362: Discover the Healing Power of Nature: 5 Reasons to Get Outdoors for Better Health

Maya Acosta  00:00

In today's episode, we talk to you about why you need to spend more time outdoors in nature. Welcome back to another episode of the healthy lifestyle solutions podcast. I'm your host, Maya Acosta. And today I have Dr. Risks. You know what that means? Dr. Risk,

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  00:16

it's time for another episode of

Maya Acosta  00:19

Doctor in that house. That is our segment that we have every Monday when Dr. Rizwan Bukhari, my husband, Dr. Risk, today, we're going to be talking about why people need to spend time outdoors and we have five reasons why you need to spend time outdoors and then we're going to tell you give you some tips on how you can get started on doing that. All right, let's get started. This is the healthy lifestyle solutions podcast and I'm your host Maya Acosta. If you're willing to go with me, together, we can discover how simple lifestyle choices can help improve our quality of life and increase our longevity in a good way. Let's get started. Okay, friends before we tell you five reasons that you need to spend time in nature, I want to give you some updates and information. If you have been following me on Instagram healthy lifestyle solutions, you'll know that I've been going live mainly I've been wanting to promote the speakers that are going to be part of the peaceful planet Foundation's annual retreat on October 7. I mentioned that I'm going to emcee that event. And so one of the things that I've done is I've contacted some of the speakers including the founders Dr. Moniz and Dr. Vandana Charla they both join me this past week on live and I go on around 12 one or 2pm depending on the schedule of my guests. And so I'm going to put a link in the show notes for you to follow me tomorrow because tomorrow I have Michelle Yasuda, she's coming on to talk about the Docu series that is on Netflix on longevity. That's a Dan Buettner production. And we recently spoke about that Dr. Risk.

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  02:06

Yep, I think we did an episode about the his show. But we've also done some episodes on Blue Zones in general.

Maya Acosta  02:11

Yes. So we hear on the podcast tried to promote Blue Zone living. And so Michelle does too. She's in California and her husband, actually, his family is from Okinawa. Oh, wow. I didn't know that. Yeah, so that's why Blue Zones. The whole idea of Blue Zone living is such a wonderful topic that they also focus on. So please follow me tomorrow. I'd love to hear your comments. While I'm interacting with her live. It's always fun to hear from everyone that's watching. Alright, so that's that. I want to remind you guys that Dr. Oz and I are camping this coming weekend, September 22 through 24th. With people here in our community, and it just happens to be that seven couples decided that they wanted to be part of this event.

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  02:57

Yeah, and how timely this topic is today, considering that we're gonna be doing some camping and getting outdoors.

Maya Acosta  03:05

Yeah. And you know, what we did is we got on a zoom call once we figured out who wanted to go. And we got on the Zoom call and brainstorm what we wanted this weekend to be like, and of course, they wanted a theme. And of course, I was going to give them the blue zone living theme. And so I decided, well, let's use that as our foundation for this coming weekend. I'm going to give you the four things about Blue Zone living that we've spoken about recently, a doctor is and I did an episode but so our potluck is going to be a plant slant potluck. And so I gave everyone sort of a list of options of foods that you would find in the blue zones. And then we are going to incorporate natural movement. So for that we have lots of things that will be part of that. We'll have hot hiking and kayaking. We're going to try to do some gentle yoga, and then also cornhole beanbag toss. I don't know seems a

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  04:06

weird name cornhole, isn't it? You know, that's kind of the thing that's happening these days where you tossed that beanbag into the holes and I was thought that was a weird name cornhole?

Maya Acosta  04:17

Yeah, there's got to be some history behind it that we can look up all right and if weather permits and people are also interested we'll just have a walk led by our very own Dr. Risk wearing hopefully our Walk With A Doc shirts so that was the second component of the the stocky series they talked about natural movement, the third one was connecting. And so basically as a group we're gonna watch the sunset and then we'll have all these activities that will connect us can't have a campfire this time Dr. Wrist

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  04:49

yeah, pretty bummed out about that I enjoy who doesn't love a good fire or you know, campfire or something. But there's a burn ban. Understandably, there's a burn ban going on right now because there's been a bit Have a drought. Okay, so

Maya Acosta  05:01

the third component connecting number four is just having that positive outlook that you find. And these blue zones where people live the longest without advanced diseases. And so to do some of that inner work, we had another member suggest that we do some positive messages on rocks. And she gave us the website called the kindness rocks project. And that's an you can go to the website if you'd like. But you can learn more about how just taking that time to contemplate write on rocks, and and leave these positive messages I hopefully other people can find. It's so good for the spirit. And I know that this member, say the show, ask the Rangers if it's okay to leave these rocks, at the campsite. So that's what we're looking for. We look forward to and we can't wait to share with you what the weekend look like for us. Because, again, we know that spending time in nature is so good for us. And so we're trying to be more deliberate in terms of of doing that spending time in nature. So we recently just had a walk Dr. Risk this past Saturday, that was September 16. And it was also well attended. You spoke about fall prevention.

