Hiking wellness is increasingly becoming popular for people that take care their health. Yet scientists also agree that hiking is a good wellness activity to do.
In addition hiking is more than a simple physical activity. Hence walking in rural areas with beautiful landscapes holds more health benefits that you may think.
Therefore hiking is a new tool for wellness and mental health. It is an activity that brings you in nature and decrease you negative feelings.
Hiking wellness in nature retreats
If you have been to any retreats in rural areas you will know that hiking is usually an option. Even wellness and yoga retreats are including hiking among their sessions.
The main reason is that hiking is providing us what these retreats aim for. For example one of their objective is for visitors to have inner peace which come through meditation.
Yet walking next to trees and rivers, hearing bird songs and seeing butterflies can also give inner peace to hikers. So being in nature stimulates all your senses towards a peaceful mind state.
Shutting down your anxiety and your gadgets
Most of us have hectic lives in cities. More often our mental health suffers the most leading to illnesses of the body. One reason is the stress and anxiety we experience daily.
Yet even we live a simpler life with our high tech gadgets in our smart cities, the problem is getting worst. For instant our mobile and computer screens can give us chronic insomnia.
However escaping in nature allows us to leave that world behind. Hiking decreases our ‘stress hormone’. Moreover it changes the computer images in our minds with the sense of wonder for nature.
Improving your physical health
Yet hiking is a physical activity that can get us fit. It is a good workout good for our muscles and joins.
Moreover is an activity everyone can join regardless their age or weight. Depending on the intensity and the trail difficulty, anyone can hike.
This is why hiking wellness is also recommended for weight loss and fitness.
But getting fit with hiking can also trigger mental health.
For example our body produce vitamin D while we walk under the sun. However this vitamin has a big impact on your mood.
More importantly vitamin D activates hormones that protect you from depression.
Reconnect with yourself and others
Relationships are difficult. Yet hiking wellness is a fun activity to do with your family and friends. Moreover it is a good opportunity to talk about things you fail to do so in your daily routine.
Among nature you are all in a different peaceful environment to reconnect and bond. Hence facing together the challenges of hiking can boost your relationships.
However it is also a way to build your self-esteem as a solo hiker. By walking along on a trail, you have now the time to think and meditate.
These reasons are why hiking is increasingly included in personal development activities in schools but also for adults.
Meeting Wanderlust
Meeting wanderlust through hiking can lead to motivation and inspiration for life changes. These many personal stories of people that found themselves while hiking.
For example Cheryl Strayed’s story turned to book turned to movie ‘Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail‘ is a story of a woman that thought she lost everything when her mother and her marriage died. She is storytelling her experience of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail and how that experience healed her.
Yet Cheryl chose not to take any help with her on her hike.
However you can. There are many books and guides that can give you insights of trails.
One good example is the book titled ‘Wanderlust: Hiking on Legendary Trails‘. The book presents the best walking routes with inviting maps, practical tips, and inspiring landscape photographs.
However I like it most because it make references on the flora and fauna of the trails.
Originally published at www.konstantiaachilleos.com