Relax in the wilds (or your garden) with these nature meditations for digital detox and destressing!
If you’re stressing about the news or doom-scrolling through your day, it may be time to put your phone away and head outside for a little digital detoxification and nature meditation!
I find that connecting with nature is one of the best ways to de-stress and, at least for me, it’s an automatic mood booster. Sometimes I just go for a walk, other times I go for a full forest bathing sesh. But when I’m in a hurry, I may just meditate for a few minutes by my favorite tree.
There are, of course, as many ways to meditate as there are grains of sand on earth, and there’s no right or wrong way to do it. However, if you’re new to meditation or you’re looking for a digital detox how to, here are 3 of my personal favorite nature meditations for grounding, centering, and releasing that stress.
And best of all, you can do them in just a few minutes!
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Grounding Meditation
Grounding simply means feeling rooted and present in the moment. It can also involve intentionally releasing stress and other worries that you don’t want to carry around with you any longer so you can feel more centered (present) in yourself. This meditation and grounding practice is a great one to try if you just have a few minutes to meditate and don’t want to leave your backyard!
Step 1: Head Outside
If you’re ready for a little nature connection, head out into your backyard, or another quiet place that you love, and sit or stand in a spot where you won’t be disturbed for a few minutes. If you have a favorite tree or rock, sit or stand beside it and press your back or your palms against it. Weather permitting, you can also take your shoes off and allow your feet to connect directly with the earth (this is known as earthing!)
Step 2: Breathe
If it’s safe to do so, close your eyes. Then, take a deep breath in and out. If you feel better with your eyes open, focus on something in the landscape and let your eyes soften a bit.
Take a few more deep breaths in and out. If you’re practicing with a tree, rock, or bare soil, feel the calm energy of the tree, rock, or earth moving into you like a warm current of light.
Step 3: Visualize
Imagine roots extending into the earth from your feet, or imagine connecting with the tree and see in your mind’s eye how the tree’s roots are buried deep in the soil. Now, visualize those roots extending deeper and deeper, past layers of soil and rock, until they reach as deep into the earth as you like. If you want, you can send those roots all the way down to the earth’s core!
Sometimes I imagine vast spreading root systems. Other times, I imagine one long tap root like a giant carrot. The shape of the roots doesn’t matter as long as they’re digging deep.
Step 4: Release
Once your roots are buried as deep as you want, visualize all the things that are worrying you – that annoying email, that news story, that thing you have to do – and condense all of that bleh into one dark, yucky cloud inside of you. Then, take a deep, deep breath and push that cloud down, down and out through your feet (or into the tree). See that cloud of yuckiness moving through the tree’s roots – deep, deep, and deeper.
With one more deep breath, push that dark cloud out of the tree’s roots and into the earth with your mind. Know that the earth will transmute that cloud into something better. I personally like to visualize the tree’s roots diving all the way into earth’s hot core so all that magma can “burn” my worries up!
Step 5: Absorb
Now that you’ve let your worries go, take another deep breath and visualize in your mind’s eye how the tree’s roots are pulling purified energy up through the earth to you. This energy could be a white glowing light, a gold light, or another color. Just know that the energy contains exactly what you need in this moment.
See the energy flowing all the way up the tree’s roots and into your feet. Breathe deep and move the energy up your spine and into your head. Feel the energy as a gentle, soothing warmth as you draw it up through your body.
Step 6: Return
Depending on how much time you have, bask in this warm energy for as long as you need.
When you’re ready to come back to the present, wiggle your fingers and toes. Feel the ground beneath you, the tree touching your hand, the sound of the world around you. Now open your eyes and return to the present moment, feeling a little more peaceful and at ease.
Walking Meditation
Walking meditations allow you to combine meditation and nature with a little exercise, and they’re ideal if you’re on-the-go and don’t have a lot of time to meditate. This meditation practice can be included in a hike or after dinner walk. But you can also meditate while you’re walking to school, work, or the grocery store!
