. What do you have to learn from the nature around you?

  • How does your body feel now compared to how it feels in your everyday life?

  • What was it like to experience your surroundings with the hat of the curious learner – as a child or alien seeing it for the first time?

  • How could wearing the hat of the curious learner in your everyday life serve you?

  • What fears did you experience during the walk?

  • What visions or aspirations arose during the walk?

  • What are you connected to now that you’d like to maintain a connection with?

  • How can you apply this sense of connection to other humans in your life?

  • Check in with your brain – is it busy and overwhelmed? Or calm and clear?

Listen or download the Guided Nature Walk MP3 here:

Guided Nature Walk – 45 minutes (listen)
DOWNLOAD MP3 HERE

Listen to the Guided Nature Walk video here:

I currently have 2 openings for new coaching clients & 1 opening for strategy clients – Learn More or Let’s Talk!

I’m offering a special 50% Friends & Family discount to all of you!
Mention promo code, F&FLAUNCH50. Offer through September 14, 2022.

“In the forest, there’s no need to try to relax. Just go outside and Nature will work her magic to relax and restore you. Studies show that people feel more relaxed after just fifteen minutes of being in nature. And they report feeling greater vitality, too. Being surrounded by aliveness literally makes us feel more alive.” ― Julia Plevin

Don't take my word for it!

Once again, don’t take my word for it. Try the guided nature walk and see what you notice. Resiliency Training is all about finding what works best for you and putting that into practice. 

Let me know how your nature walk went. I would love to hear from you – the good, the bad and the ugly – we’re in this together! 

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*By signing up, you’ll join my newsletter where I share inspiring and helpful content and offers. I never sell your info and you can easily unsubscribe at any time. 

Expand the circle

If you know of anyone else who could use help finding ways to overcome stress, overwhelm and burnout, please forward this post onto them or send them this signup link. Reaching out to others is a great way to build community and connection. Here’s the sign up: http://eepurl.com/hz6L3X

Wishing you freedom, growth & joy,

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Ellen Palmer

Ellen here. I'm a regenerative leadership coach helping female leaders in climate and energy transform themselves to transform the world. I'm the coach for you because I've been there: over-achiever, purpose-driven, female leader working in climate and energy. Dedicating my life to creating a better world for all because I know everything we hold dear depends on it. I've also been studying human potential my entire life and in my own search for an authentic fulfillment, I've turned to what I do best, empower change-makers to actualize their visions. My background in leadership, strategy, performance, and employee development & happiness paired with human potential and coach training makes me the perfect partner and guide on the journey into your highest potential.