Tag: forest bathing microdose

August 30, 2018

ASMR Foot Friction Exercise

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I feel like I just talked about feet.

And I’m here to talk about feet again.

For some reason, the subject keeps coming up.

No, I don’t have any sort of foot fetish; quite the opposite actually.

But our feet are such significant portals into the natural world.

Yet for some reason (you know, germs, ankle support, etc) we keep them covered most of the time.

Our feet give us so much more information about nature than we allow them to with shoes. Our feet:

Harbor countless nerves
Contain a large portion of our body’s pores
Need air to breathe
Are crucial to proprioception, balance, and body mechanics
Are the limbs that touch the earth
Absorb healthy negative ions

They wiggle and feel and create pressure and thereby offer a more information, a more comprehensive experience with nature.

So, point #1: take off your shoes when it’s safe during your time in nature

Now, let’s talk about one other way we can use our feet to explore our worlds.

The Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. ASMR for short.

If you look up ASMR on YouTube, you’ll find myriads of videos showing people combing their hair, whispering, tapping their fingers, and other interesting things.

The whole point of ASMR is that it’s supposed to trigger a feel-good response and give you the tingles. Pleasurable tingles.

Like the feeling you get when someone massages your scalp or lightly scratches your back.

There isn’t a whole lot of science behind ASMR yet because it’s so new. But I bet there will be.

ASMR stimulates both a positive physical (tingles) and an emotional (pleasure) response.

And you can use your feet and the grass to acquire that response. You also get all the benefits of grounding to go along with it.

ASMR Foot Friction Exercise

Find a bench or a chair to sit in out in nature. You need a seat that’s the right height to be able to run your feet through the grass.
To start, rub your feet back and forth or side to side over the top of the grass.
Get into a good rhythm and continue for 30 seconds or more. Really tune in and listen and feel the grass.
When the time is up, lift your feet and come to an abrupt stop.
Take a moment to feel that sensation. You can still feel that tickly stimulated sensation.

This quick exercise serves as a reminder of how receptive our feet are and how pleasure in nature is accessible anywhere, even just outside your work building.

It’s also a different way to experience grounding and the ASMR response at the same time.

This tickly massage:

Stimulates the nerves in your feet
Awakens your sensory cells
Provides a repetitive, rhythmic, meditative quality
Causes that positive physical and emotional ASMR response

I hope you’ll take 30 seconds out of your day today to experience nature in this quick way. Then tuck this exercise in your back pocket the next time you need a mini break.

I also filmed a video explaining the ASMR Foot Friction Exercise:

Let me know in the comments:

Have you tried getting the ASMR response before? What are other simple ways you enjoy nature?

January 3, 2018

Microdosing: The Solution When it’s Too Cold to Forest Bathe!

It’s been in the negative digits this week in Wisconsin. It’s rather unpleasant to be outside, even for a few seconds. It literally hurts your face to open the door. Even inside, we’re using space heaters to try and keep up with the chill in the air.

However, I have this burning itch inside me to experience nature every day. Can you relate?

I try to spend time in front of sunny windows or at least run to the mailbox to get the mail. That’s about all I can handle, but it’s better than the alternative of not getting any nature exposure (the horror!)

So, that’s why I thought it would be helpful to discuss how micro-dosing is the solution when it’s too cold outside to go forest bathing.

What is nature micro-dosing?

Micro-dosing on nature is about getting little bits of exposure to nature whenever you can. A quick walk outside with the dog, a quick snowball fight with the kids, a quick jaunt outside to fill the bird feeder… It’s getting outside for even just a few minutes when it’s otherwise impossible to be outside.

What are the benefits of forest micro-dosing?

You might think, why bother if I can only be outside for a few minutes?

Studies show that just by looking at plants or having a nature window view, you experience positive benefits, so you can imagine the advantages of forest bathing in microdoses.

Just 5 minutes of activity outside is enough to improve mood and self-esteem (and help you stay warm).

Even if you think going outside for a few minutes wouldn’t matter, it does! You should even be able to notice how you feel different when you skip it for a few days. You start to crave it!

How can you get your micro-dose of nature?

Even if you can’t get physically outside, you can view it from the window or sit in a sunny patch.

Gaze out a window at the glistening snow-covered branches.
Curl up in a sunny patch on the carpet like a cat. Or Make Your Own Sunshine!
Get as bundled up as you can and go lean on a tree for a few minutes.
Pay attention to one of the green flourishing house plants. Touch, smell, and view it.

This is how I like to micro-dose on -20 degree days:

Find a sunny spot on the carpet with a view of our treeline.
Set the 2 minute meditation timer on my Fitbit.
Follow the Fitbit deep breathing exercise with my chin tilted toward the sun.
When the breathing exercise is over, stare out the window at the trees for a few minutes longer.

Otherwise, I like to put as many layers on as possible and walk along our treeline and back.

It’s enough to fill my lungs with a quick hit of fresh air, change my scenery, change my perceptual input for a few minutes, and get natural sun and nature exposure.

Here’s a quick view of what micro-dosing looks like at my house:

I hope this inspires you to get outside, even just for a few minutes. I’d love to hear from you:

How are you going to get outside today? Do you notice a difference when you do versus when you don’t get outside every day?