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  06:15

Yeah, it was, I think it's national fall prevention, week or month. And so it was a great topic to talk about, it's really not something that people talk a lot about, but it's pretty significant and important in our society. Falls are, you know, they occur, they occur more in our aging and elderly population. And so talking about ways to recognize people who are at risk for falls, and then also trying to find ways to mitigate that risk and create fall prevention strategies, I think is very important.

06:50

Absolutely. And as a matter of fact, in the show notes, I will also include a link to the video that is now edited. When possible, I try to film and record every lecture or short talk that Dr. Risk provides at these walks. And so you can now watch it just because you can't walk in our community doesn't mean you can't learn from Dr. Riz and what he shares with our community. Our next walk, if you're local will be October 22. We're changing it to a Sunday. Typically, it's the third Saturday. We have another commitment was shipped Giulia on the 21st. So on the 22nd, Sunday, we are walking at 1pm. And the theme for that walk is breast cancer awareness.

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  07:35

Yes. So I'll give a short talk on breast cancer awareness.

Maya Acosta  07:40

Yes. And again, we're gonna give you tips associated with lifestyle medicine so that you can learn how, how to reduce your risk for developing breast cancer. We never say how to prevent, because we can't guarantee that.

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  07:55

Yeah, I mean, I think that, you know, there's so many strategies that are based on early detection of breast cancer, which is great. But I think even more importantly, is to try to do our best to prevent breast cancer. And there's a lot of lifestyle strategies that we can teach you that help you markedly reduce your risk of breast cancer. Our October walk will be indoors, because, you know, there's still the possibility that, you know, it may be a little bit warm.

08:21

That's right, we always walk at North Park Mall. We mainly walk there this year, because of the heat. And it is also the last walk of the year for us because we have so many things happening in November and December that we have to cancel the walks those two months. And so since we didn't want to make additional changes that can confuse people we decided let's keep this last walk at the mall. Okay, so thank you for that reminder. Before we get started on nature, Dr. Is I'd love to share with our listeners what we did this weekend. We had a wonderful weekend full of surprises and and also a social gathering that we attended. Oh really?

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  09:02

What surprises were those? Well,

09:05

first of all, we went to this sort of had a fine dining experience at a fully plant based restaurant in Fort Worth is called Madan M AI d n. I think they've only been open about three months and we've been very curious about going and so it's by reservation only they either have a four course meal or an eight course meal. And we decided to go this Friday. Yes, we did. Yeah. afterwards. You surprise me sort of tricked me said that we had dinner.

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  09:39

It's a surprise not a trick.

Maya Acosta  09:42

trick in the sense that

09:44

you told me to. We we you didn't know where we were going to park so to take comfortable shoes and and then once we drove away from the restaurant, I thought we parked right in front of the restaurant. But it didn't even hit me at that moment until we started driving away and Rizhao told me that we were going to watch a movie like Mission Impossible Anyway, the thing is that there was a story behind what would happen after dinner. And we ended up driving in an area that I said, Wait a minute, there is no movie theater around here. And then I didn't know but Dickies arena. I didn't know it was an arena. I just saw a huge building with lots of parking. And then it turns out that you were taking me to

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  10:24

Pearl Jam. Yes, Pearl Jam concert.

Maya Acosta  10:29

Pearl Jam is only doing like a five city, maybe seven city tour this year. And Fort Worth is about depending on traffic and be between 30 minutes to an hour distance from where we live.

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  10:41

Yeah. So they're doing what they call, I guess, a mini tour. And I think originally there was only like five venues or five places. But I think they've added a couple more. Oh, but still, that's a very limited number of venues. And, you know, we're just fortunate that they were coming close to us.

10:58

Yeah. Oh my god, that was such a surprise. I didn't expect that. I'm just I haven't been to a concert in years. I think it's our first concert ever together.

