Maybe she tapped into an intuitive wisdom when my Mom encouraged me to go outside when I was feeling down. I recall a favorite tree in the backyard that I would climb when feeling lonely, sad, or out of sorts. The next time you notice your mood shifting to heavy, lethargic, and sad one very simple step is to take a break by going outdoors, moving your body, and deepening your breath.
Making a conscious choice to go outside into a natural environment helps to interrupt your mood’s negative downward spiral. This can be an urban area, but seek out a space containing some natural elements like water, trees, plants, rocks and soil. Once outside, practice remaining in the present moment by paying attention to aspects of nature around you such as: the shift in temperature, the feel and scent of the breeze, the intensity and variety of colors of nearby plants, the roughness of a tree’s bark, the sounds of birds overhead, the feel of grass on your bare feet.
If you add walking (or other movements like: running, biking, hiking, swimming, playing in a fountain, or simply going up and down the stairs to your office), you can discover the power of breathing more deeply and moving your body as additional tools to help shake up a negative thought pattern and help interrupt that downward slide.
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