Step 1: Head Outside
Leave your headphones at home, put your phone on silent (if you can), and go outside for your walk. You don’t need to be heading to any particular destination, it’s all about the journey. A walking meditation can be just 5 minutes long, or as long as you like.
Step 2: Walk Slow
Walk slowly and consciously, noticing how your weight shifts from foot to foot and how the earth feels beneath you. I personally like wearing barefoot “earthing” shoes on walking meditations to “tune in” to the way the ground feels and how my feet connect with it. If it’s safe to do so, you can also practice walking meditations barefoot, but I only ever do this in my garden where I know I won’t step on something unexpected!
Step 3: Breathe
Breathe in and out deeply a few times, coordinating your breath with your step. Feel the breath moving through your nose, down through your throat, your chest, and then deep into your belly.
Breathe in. Step, step, step.
Pause. Step, step.
Breathe out. Step, step, step.
Pause. Step, step.
Repeat.
This type of breathing is known as square or box breathing, and it’s a great way to center yourself in the present moment!
Step 4: Notice
Gently bring your attention to the sights and sounds around you, noticing with all of your senses but without getting caught up in any one thing that you see, feel, or hear. Just pay attention to the way the light plays in the trees, the way the birds are singing, the way the breeze feels on your skin, the way the ground supports your weight. Then, move your attention to something else and notice that too.
I find that this intentional act of noticing quiets overthinking and I always discover something new to marvel at!
Mindfulness or Observation Meditation
While you can observe nature during a walking meditation, you can also practice observational meditation while sitting still in nature. This mindfulness meditation practice can be done in your garden or yard, or at a favorite hiking spot or beach. This is a great meditation practice for kids too!
Step 1: Find a Good Observation Spot
You can sit, stand, or lie down for this practice, and you can use a folding travel chair or yoga mat if you want to too. Choose a location that’s appealing to your eye, like a sunny meadow or near a flower bed. Or position yourself close to something that’s particularly interesting to you — like a cool boulder or tree.
It’s always helpful to wear loose fitting clothes while meditating, but it’s not required. If you need to be somewhere later, put your timer on your phone so you don’t have to worry about losing track of the time.
Step 2: Observe
Now, breathe in deeply a few times to center yourself. Bring your attention to the landscape or a natural feature you’d like to observe. Slowly, start to take it all in with all of your senses. Notice the colors, the light and shadow, the sounds around you, the feel of the earth and the breeze.
If you’re observing a landscape or garden bed, notice one thing at time, and then move your attention to something else – like a bee pollinating one flower and then another. If you want, press one finger at a time gently into your leg or arm to keep track of every new thing that you notice.
Look at that flower. Press one finger.
And the way that bee is flying. Another finger.
When you’ve pressed all of your fingers down, repeat this counting process with your other hand and then repeat it until you’ve noticed 10 or 20 things that interest you about the object or landscape you’re viewing.
If you’re noticing a single object – like a rock – you can notice the different textures on the rock’s surface, the different types of lichen growing on it, the way the surface of the rock changes, or small inclusions of quartz in the rock.
This intentional act of “counting” can make you feel more connected to the object or landscape you’re viewing and it’s a good way to turn off restless thoughts or that “monkey mind!”
If you’re meditating with little ones, you can make this observational practice a little bit like a treasure hunt. Counting how many red things you can observe, how many green things, yellow things, and so on!
Final Thoughts
Whichever meditation method you choose, the most important thing is to give yourself a little time in nature. Nature does so much for us and it has such a calming presence that’s so often overlooked but so, so needed.
If you’re new to meditation, it’s total normal to get distracted by car noises, your thoughts, and lots of other things. If this happens, be gentle with yourself and just bring your attention back to your meditation practice. Over and over again if you have to.
Doing a 5 minute meditation per day is a great place to start, and you can always meditate longer as your practice expands. I try to meditate at least a few times a week — sometimes for 5 minutes, sometimes 45. Even a short meditation does wonders!