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  11:09

Yeah, yeah. We've been to some live music events. But you can call them concerts. Yeah, we

11:13

do a lot of things that are interesting like that. But we've never gone to a concert concert. I don't know why. But the thing is that I really enjoyed this one. It was a lot of fun, very packed.

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  11:23

Yeah, it was it was a lot of fun. All right,

11:26

then we had our walk on Saturday. And then today's Sunday, when we're recording this episode, we went to another social gathering with Pat and Diane Doyle. They are friends of ours that are not far from us, who also support people in going plant based. And it was really nice. They were offering a potluck. There. They've been doing a book study of the China Study, like they've been setting that as a group. And to wrap up that book. They invited Kim Campbell, and Dr. T. Colin Campbell, on a live streaming event so that we could interact with them and ask them questions. Yeah,

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  12:03

that was, that's really amazing. It's great that Diane reached out and amazing that Dr. Campbell, gave some time for us.

Maya Acosta  12:12

But if you're not familiar with the China study, I recommend that you read that because it's really the science behind what happens when you consume too much protein, animal based protein.

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  12:24

Yeah, it really is kind of the book that is one of the main books that set the basis of the whole food plant based diet are a whole food plant based nutrition movement. And the large population studies that were done by Dr. Campbell, show the significant differences in chronic disease outcomes based on people's diets. Yep,

12:46

exactly. And it's a thick book. I mean, it's got so much research in it. But I think it's one of the first books that people read, when they're really learning about this lifestyle and why having more plant based foods in your life is good for your health. All right, should we get started on our topic of the day? Yes, ma'am. We should. All right. So nature's health prescription five reasons to get outdoors. So spending time in nature offers a multitude of physical, mental and emotional benefits, as we have already said. So here are five compelling reasons why you should prioritize spending time in nature in natural environments, and we're going to go down the list, but I'm going to give them to you right now. Number one is just the point straight stress reduction. Number two, improve mental health. Number three, enhance physical health. Number four, increase creativity and focus. Number five, connection and well being, you know, there's a member interest group for the American College of lifestyle medicine that's called Nature is medicine. And actually, it's a subcommittee, and it's a very interactive group, they meet once a month, and I'm a member of it. As a result, I learned about so many great books. So in the past, you probably have heard me talk about Shinrin Yoku, which is forest bathing in my experience in a wahoo. Well, I just recently learned from them about the nature fix written by Florence Williams. Now I am just reading this book for the first time. So I typically don't recommend a book on this. I read it, but I can already tell it's a good book and I just kind of want to tell you a little bit about it. In case right now you want to download it or you want to purchase the book. This is a great way to begin to understand that no matter what age you are, spending time in nature is good for your health. This book is called the nature fix why nature makes us happier, healthier and more creative by Florence Williams. An intrepid investigation into nature's restorative benefits by a prize winning author and she sets forth Centuries poets and philosophers extolled the benefits of a walk in the woods. Beethoven drew inspiration from rocks and trees worse worth composed while trumping over the heath Nikola Tesla conceived the electric motor while visiting a park. Intrigued by by our storied renewal in the natural world, Florence Williams sets out to uncover the science behind nature's positive effects on the brain. From forest trails in Korea to islands in Finland to groves of eucalyptus in California, Williams investigates the science of the confluence of environment, mood, health and creativity. Delving into the completely new research, she uncovers the powers of the natural world to improve health, Promote Reflection and innovation, and ultimately strengthen our relationships. As our modern lives shift dramatically endorse these ideas and answers they yield are more urgent than ever. Ideas do come to me when I'm walking or spending time in nature. Does that happen to you?

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  16:04

Yeah, I mean, I think that when you're getting out outdoors, you know, I, I like to get outside and walk or exercise outdoors. And when I'm with myself, it's kind of a form of solitude and reflection. Sometimes I'm listening to music, but sometimes it's quiet. And I'm thinking and yeah, things can come to you. What I think about is that, I think for many of us, there's this natural attraction to getting outdoors, there's a lot of people who like to get outside and do something, you know, whether it's playing sports, or taking a walk, or going to a park or taking a walk or going hiking or going camping, there's a lot of people are drawn to the outdoors. And I think there's something behind that. That's very innate and very natural that we're drawn to, that's very much a part of us. And, and so it, it feeds our soul in many different ways that think you've kind of outlined, you know, kind of very much organized a manner in which, you know, it does help us I try to find ways to get outdoors, and combine, you know, what it is, you know, whether I'm going for a walk, when I when I used to run I, I always used to choose to run outdoors, then rather than run on a treadmill, if I could, you know, maybe in bad weather or something like that, or if it was too hot. But if I had the opportunity, I ran outside, and I would try to find a golf course, because it's green, I've been kicked off of golf courses before. Because I don't think they want people making a habit of jogging on the golf courses, because then they'd have too many people taking over. But I even got chased off the golf course and where I used to live, and I thought I was allowed to be there. But no, my point being that I enjoyed being out there in the green area, but I find it to be very meditative, and very zen like, very much to disconnect from the busy world and, and get into a different environment. So I always tried to find a way to combine my love for exercise and, and getting healthy that way along with getting outdoors. And getting all that benefit of being out there.

