I recently heard of the word “sit spot” and it’s a wonderful way of describing a spot where you sit and connect with nature. Connecting with the natural environment around you is one of the best ways to find harmony, peace, and spiritual connection.
I’m always telling my clients to go into nature when life gets tough. I, myself, turn to Mother Nature when I need some soul-restoring time. Nothing quite beats sitting quietly, outdoors, and hearing the birds twitter, feeling the breeze over your face, and placing your bare feet on soil or grass.
But not all of us are lucky enough to live in the great outdoors or have a piece of land in the countryside. Some of us though are lucky enough to be close to an urban park or the beach. But, this shouldn’t stop you from connecting with nature on a daily basis. Your garden works just as well and if you don’t have a garden, then create your own piece of nature on your balcony or even indoors.
Read on to find out the benefits of connecting with nature on a daily basis and seven ways to connect with Mother Earth at home.
What Are the Benefits of Connecting with Nature?
The power of nature. It soothes, calms, balances, and rejuvenates our bodies. But, what are the other benefits of connecting with nature on a daily basis?
Releases stress hormones: Whether you’re working at home or at the office, you’re bound to feel stressed quite often if you’re not enjoying your job. One of the best ways to release these stress hormones is to take a walk outside, barefoot. Or, to sit under a tree and listen to the leaves rustling in the wind. Simply being outdoors, among the plants and other natural beings, gives your body a chance to unwind and restore its own equilibrium.
Improved spiritual connection: I don’t know about you but whenever I'm in the natural environment I feel an almost instant connection with all that is spiritual. Whenever I feel disconnected from my spiritual side, I find time to sit outside in my garden and listen to the birds sing, look at the beautiful flowers blooming, or spend a night under the full Moon.
Releasing negative emotions: For those of you who know me, I take advantage of Full Moons to release all my negative emotions. By connecting with the energies of the Moon, I’m able to release all that is holding me back. The result? I feel like a weight has been taken off my shoulders.
Cleansing of stale and stagnant energies: Over time our bodies start to feel heavy from all the negative energies we’ve taken on, unwittingly. To remove any stale and stagnant energies in your body, spending time next to water is a great way of doing this. It’s even better if you can soak in water or let the water run over you but I find just sitting next to a pond or running waterfall helps to cleanse my body of negative energies.
Heightens your senses: Connecting with nature is a powerful way of heightening many of your senses. Picking up a rock gives you a sense of touching something stable, warm, and solid. Rubbing your hands gently down the bark of a tree increases your “feeling” sense, often comforting you when you’re feeling lonely or troubled. Spending time in nature also helps you to improve your third eye or sense of intuition.
“He gave us eyes to see them, And lips that we might tell, How great is the Almighty, Who has made all things well.”
– Words by Cecil Frances Alexander, All Things Bright and Beautiful
Watch this incredibly inspiring man as he talks about connecting with nature within his tribe.
How to Connect With Nature at Home
Your home should be your sanctuary. Bringing nature into the mix not only improves the energy of your home but you’ll get all the benefits of connecting with the natural environment daily.
Creating your own sit spot to spend time in nature at home is essential (at least, that’s what I believe anyway!). Here are seven ways you can connect with nature at home whether you have a garden, a balcony, or no outdoor area at all to create your own sit spot.
1. Create a Sit Spot in Your Garden
There are hundreds of places you can create your own little sit spot in your garden. And, you can keep it simple by placing a comfortable bench under a magnificent tree. Or, go big and build an elaborate gazebo.
Whatever you decide to do, make sure you place your sit spot where it’s quiet, close to some trees, and if possible, next to a pond.
2. Add a Water Feature to Your Garden
Even if you have a tiny-weeny garden, you’ll be able to find a small little spot to put a pond. It doesn’t need to be anything fancy. A plastic tub dug into the ground, filled with water, and adding a water lily plant or two is a simple way of creating a peaceful pond in your outdoor space.
You can find a number of artificial ponds and waterfalls at your local nursery and they make a wonderful, soothing feature in your garden. Friends of mine, who live in a townhouse with no garden got innovative and installed one of these water features on their patio. It’s stunning and they can hear the water trickling from the living room and their main bedroom.
3. Turn Your Dressing Room Into a Forest
This idea is for the people who don’t have a garden or a balcony but do have a dressing room or unused spare room. It requires being creative but what fun! Find wallpaper with a forest theme and paste it on the walls. Then, add some real-life plants next to the window.
You can even add one of those really small, indoor water features to one corner of the room and there’s nothing wrong with fake flowers for a splash of color. Throw some comfy meditation cushions on the floor and use natural objects such as stones, feathers, and seeds to decorate the room. You’ve just created a beautiful indoor garden to connect with nature.
4. Put Plants in Your Bathroom
Turn your bathroom into a natural haven. Soaking in a hot bath surrounded by indoor plants is a good way of creating a “sit spot” in your home when you don’t have your own outdoor spot. Your bathroom is the ideal place for when you need to be near water for cleansing stagnant energies in your body.
Taking a shower is also a great way of releasing stress hormones so why not make the experience special by turning your bathroom into a spot where you can connect with nature? Both water and plants are natural healers and you’ve got them on tap, in your own bathroom.
5. Use Birdfeeders and Bird Baths
Hearing birds and watching them is a calming and peaceful way of connecting with nature. By hanging a few bird feeders in your garden or on your balcony, you can attract birds to your home. You can even hang one on your bedroom window outside if you don’t have you don’t have a garden or balcony.
Birdbaths are another way of attracting birds to your home and nothing quite beats the joyful sight of watching birds take a bath.
6. Attract Butterflies to Your Garden
Butterflies are quite spiritual creatures and seeing them is symbolic of transformation. But, these beautiful winged creatures also bring such joy and amazement whenever you see one flittering around your flower beds.
Make sure you introduce butterfly-friendly plants to your garden so you can benefit from the sight of these flying creatures in your garden. Prevent using harmful insecticides and rather choose organic sprays whenever you need to in your garden. This way, your butterflies won't be harmed whenever they visit your home.
7. Create a Meditation Spot Outside
One of the most powerful ways to connect with nature is to meditate. Even more so when you’re meditating outdoors. You could create a permanent meditation spot somewhere in your garden or on your balcony. Or, invest in a robust meditation cushion that you can take outside whenever you meditate.
You can meditate outside at sunrise or sunset, when it’s Full Moon or New Moon, or under the crown of a large tree. You can put your meditation rug or cushion next to a pond or waterfall or even on the patio. Wherever you decide to meditate outdoors, know that you’re connecting deeply with Nature.
Final Thoughts
We have a little bench on our kopje where we can connect with nature after a long day’s work. We sit there to watch the sunset and often have our Moon rituals up there. It’s a magical sit spot for restoring our souls and despite living in one of the busiest cities in the world, I always feel I’m connected to nature in this spot.
We’ve also recently constructed a little sit spot outside our living room, under a large and magnificent old Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow tree. Our visitors can enjoy looking at our small garden in comfort and I often take my lunch breaks there so I can reconnect with nature briefly before starting my afternoon work.
I would be lost without nature and finding ways to connect with her while I’m at home living in a large concrete jungle is essential for my Existence. My partner has created a beautiful haven with his marvelous green fingers and there are always birds and butterflies flittering around.
We’ve even seen a beautiful snake under one of the flower pots and of course, there are always gorgeous geckos, spiders, and other critters wandering around. With this little nature world of mine, I’m able to connect to Mother Nature whenever I want to.
I am truly blessed.
This post was originally published on April 16th, 2021, and updated on July 27th, 2022.
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