This story was orginially published in the Fall 2019 issue of The Landkeepers Report (now called The BNRC Report).
If you found a way to get more and better sleep, reduce your blood pressure, improve your fitness, and feel less stressed, for free and with no negative side effects, wouldn’t you jump on it?
A walk in the woods has just such benefits, and many Berkshire health and wellness providers are prescribing the nature cure for their clients.
Eric Krawczyk, a licensed mental health counselor, leads “Hike with Healers” and brings his private clients to various trails around the Berkshires, including Parsons Marsh, where he sometimes parks his mobile office. “My clients come in with some kind of mood difficulty or stressor that may be overwhelming, or interfere with relationships, work or their general happiness,” he says. Connecting with nature, Eric says, can help quiet the mind, activate the senses, and calm the nervous system.
“There’s always a bit of surprise and fun on a nature walk,” he adds “you never know if you’re going to see a frog, bird or even an interesting insect.” A walk outdoors can be a more playful way to provide counseling, less intimidating for people who are mistrustful of therapy, and safe for people dealing with trauma or grief.
I encourage my clients to give back and tend to the nature that is providing the medicine. Once there’s a connection, there’s hope. We can change human behavior to make a difference in our local park or global issues like climate change. —Eric Krawczyk, Hike with Healers founder
Sleep specialist Ed O’Malley’s office is across the street from BNRC’s Housatonic Flats reserve in Great Barrington, and he encourages clients who are struggling with sleep disorders to walk there. “Europeans have been prescribing nature for years. It’s a physical, mental and spiritual connection.”
Some of his older clients remember what it was like when they were young and could just sit and watch a bee. “It clears the cobwebs,” Ed says, “and helps them de-stress, fall asleep more easily, and stay asleep longer.”
Ed offers some advice for people who aren’t comfortable walking in nature. “don’t expect nature to conform to you,” he says. “Adjust. Don’t go out at dawn and dusk if you are afraid of bugs.”
“There is no bad weather, only bad clothing choices,” Ed adds.
Fuel Your Body and Your Brain
After volunteering on a BNRC project, Community Health Program Nutritionist Ashli Minor reached out to us with an offer to co-lead walks to promote the benefits of fresh air and sunlight. The CHP clinic in Great Barrington is next to a loop trail that goes to Fountain Pond and Threemile Hill.
“There is amazing research that shows that ten minutes of walking after a meal significantly reduces blood sugar,” Ashli says. “I don’t talk about diet and exercise, I talk about nutrition and activity—positivity, not deprivation. I encourage what will fuel your body and your brain, help your hormones and thyroid and sleep, reduce cortisol levels—your physical and psychological well-being.”
“I also work with students on the autism spectrum,” she says. “When I meet with them we go outside and walk on the trail and talk. It’s a game changer. The kids feel better, more confident, they have better energy. They smile more and talk more.”
When winter comes, Ashli encourages people to rechannel their thoughts and habits. “Instead of sitting in the house eating too much because I’m lonely or bored or anxious, I’m going to go for a walk with people. I’ll feel refreshed, and have more energy.”
A Meditative Forest Walk
Canyon Ranch guests are amazed by the beauty of BNRC Reserves like Basin Pond and the Brothers Trail in Lenox, says Leah Larmon, Manager of Outdoor Sports at the spa. “Many of our visitors are citybound, a little afraid of nature. We help them realize that getting some fresh air and greenery helps them de-stress.” Her staff is certified in Shinrin yoku, or forest bathing. “It’s a meditative forest walk, getting people out in the woods to breathe in the air. It’s proven to relieve stress and anxiety,” she explains.
“We are nature,” Ed O’Malley says. “Not separate from it. We’ve lost the connection to ourselves.”
A walk in the woods may be all we need to find ourselves again.