18:03

That's wonderful. I feel like nature calls us you heard me say that I already started reading the nature fix. And one of the things that Lauren says early on is how we block ourselves from nature we we see nature as being scary and things are happening out there and the little creatures and we might get sick, and other things like that. For whatever reason we have this perspective. Some some people want to be closed off and not outdoors. Well, I was raised to be more outdoors by my dad. That's where my love for camping came from. I have lots of photos of us going we that's also why I have a love for Van life. Because we often took road trips, I mean, that's what we could afford, we might not be able to afford to travel overseas, or to another country. But we were able to afford spending time in nature. And so we would go I grew up in Phoenix and we would go up up north. So Flagstaff, Grand Canyon, Sedona, and then other nearby lakes. So my love for water came from having a boat, a speedboat that we spend time on. And then of course, camping in general. And then there was a time when we lived in a home that had so much land around us. That's where my love for Gilligan's Island came from spending time outdoors and pretending like I'm on an island. So I feel like I was always drawn to being outdoors. Okay, let's start with number one and I'm what it does in terms of stress reduction. So nature has a calming effect on the mind and body exposure to natural settings can lower stress levels reduce cortisol, a stress hormone production, and promote relaxation. The sights and the sounds of nature helps soothe the nervous system leading to a sense of peace and tranquility.

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  19:53

Cortisol is part of our our stress response and it actually has a rhythm in the body also which helps us right relate our sleep cycle and our our wake cycle. It's a stress hormone. And unfortunately with our our highly stressful lives today, our cortisol levels are often times elevated all the time. And that's not really the way we were designed or what it was meant to be. And so getting out into nature does help reduce our cortisol levels and reduce our stress or physiologic stress that we experienced, you know, by reducing our cortisol levels

Maya Acosta  20:27

were affected by our immediate surroundings. So I know that I definitely was a lot more relaxed living in San Diego just by nature because of the things that fostered my interests. Number two, improve mental health. So nature has been linked to improve mental well being timespan in green spaces can alleviate symptoms of anxiety and depression, enhance mood, boosts self esteem and increased feelings of happiness. Nature provides a respite from the demands and pressures of daily life, I have like three books on forest bathing, but they talk about the doctor in Japan, and that was doing these kinds of studies with volunteers where they would spend X amount of time in the woods, and then he would check on them to see how they're doing with some of the symptoms. And we learned that I want to say like a weekend, immersed in nature, can continue to have those beneficial effects. 30 days after that exposure,

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  21:29

I mean, I know personally, getting outdoors, you know, spending time in nature. And even just thinking back to the times when I would just go exercise outdoors. I know that would make me feel better, I'd have enhanced positive feelings, you know, just feel more positive, I can see then how it can reduce anxiety and depression certainly was enhancing my mood.

Maya Acosta  21:52

So we have this goal of hopefully trying to get out in nature once a month, sort of like camping, I don't know how realistic it is. But that is our goal to try to, you know, adjust our lives to be able to do that. Because we love spending time in our van, you don't have to have a van to spend time in nature. But this is what we do to make it even easier and more convenient because we can also cook healthier meals in our van. Alright, number three, enhance physical health. So engaging in outdoor activities in nature encourages physical activity, which is essential for overall health. Whether it's hiking, biking, or simply walking in a park. These activities improve cardiovascular fitness, strengthen muscle and support weight management. The natural environment also offers cleaner air and increase exposure to sunlight, which is, of course something that we want vitamin D.

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  22:48

Yeah, I mean, I don't even have anything else to say, because I've been already speaking about all that stuff.

