Wild therapy

From physical exercise, fresh air and a stint of simple living, we discover how to shake off our daily troubles and restore balance through the rich healing power of wilderness therapy.

- CATHERINE LAWSON

There is magic in the forest and on surging rivers, on lofty mountain trails and by the sea's edge. It's what calls us outside when our worries outweigh the wonder in our lives - to walk, run, paddle, climb and breathe again in some place more beautiful.

Once outside, we shake off our troubles in the quiet spaces where mountains soar and rivers flow, staring out over the ocean and breathing in that big, deep blue. In return, we are soothed in ways we might not fully comprehend. But when we turn around and head for home, we feel a little lighter, a little brighter, and carry a sense of something we might call happiness.

We carry a feeling of being deeply connected to something bigger and more remarkable than the spaces and places we live our lives. This sense of connection that nature instils in us this ancient bond to the natural world can be a powerful remedy in all our lives, even when we don't understand just how the magic works.

The call of nature is nothing new. Humans have a long history of wandering off into the woods seeking solace. So many favourite childhood stories begin with an epic escape from home and page after page of perilous adventures in the wild. Facing challenges and solving problems, struggling, failing and finding new strengths these adventures in nature invariably turn our beloved heroes and heroines into survivors, returning them home again utterly changed and renewed.

When "getting away from it all" seems the only way out in our troubled times, running away to the wilderness is not a bad idea. Sizing ourselves against all that nature can throw back at us can be precisely the salve we need.

How does the magic happen?