We don't mean to sound cheesy but running, and just generally being outside, can heal. Every so often we're going to share stories from our community about the healing powers of the outdoors. Starting right here, right now.
The other day I was on a run with a good friend who is also a middle school teacher. You already know she is stressed. She went into the run anxious about the upcoming school year, but not quite able to articulate her thoughts. I kid you not, one minute into it, she turned to me and just said "wow, I already feel better." Did her anxieties about the end of August go away? Hell no! But she was able to separate herself from it for a minute. Our run slowed into a jog so we could chat, and it was pretty beautiful.
As much as we like a pat on the back for this unique idea, we don't deserve it. The idea that the outdoors heal has been tested time and time again. Check out this little ditty from Ernest Hemingway's A Moveable Feast:
"I would walk along the quais when I had finished work or when I was trying to think something out. It was easier to think if I was walking and doing something or seeing people doing something that they understood."
We like that one. It's not just Hemingway, there's science to back this up. Science. More time in nature is linked to a variety of benefits, like improved attention, lower stress, and better mood. You can read more about being "nurtured by nature" from the APA.
So wyd rn? If you can, stop scrolling and take a stroll. See what we did there?