Maya Acosta  22:53

Right. So let's talk about this weekend, I briefly mentioned how we have these activities plan, we have a hiking in a kayaking, hopefully a nice group walk,

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  23:03

I think there's various ways that you can enjoy the outdoors. And so you know, you can be as simple as, you know, nice, a nice, slow stroll, or you can do a power walk or, or you can go hiking with a backpack. And you know, on trails, which may be a little bit more difficult. So I think there's various different ways. And each one does kind of reward you in different distinct ways to

Maya Acosta  23:24

that's a good point that you made. And as a matter of fact, this reminds me of an article that I was recently reading put out by the Blue Zones project. And it was an article about an individual with cancer, who had previously had a history of hiking, but the serious type hiking where you're elevating, and you're trying to reach summits and all of this, and this person became sort of disabled because of treatments. And so instead, she had to track a more flat trail. And she realized that when she had been doing more of this endurance hiking, she was missing out on the beauty of nature because she was so focused on reaching this goal, suddenly, when she's physically limited and not as able doesn't have a lot of strength. Now she's enjoying more of that straight. I don't know how you call it like a flat hike. And so the reason we're even talking about this is we want to encourage you to get out and not always focus on the idea that you know, you have to be young and strong and you have to hike for 20 miles we just want to encourage you to get out and and really spend time in nature. at your level.

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  24:34

Yeah, take time to smell the roses. So yeah, you know, even when I'm hiking, I try not to be so focused on just the hike and the physical activity of it, but also enjoy your surroundings. You know, keep your eyes open, look around. I enjoy looking for different flora and fauna, different plants, different flowers, trying to spot different animals. All that stuff is a lot of fun. So,

Maya Acosta  24:56

and I'm sort of laughing because and talking about spotting Animals I remember when we did that cap rock hike we did I think it was five or six miles. And the whole time we were wondering, are we going to see bison. And then towards the very end of our hike, we see four bison right there in between us and our van.

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  25:17

Yeah, we retired. You know, we were just really looking forward to getting back to the van so we can get back to our campsite. And we literally had to stop and keep our distance and wait for them. They just they weren't in any hurry either. I wonder if they were just kind of keeping an eye on us. And but it's pretty funny in retrospect,

Maya Acosta  25:33

yeah. Especially Be careful what you wish for. Because by the time that I was actually able to see these magnificent creatures, I was actually scared. They were big, huge. And now, you know, they say that they typically don't attack people. And as people are harassing them, the ones we

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  25:50

were we see those videos on YouTube, where they've been, I mean, people are going up right up to them. I mean, we were, we were scared to get within 100 yards of them. And so but in the Texas State Parks, you're not supposed to get within 50 yards of any bison. And if there's babies, then you have to be 100 yards away.

Maya Acosta  26:08

Number four, increase creativity and focus. And we've sort of talked a little bit about this nature stimulates creativity and enhances cognitive function. I wonder if it's the fresh air, spending time in natural settings can boosts problem solving skills, Spark innovative thinking and improve attention and concentration. It provides a mental recent helping individuals return to their tasks with greater clarity and creativity. Now, earlier when I was talking about nature fix, you know, we we mentioned great thinkers like Nikola Tesla, inventors and people that drew inspiration from nature. And I did ask you, does that happen to you because it happens to me often that for some reason, even though I'm not thinking about work, or ideas for anything, podcast, social media, whatever it may be, the ideas start to flow when I'm in nature.

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  27:07

Now or for me, taking these breaks, whether be on a daily basis, where you're just going for a walk, or maybe a longer break, where you're going on vacation, whether it's a beach vacation, or what we like to do either something on our van or a camping vacation or going to the sailboat and being on the water, all those things helped me kind of just relax, and then be able to better focus when I come back.

Maya Acosta  27:32

Absolutely. All right, number five connection and well being nature fosters a sense of connection to the environment to others and to oneself, it promotes mindfulness and encourages people to be present in the moment. Nature also cultivates a greater sense of gratitude and appreciation for the world around us, which contributes to overall well being

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  27:55

you know, when you're inside, you're just like, inside four walls. And there's nothing exciting about it, nothing fantastic about it, but you get outdoors in nature, and you're experiencing Mother Nature, you know, and whether it's the, you know, mountains or you know, the, the hills or the forests or all this grandiose, pneus the water the ocean and stuff like that, all that really helps me, you know, connect and have a sense of for something greater than us. Yeah, you know, and then so it's for me, it's very, but it also is very, you know, makes me be in the moment, like I said, I take time to smell the roses. And then it's very zen like, for me, it's very calming, it's very meditative.

