"Connect with Nature" - what does it mean?
Do we truly need to connect with nature to stay healthy? Discover what YOU and PLANTS have in common and why reconnecting with our natural roots is essential to our health and performance.
In everyday conversation, we often talk about the outdoors as a place where naturalists flock to feel "connected." Loving nature typically conjures images of tree-hugging (or tree-climbing) enthusiasts, flower picking, and bird-watching...
But you don't have to be a tree-hugger to enjoy the outdoors. You can have a lot of fun outdoors and enjoy all the benefits without ever having to resort to bird-watching (unless you really want to!).
Humans don't have to connect with nature – we ARE nature! Our biology is intertwined with nature, having evolved and developed alongside it for millions of years, forming part of a larger system. Yet, we often perceive ourselves as a superior species, believing that we've outgrown our reliance on nature. We've sometimes ravaged our natural habitat to satisfy our insatiable consumerist desires, convinced that we can achieve health within our concrete jungles. Who needs nature when we can sculpt our bodies to perfection at the gym, boasting buns of steel?
Who needs nature when we have buns of steel from pumping iron at the gym?
Why eat whole foods if you can chow a protein shake?
Who cares if we develop back pain because the hours of sitting tightens our hips, compresses our vertebrae... we can buy painkillers and get a massage!
I stare at a screen for twelve hours a day buy I can fix my eyesight with laser surgery
Bunions schmunions, these shoes pinch my feet but fashion means sacrifice!
Get outdoors with a pastime you LOVE!
We've become so accustomed to the convenience of modern lifestyles, not realising that our disconnection to our natural needs is making us malfunction. Because it's so much easier to:
Stay indoors
Drive instead of walk
Sit all day
Stare at screens
Eat junk
Get prescriptions for pills
What's causing so many humans to malfunction? An increasing divergence from our natural state and environment. Turns out that living in concrete jungles all year round is really not that great for Homo Sapiens.
So what's the solution? Should we become self-obsessed with optimal, natural health and live in a treehouse? Swap our city shoes for muddy wellingtons, or even better- go barefoot everywhere we go?
At MAVERICKS Life Co. we have createdTheMavericksWay.org as an educational hub specialising in nature-based training and active lifestyle. We are your guide you to EXPLORE. MOVE. THRIVE. in your natural environment.
We promise you won't have to wear wellingtons or go barefoot, unless you want to.
But we do look beyond the resistance machines, the powdered protein shakes, and mirror selfies at the gym, to inspire a nature-based approach to training, health preventing and wellbeing through a nature-based active lifestyle.
In nature, we return to our origins, and focus on the basics.
Spending time outdoors is a necessity for us to stay healthy; it's not just a perk! When we spend too much time indoors, in cars, or in concrete jungles, we are depriving our bodies of:
- Full oxygenation
- Vitamin D
- Ionization from the soil
- Movement, balance, and agility
- A variety of terrains to play with
- Long-distance eyesight
- Temperature adaptation
- Improved circulation
By restricting our body's access to movement, oxygen, and nutrients, the human body slowly starts to degenerate
But before you sell your London flat and buy a tree house in the Lake District, consider a few options to improve your movement/outdoor quota:
- Walk to the shops/school/work
- Spend more time in leafy neighborhoods
- Find a sport you love that you can do outdoors
- Take your dog for a woodland adventure
- Teach your kids to play outside – lead the way!
- Wind down with a view (rather than on the sofa)
- Plan outdoor activities with your friends
- Shop at an outdoor produce market – on foot
- Take up gardening
- Move your DIY outside
Spending time moving outdoors doesn't have to look the same for everyone – even a walk on the beach is considered outdoors... and there are no muddy wellingtons in sight!
We are already connected with nature – we ARE nature! The real question is, are we TUNED INTO our natural habitat? Do we spend enough time in that environment, genuinely enjoying the experience and reaping the benefits?
How do you like to spend time outdoors? We would love to know - find out more and get connected to The MAVERICKS Way via our website and Instagram account.
Discover: Natural Movement & Holistic Training
HOLISTIC TRAINING is a diverse, mind-body-environment approach that brings together our wellbeing, skill and performance through an active lifestyle. Rooted in a holistic approach to sports science and natural movement, at MAVERICKS Life Co. we teach a FUNctional approach to training designed to unleash your skills, performance and wellbeing. FIND OUT MORE
Jessica Christensen - CEO & Academy Director
Jessica is a holistic sports science & training specialist and industry innovator in the sports, fitness, and wellbeing education sector. With over 15 years of experience, her studies include NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine) Harvard Medical School HMX Physiology, L4 Advanced Anatomy & Physiology, Evolutionary Biology, Philosophy of Science, TQUK L3 Award in Education, with continuing studies in evolutionary biology and sports science USCCE Accredited Program Director.
