One by one they filed into an old country homestead on the outskirt of Boras in the western part of Sweden. They came from vastly different backgrounds but they had one thing in common: they were all suffering from stress-induced mental health issues. Some of them were diagnosed with exhaustion disorder, a condition characterized by severe stress and extreme fatigue. Many are in depression. Some had not worked for years. All were desperate for a way out of their predicament. The nature preserve at Rya Ridges in Boras may be just the thing they need to rejuvenate. For several weeks, they will distance themselves from the din and demands of city life, and soak in open green spaces and breathe a little easier, led by the gentle guidance of a health coach funded by the local government. Each morning will start with the group gathered around one of the tables inside the homestead. After some small talk with their health coach to relax everyone, they will head for the outdoors, rain or shine.
Rya Ridges was picked by the local authorities for this nature-therapy venture because of its unique qualities. The area has an 8.4 km loop ideal for walking, hiking and biking, set amid lush deciduous and coniferous forest, lakes and meadows, mountains and deep valleys as well as living arable land. Here, the participants will reconnect with slow nature, and relive the pure pleasure of being in the present. They will take slow walks around the preserve, ears attentive to the calming voices of the wild, observing the fractal patterns of clouds and leaves, listening, touching, smelling and tasting the natural world around them.
Thirty years ago, this nature-based program would have been dismissed as pure hocus pocus, viewed with a mixture of bewilderment and suspicion. But we know today that such programs have not only been effective in relieving burnout, they are even more successful in getting people back to work than pharmaceuticals and other forms of therapy. A study done by researchers at the Alnarp Rehabilitation Garden at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences showed that nearly two-thirds of the people who participated in nature-based rehabilitation were able to return to work or some form of job training within a year after the start of the rehab. Not bad considering that all of them had been on 100 percent sick leave before that! Moreover, the longer the participants had been in the program (it was available of up to 24 weeks), the better the outcome post-rehab.
Far from being a passing fad, nature-based therapy programs are now widely available both in Sweden and other Nordic countries as governments recognize the power of nature to heal, like the 30-plus man who came to Rya Ridges in bad shape and skeptical of the treatment. Living in an apartment, he had never spent much time with nature. A couple of months into the program, however, the health coach found him standing completely still under a towering linden tree outside the old farmstead, looking up into the tree’s crown, visibly in awe. “I finally get it.” he said to the coach. “Now I sit under the tree outside my apartment every day, drawing power from it. And it’s magical.”
~ Adapted from Open-Air Living by Linda Akeson McGurk, Tarher Perlgee, 2022.
Postscript
The Nordic concept of Friluftsliv (pronounced FREE-loofts-leeve) advocates spending unhurried time with nature to appreciate it’s life-giving bounty and also to relieve stress. Silence is an important part of this concept. The idea is let go of your worldly cares, still the incessant voices in your mind and embrace the rhythm and sounds of the natural world: the tweets of birdsong, the whispers of a breeze, the burbles of a stream. Ideally, all this happens in the beautiful outdoors. But if this is not possible, a stroll around the neighborhood park or even pottering around your own little garden for a few minutes each day can be”medicine for the soul.” Importantly, Friluftsliv is not just about getting away from your routine; its also about teaching your mind to be attuned to nature, wherever nature resides, whether it is an old oak tree in a park, or the plants that help purify the air in your apartment. When we have become habitually attuned to nature – in the large and in the small – Friluftsliv becomes a way of living, not just a therapy. That is the goal.
My Daily Dose of Friluftsliv
I live in a high-rise apartment, where trees aren’t visible close-up. But no matter; I keep a garden, albeit a modest one in my balcony, eleven plants in all, living harmoniously with each other. Some have been with me for years. Others are fairly new additions. On any given day, I would spend intervals of time with my plants, admiring them, watering them, touching their leaves, repotting them when the need arises. I consider my garden a sanctuary; it is also my daily dose of Friluftsliv.