Maya Acosta  28:34

This is very interesting. Even when we are indoors. We're yearning for outdoors. And we and we do that through

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  28:40

videos. I watch a lot of YouTube videos for all these things. Yeah,

Maya Acosta  28:44

yeah. And and how amazing is that, that if we just went say to White Rock and rented a kayak, we would probably have even a greater feeling than watching it by video. But we naturally at least us, we naturally enjoy those videos. And I recently discovered a documentary that I want to share with all of you a little bit later. But it's a story of there are many great stories of people that have completed the Camino, Santiago de Compostela. That pilgrimage in North of Spain. And there's a story I want to share with all of you but the main point of this is that watching films like that actually inspired me because they are in nature. And they're stories of perseverance and endurance. So all right, friends, now you might be listening to us and you might say, okay, yeah, that sounds fine and whatever. But how do I even do it? I live in Dallas, for example, we live in Dallas, we live in a very busy city. I plan my life around the traffic here. That's how congested it is. So we want to give you a list of things I you you know that hopefully he can help you to get started in terms of spending time in nature, number one schedule nature time. So tree time in nature as a non negotiable part of Your weekly routine just like you schedule work meetings, and appointments, scheduled outdoor activities or nature walks into your calendar. This ensures that you set aside dedicated time for nature regularly. This sort of reminds me of the fact that, you know, I talked about how I grew up, we used to spend a lot of time at the park, which is why I love to picnic, you. And I like spending time on our hammock in between trees whenever possible, which reminds me we got to take hammocks for this weekend. But for me, you know, you can have a date with your significant other or your family on the weekends. I mean, when the pandemic happen and the world shut down, we spent a lot of time at a nearby lake and park, picnicking and enjoying it with our hammocks. Number two, start small. So if you're new to spending time in nature, begin with short outings, you know, even a 15 minute walk in a nearby park during your lunch break can make a difference and gradually increase the duration of your outdoor activities as you become more comfortable. Now, this makes me think of the times when I was younger. And, you know, I grew up with a lot of issues in my family. But one of the things I would do when we you know we lived in a house is I would just go for a walk and I would spend time at a park near my house. And that is how I was able to sort of process some of the anxiety and frustration that I was feeling. But it's a good way to kind of disconnect from the chaos that you might be experiencing at work or at home. And if you are at work and you have some sort of a park or place to walk, you know, I recommend taking your shoes off, because that way you can ground by connecting with the earth. And you know just feel the the the grass underneath your feet that's very soothing as well find nature nearby. So look for natural settings close to where you live or work like urban parks, green spaces, and even botanical gardens can provide a quick escape to nature without the need for extensive travel. And, you know, ways that I love Botanical Gardens. Those are some of my favorite things, places to visit, you can even have a membership so that you're not spending so much money. Also some of these places have discounted days, you just have to look for that. Incorporate nature into daily routine. So find ways to integrate nature into your daily life. For example, instead of eating lunch at your desk, have a picnic in a nearby park, or use your commute time to listen to nature sounds or podcasts about nature and well being. I usually say that when I'm struggling to sleep, I use the calm app. And the comm app has a lot of nature sounds so the app can either help you take a restorative break during the day. Or you can listen to sounds of nature as you're trying to sleep or to fall back asleep. Sometimes when I'm here during the day, and I'm very busy, but I'm cooking as well. I'll play something nature, some nature sounds for myself and my dog. And that sort of calms him as well involve friends and family. So encourage your your loved ones to join in outdoor adventures, spending time in nature can be shared. It is also a bonding experience and often more enjoyable when you have company. And you know, this weekend that we're going camping actually evolved that way. So I wanted a camp with risks. And then I said what do you think about us inviting other people because I know we enjoy it. So why not share something that we enjoy with other community members? And that's how we got all of this started?

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  33:38

Yeah, for me, I like I like, you know, kind of a mix of both. Sometimes I like to do things on my own, you know, kind of where I have my own quiet time or, you know, it's very personal. And then other times that I like to share and invite other people. So you know you can do you can have it all.

