It’s been a long-held feeling of mine to be out in nature when exercising. I have always found it hard to go to early morning yoga studio classes blocked in by four walls and miss the sunrise at home. I feel better for the day if I commune with nature early in the morning.
Gyms are underwhelming for me, also. I can’t see the point of moving on a stationary bike, walking on a treadmill in one spot and missing beautiful views or lifting weights when you could be out in the garden or moving your body weight, but I understand it takes much personal self-motivation to do this on one’s own. Please take no offence if it works for you, and do not discontinue what works and gets you moving; it’s just my self-discovery.
If you love the gym and wish to continue, even after considering the research below, don’t deny yourself this opportunity, but consider how to move a little more outdoors whenever you can. Sometimes, adding in a walk in the evening sunset is a great thing to do that aids in producing melatonin for sleep.
Aya and I have been discussing this over the holidays as she also moves away from the gym scene and back to nature to move and simply be.
Personally, I love how practising yoga is a researched weight-bearing activity all of its own and teaches you to move with balance and reverence, supporting your weight in all different scenarios, eventually attuning you to oneness with your natural surroundings. It eventually delivers the mind to a sacred place of meditation and cognitive attention, even more so when practised outdoors. Yoga Asana is a Vedic Meditation, and when practised in nature, it is considered “proper vihara.” Proper Vihara is a term rooted in Ayurveda, the traditional system of medicine that originated in ancient India. In Ayurveda, “Vihara” refers to lifestyle or daily activities, and “Proper Vihara” implies the appropriate or suitable way of living to aid mental, physical and spiritual well-being.
Here is what Ayurveda and Western Medicine say about exercising in nature.
The Vedic Science Behind Exercising in Nature
The principles of Proper Vihara for regular exercise and expression in Ayurveda include:
- Sustain body and mind health with regular, stress-free activity.
- Exercise prana through pranayama for holistic well-being.
- Sharpen senses for heightened awareness through sensory exercises.
- Opt for outdoor exercise in nature whenever possible.
- Balance work with relaxation and retreat for overall well-being.
The Western Science Behind Exercising in Nature
- Outdoor exercise significantly enhances cognitive function, performance and attention.
- Spending time outdoors, especially during exercise, is crucial for cognitive well-being in an urbanised and predominantly indoor lifestyle.
Extensive research has conclusively shown the diverse advantages of participating in “green exercise,” involving physical activity in natural environments. In addition to the widely acknowledged physiological impacts of exercise, such as the release of endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin, these studies consistently indicate significant enhancements in self-esteem and mood, alongside a decrease in instances of anxiety disorders and depression. There is also a lot of evidence to support that exercising outdoors in natural environments produces more benefits to the brain than exercising indoors.
This study explored the impact of the walking environment (indoors or outdoors) on cognitive function in conjunction with acute exercise. The findings revealed that exercise significantly enhanced cognitive measures, but notably, this improvement was observed only when exercise occurred outdoors.
“In terms of cognition, acute outdoor exercise has primarily been found to enhance executive functions dependent on the prefrontal cortex, such as attention, working memory, and inhibitory control1,3. For instance, Bailey and colleagues19 found that participants who walked in an outdoor natural environment performed significantly better on a cognitive task—the Stroop task—than those who walked inside. These findings are further supported by Berman et al.20, who had participants complete a different cognitive task (the backwards digit span task) before and after a 35-min walk in a forest or an urban environment. In a key manipulation, the researchers induced cognitive fatigue in participants by having them complete a rigorous memory task before walking. Berman and colleagues’ results showed that on the cognitive task performed after the walk, participants who walked in the forest performed better than those who had walked in an urban environment, suggesting that nature played an essential role in restoring the cognitive resources that were depleted by the memory task20. Together, these results provide evidence that outdoor exercise enhances executive function to a greater extent than indoor exercise.” Source
Additionally, the study identified that outdoor exercise had an extra impact on cognitive attentional scores, emphasising the benefits of nature exposure on cognitive function. The findings suggest a potential synergy between nature and exercise, with the environment possibly playing a more substantial role in improving cognition, especially in brief exercise scenarios. The study acknowledges limitations, such as the absence of objective exercise intensity measurement and suggests the importance of incorporating heart rate monitoring in future research. Despite these limitations, the study underscores the significance of spending time outdoors, especially during exercise, for enhanced cognitive function in a predominantly indoor lifestyle.
Enjoy your Yoga Asana, Vedic Meditation and Exercise with us this year, wholly surrounded by a natural paradise. It’s a magnificent experience for your brain, attention, body and spiritual heart. I may be biased, but it is like heaven here.
Join us for weekly yoga classes or yoga teacher training in nature.
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