How to Connect to Nature In An Urban Landscape

Mindfulness practices teach us to get out into nature to improve our moods through connection to the environment. I try to incorporate mindful walks in my daily life as much as possible, especially since I came across a study by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) showing that on average people spend up to 93% of their time indoors – which is just not natural. I am particularly fond of the Japanese concept of shinrin-yoku, or the forest bathing exercise, a form of eco-therapy in which you embrace the atmosphere of the natural environment by experiencing it through your senses. So, what if your forest is more of a concrete jungle?

If you live downtown or in a big city, it’s not always easy to get out into nature without planning for it. When emerging from the office for a walk on your lunch break you may find yourself surrounded by looming oaks of the skyscraper variety. While this might feel inhibiting, you can still find nature all around you, even in an urban setting – you just have to look for it.

Change Your Vantage Point

Sometimes all it takes is a little change of perspective to connect with nature in the city. If you can carve out 15 minutes to escape outdoors, here are some simple exercises that can help you engage with nature by embracing your inner child:

• Find somewhere you can settle into a comfortable position and look up at the sky. If clouds are in the forecast, take a moment to observe any objects, shapes, or faces within them.  
• If you have access to a rooftop patio, take some time to soak in the view beyond the inner city. See how many natural wonders you can identify between yourself and the horizon.
• Head outside in the evening and you will see that sunsets are beautiful no matter where you are located. Think of how you might describe the colors if you were pitching new names for Crayola. At nightfall, you may notice that although light pollution may prevent you from seeing the stars, the moon is often visible in its various phases.

Look for Nature in Architecture

While this may seem like somewhat of a contradiction, you can find elements of nature in the buildings that surround you. Explore your city on foot and you will discover dwellings that seem to be returning to nature – whether in the ivy crawling up the walls, or little cracks and crevices with greenery reaching out of them. Take a jaunt through a local neighborhood and you will be sure to find little gardens; in our post-pandemic world people have gotten very creative with gardening in small spaces.

If you put on your architect’s hat you may also appreciate that some buildings were entirely designed with nature in mind. Such is the case of the Museum of History in my hometown (Ottawa, Canada); the dramatic structure is a symbolic representation of how humans found the land more than 15,000 years ago.

Happily, we will likely see more examples of nature in architecture as urban design is trending towards increased incorporation of natural elements, like Amazon’s Sphere conservatories in Seattle.

Try Visualization When You Can’t Get Outdoors

Maybe the weather’s just not cooperating with you – I get it, I come from the land of ice and snow. There are some wonderful mindfulness exercises you can try that bring you close to nature through the practice of visualization. My personal favorite goes a little something like this: 

1. Lay down in a comfortable position, whether reclined on your back, or perhaps a fetal position. Ensure you have a pillow, blanket, cozy sweater – whatever you need that helps you relax.
2. Start to focus on your breath, paying attention as it moves like a wave throughout your body. Try to lengthen your breath with each inhale and exhale.
3. Notice the contact points between your body and the ground, as you begin to sink a little bit deeper into the ground below you. Scan your body for any areas of tension, and see if you can bring a little softness to them with your breath.
4. As you continue to focus on your breath, imagine that the spots that your body is touching are rooting down into the earth. With every inhale, your body is drawing nutrients from the earth through your roots. With every exhale, you are rooted deeper into the ground beneath you. 
5. Visualize yourself rooted down next to a river. Maybe it’s a busy babbling brook, a quiet blue stream, or an expansive lake you find yourself by.
6. Your mind may start to drift away from the breath and towards your thoughts, as is our tendency. Rather than trying to push these thoughts or emotions that arise away, simply notice them, like leaves falling down from a tree that you can observe. And as you return your focus back to your breath, watch as they fall into the river and float away.
7. Stay here as long as you like.

If all else fails, pop on your favorite nature docuseries. Studies show that even watching scenes of nature can positively impact your mental state. 

Creating a deeper connection with the natural world is not impossible in an urban landscape. Seek and you will find.  

Written by Annie Slaby