Maya Acosta  33:53

That's right. I'm also an introvert, we're both introverts. So we require a lot of quiet time and personal time and then we also enjoy other people. And when I first got started in even doing meditative walks, anytime in nature long ago, before podcasts existed, I would play walking meditation recordings, and you can probably download them from YouTube and other places like that. But it's a guided meditation towards spending time in nature that helps you become aware of your surroundings and even tells you like how to take your steps so that you're you know, more connected to nature. Okay, so unplug and disconnect. So when you're in nature make an effort to disconnect from digital devices. Leave your phone in your bag or turn on airport airplane mode to fully immerse yourself in the natural environment and reduce distractions. This was always going to be tricky when you enjoy watching content on social media or you know you have responsibilities associated with family or work practice mindfulness while they nature practice mindfulness by focusing on your surroundings. taking deep breaths, and truly experiencing the sights, sounds and smells around you. And this enhances the therapeutic benefits of your outdoor time. Other things that you can do, and you're going to find these in places like meetup.com, you can join other groups, enthusiast people that love nature, just like you do, or that are just as curious. So we have a walk group on meetup. And so you know that we are a part of Walk With A Doc, but we advertise it on meetup.com. And but there are other groups, you know, hiking groups and cycling groups and other places, you know, people traveled together to nature. And so there are many ways that you can find someone that will accompany you in in your love for nature. So consider joining, you know, local nature or hiking clubs. And all of these can provide a sense of community and offer opportunities to explore new outdoor spaces with like minded individuals. And then finally, just make it a habit. The key to reaping the benefits of nature is consistency. So trees, spending time in nature as a habit that you want to cultivate over time, it will become a natural part of your lifestyle.

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  36:10

Yeah, man, I think you got to think of it as a way of taking care of yourself, and make it an important part of your overall health. You know, and so you've got, you know, if you ignore it, you're not going to be any better for it. So you really have to pay attention to your own needs as well.

Maya Acosta  36:27

Yes, you know, Shangri Yoku also encourages you to bring nature into your home. So if you can't get out, maybe in your home have plants and flowers, well, mainly plants that are easy to maintain, that can help you feel connected to the outside world. And then you know, even stepping outside, I for me, I don't have a problem being barefoot, as long as you know, like, the other day, I was trying to convince my mother to spend time in nature. And all she could think about is what she can step. What if she steps on something that cuts her or hurt her. Because that's how people think of nature. For me, it's all safe and beautiful. That's my mentality when it comes to nature. But yeah, you know, you got to find a place that's appropriate and safe for you that you will enjoy visiting over and over again, anything else you'd like to say about this topic?

Dr. Rizwan Bukhari  37:19

Well, that's interesting, you talk about the plants and stuff like that, I remember, when I was a single guy in medical school, and I lived in a small two bedroom place, I had nearly 40 Different plants. Yeah, and that was actually kind of one of my hobbies and, but I really enjoyed it, taking care of them, nurturing them, you know, watering them, you know, just trying to create healthy plants and put so my apartment looked like a lush jungle. And so I really enjoyed that kind of having all that greenery inside my space and, and just both both enjoying it and having it there and taking care of it.

Maya Acosta  37:57

Hmm. I know that that's one thing that we are that we try to do together and where I patio is I've had I've lost plants that way either from a freeze when we traveled, or now the heat is very hard for me, but I did have what is easy for me are IVs and I have one crawling up the kitchen wall right now. So that's pretty easy to maintain, and also the other ones like cacti, or what are the other ones that succulents are so easy to maintain. Having something like that even in your office space near your computer, just something that you can look at that, you know comes from nature is so beautiful and soothing. Even the sound like a little waterfall, the sound of water is also very soothing. And so I'm going to put a link to recommend other books. If you're interested in just starting to learn about the benefits of nature. Definitely check out like I said the book that I'm starting to read right now called the nature fix. If you haven't seen the Docu series on longevity by Dan Buettner, I'm gonna put the link also in the show notes so that you can check that out. We are so excited about this trip that we're taking this weekend. We're going in our van. So now the next thing for me this week is meal planning. I'll share with all of you what I did for two and a half days or so of camping and I plan on taking photos hopefully some videos that I can share on social media so that you can see how we are able to share our love for nature with other people who also enjoy nature. Alright friends, it's been so much fun talking to you about nature. Have a wonderful week and look out for my upcoming interview on Wednesday. Remember that I always have an interview on Wednesday. Until next time, thank you for listening. Bye. You've been listening to the healthy lifestyle solutions podcast with your host Maya Acosta. If you've enjoyed this content, please share with one friend who can benefit. You can also leave us a five star review at rate this podcast.com forward slash H L S This helps us to spread our message as always thank you for being a listener