We’ve explored the classic five senses, but did you know there’s a whole other secret world happening inside you?!
Have you heard of ’embodied Nature Connection’? When you balance on a rocky path or step into a cold stream, your body is relying on two hidden senses that bring you fully into the present moment: Proprioception and the Vestibular System.
Nature, with its gloriously uneven surfaces and changing conditions, is the ideal environment for activating this deep connection to nature. It supports us to move in ways that challenge our balance and test our awareness.
Proprioception: Your Body’s Internal GPS
Proprioception could be called the body’s internal GPS. It relies on sensory receptors in your muscles, tendons and joints that constantly tell your brain about position, tension and movement.
This system allows you to navigate without constantly watching your feet – it works in the background, keeping you upright.
Where pavements are flat and predictable (some might say boring!), woodlands, the seabed, riverbanks and coastal paths demand subtle, constant adjustments. A misstep on a mossy log or the shifting pull of wet sand underfoot provides rich feedback to your nervous system. Research shows that walking on uneven, natural terrain strengthens the neural pathways related to balance coordination, and even emotional regulation.
The take-home? Moving in complex, natural settings doesn’t just benefit your balance; it’s a huge boost for your mental wellbeing and in the long term, too. Look at the smile on Eloise’s face as she demonstrates the Tree Post in Yoga while balancing on a log during a guided Forest Bathing session in Winchester, Hampshire, UK 😀
The Vestibular System: Playing Your Way to Balance
The Vestibular System, located in your inner ear, detects head movements and gravitational forces, helping you maintain balance and posture. Activities like climbing, swinging and spinning challenge this system, enhancing motor skills and coordination.
Engaging in playful movements in nature often sparks joy, excitement and curiosity (and who says only kids get to play?!). This is how nature stops being just a setting and becomes part of your story.
🌿 Invitations for Embodied Nature Connection
- 👣 Barefoot Exploration: On a safe patch of grass or beach, walk slowly, noticing how each tiny shift in balance demands a subtle adjustment.
- 🌳 Tree Hang and Swing: Hold onto a low, sturdy branch and let your body gently hang or twist. The shift in gravitational pull stimulates the vestibular system in a playful, grounding way.
- ⛰️ Natural Movement: Scramble over rocks, crouch beneath branches or hop across logs. These instinctive movements awaken parts of the body rarely used on flat ground.
- 🤸 Inverted Exploration: Briefly explore safe positions like a gentle forward fold or supported handstand against a tree. The change in head position relative to gravity stimulates the vestibular system beautifully.
Tuning into these subtle signals is a way of becoming more embodied and present. It allows us not just to witness a landscape but to participate in it physically and sensorially.
This is true Embodied Nature Connection.
I hope you’re enjoying this series on using our senses to connect to nature. This is the penultimate blog.
👉🏼 Jump to the final instalment all about the sense of interoception, otherwise known as our Inner Compass.
👉🏼 Or go back to the first which is packed full of invitations to enjoy using your sense of sight
