Arboretum – Nature’s boost for body, mind and spirit!

What’s something you can do to give a boost to your physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing – without negative side effects? As a psychologist, and we are both success coaches, we are always looking for ways to help people have healthier and happier lives. We found numerous studies showing that being in nature can boost people’s health for body, mind and spirit.

Some of the benefits can include lowering stress, raising mood and improving mental health. Other benefits show restored mental energy, sharper thinking, improved concentration and creativity. There are studies that indicate nature boosts the immune system and that there’s a correlation between having access to nature and living longer, healthier lives. There’s also an interesting study where they gave two groups a short-term memory test. One group took a walk in an arboretum. The other group walked on a city street. When memory was re-tested, the people who walked in an arboretum had a 20% increase in short-term memory while the other group did not. Think about that! We’re going to walk more in nature!

To explore this topic further, we went to The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. It was voted the number one botanical garden in the United States. We experienced the many beautiful sights – trees, flowers, fountains, waterfalls, art objects and more. We felt calm, peaceful and renewed as we relaxed on a bench located over a babbling brook, enjoying the sounds of the water running over the rocks. We thought about nature’s miracles. Doug shared a quote by Mary Davies, “To walk in nature is to experience a thousand miracles.” We agree and wanted to see what benefits other people who visited the Arboretum experienced by being in nature.

We met Michelle Breitsprecher, who brought her brother-in-law, Dave Breitsprecher, a Connecticut resident, to visit the Arboretum. Dave said, “I was a runner for many years but I had back issues. My running days were over and I had to hang up my [running] shoes. I do my best to get out and walk as much as I can. I love nature, birds especially. This is my first time here at the Arboretum and it’s just really wonderful.”

Michelle agreed, “For me, walking has been a big part of my daily routine with getting out of the city and into an environment like this. I’m an avid gardener so I especially like coming here and looking at all the different varieties of flowers. As many people know, gardening is very therapeutic. This is just a very good environment for me. So from a health perspective, I think [benefits are] just having peace of mind, letting go of stress and, of course, getting some exercise.”

We also talked to Terri Russell who shared her ideas about the health benefits of nature and coming to the Arboretum. Terri said, “I’ve been a member of the Arboretum for a long time. I always enjoy the colors. I come out and cross country ski in the winter and I hike and bike. I enjoy the gift shop and I think that the fresh air and exercise are really good for me. I think it helps my mood, my energy and is healthy for me. The flowers and the trees are beautiful. I enjoy seeing the wildlife, the deer, owls, various birds, chipmunks and squirrels. It’s a really nice environment. People are friendly and everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. I think it’s a good place to bring children to the children’s nature area.”

When I asked Terri to say more about her winter sports, in addition to cross-country skiing, she offered, “We put on our hiking boots and do the trails. We can also snowshoe through the woods around the Arboretum building.” I mentioned to Terri that sharing about her winter activities opened up a whole new world for us to explore.

The people we talked to shared many benefits they felt from being in nature at the Arboretum. We’re thinking about you and what health benefits you could experience.

Here’s a challenge: No matter how busy you are, take time from your schedule to be in nature. Allow yourself to put away technology and phone calls and just experience the sights, sounds and fragrances. It can help you feel nature’s boost for body, mind and spirit – all this, with only positive side effects! We would enjoy hearing what you experience as you savor the miracles of nature. We invite you to watch the related video (see link below) to see some beautiful sights and the people we talked to at the Arboretum. Enjoy!

Chanhassen residents Doug and Lynn Nodland are owners of The Balance Center. They can be contacted at WeCare@SharingLifesLessons.com

© Doug and Lynn Nodland 2017 Articles and videos may be shared in their entirety with attribution.