By Alison DiPinto, MA, LPC

I believe there are 3 basic keys to wellness:

Connection to body
Connection to breath
Connection to nature

To illustrate, here are two collective experiences we may have had at one time or another:

You’re on the beach. It’s late afternoon, and the heat from the sun is starting to weaken. You notice and feel the warmth from the day on your skin (body). You breathe in the smell of the sea air (breath). You focus in on the tempo of the waves, the horizon that separates sky from sea (nature) and all feels right at that moment.

OR….. maybe you’re more drawn to the mountains or forests:

You’re walking or hiking amongst the trees. You feel the quickening of your heart rate and some extra heat from within (body) you stop and take the clean air into your lungs (breath). You look up or out and see peaks and trees, and a bird ﬂying across the sky (nature) and everything feel as it should be.

Of course, most of us can’t be in these scenarios every day, but we can connect to our body, breath and nature on a regular basis. All it takes is a little intention and attention.

Try this every day for one week: Walk through your door that leads to the outside. Breathe in and out slowly and easily, 3 times paying attention to how this feels. Next, see if you can match a simple motion with your breath. Try inhaling and moving your arms up above your head, and exhaling, bringing them back to your sides. Or try just a simple shoulder shrug. Do that 3 times. Next, look at the landscape that holds you. It may be urban or rural or suburban. All have their oﬀerings; ﬂowers, grass, trees, birds. But maybe where you are it’s hard to ﬁnd the natural world. In that case, look up at the vast sky. Whether it be blue, or gray, or a deep navy full of stars, it’s always there with its endless, mysterious beauty. Let’s take the time to connect to what is always available and there we can ﬁnd what we need.