Green Exercise and Mindfulness in Nature with Jessica Patching-Bunch
In today’s episode, we’re talking about green exercise and mindfulness in nature! My guest, Jessica Patching-Bunch (JPB) fills us in on all the benefits that moving outside can provide to the body, brain, and our general well-being.
Episode Details:
Green exercise is deliberate movement in a natural environment – everything from hiking or biking outside, to Tai Chi in the park, to swimming, and many other activities. I know from my personal, subjective experience that being outside is good medicine, but since JPB has a neuroscience and research background, I wanted to pick her brain about the science of green exercise.
What you’ll hear about mindfulness in nature:
- how being in nature increases the benefits of exercise and movement
- how seeing fractals (natural geometric shapes) reduces stress (as measured by fMRI and EEG)
- why being in nature has similar effects to meditation, because it influences what we’re paying attention to and how we’re attending in the present moment
- specific ways our physiology responds to nature, like lowering blood pressure and cortisol levels, and enhancing mood
We talked about different ways to be mindful in nature, giving examples like the Japanese concept of “forest bathing” (shinrin-yoku), and JPB’s own practice of noticing “pretty little things.” And, we also touched on how exposure to the discomfort of being out in the elements – like when it’s hot, cold, or rainy – could help us develop stress resilience.
I hope this episode will inspire you to take your movement outside in the coming seasons – or to at least look out the window more during the day!
Guest Bio:
Jessica Patching-Bunch (JPB) is a stress resilience coach on a mission to change how we understand and approach mental health. After working in neurodevelopmental research, she realized she wanted to let her knowledge serve a larger community outside of academia.
Struggling with stress-related illness most of her life, she set out to address a real gap in accessible, alternative mind-care and brain-body wellness education. She teaches practical ways to manage stress so you can get out of your own way, stress less and live more.
Resources & Links from this episode:
- This article in Time Magazine is a good introduction to the Japanese practice of forest bathing
- This is a more academic piece on the health benefits of green exercise: The great outdoors: how a green exercise environment can benefit all
- Dacher Keltner’s book Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder* also discusses the benefits of being in nature (and it just happened to be the topic of last week’s podcast episode!)
*The link to this book is to my Bookshop.org affiliate page. If you buy books through my link, I earn a small percentage (at no additional cost to you). And, every Bookshop.org purchase supports local independent bookstores!
You can learn more from JPB through her podcast, Brain Body Resilience or connect with her through her website and on Instagram at @jpb.brainbodyresilience.
If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like Episode 25 – Stress and Brain-Body Resilience with Jessica Patching-Bunch, which was the first time I had JPB on the podcast! You might also check out Episode 44 – Inner Spark: Mindful Yoga and Mental Health with Kristin Vikjord, who talks about her majestic Norwegian homeland (above the Arctic Circle!) and how nature can be a resource for strength in the midst of our struggles.