This year has taught us to move slower and take in the world with grace and gentle eyes. Moving slower brings down the walls for all of our senses. This includes emotions and deep feelings of sensitivity. Whenever I need to self pacify because the energy around me feels too overwhelming, I turn to nature.

These moments with nature can be used as rituals and practices to reawaken and restore the senses. Below are simple ways to connect with nature no matter where you live.

Look up at the sky as often as possible

Recognize the vastness of it, see the colors changing as the day moves through its phases. Notice the change in clouds and send words of gratitude to it for protecting us here on this planet. Take moments of stillness to simply observe the sky and breathe into it.

Exercise your sense of smell

Open a window and focus on the way the air smells, especially at different times of the day. Bring in rituals of burning sage and palo santo (sustainably) to both cleanse the air and offer the scent of nature into your home.

Notice how food smells and take time to honor where your body might be feeling most nourished by certain scents.

Learn from herbs

Become curious about using herbs for cooking. Find what you have in your cupboard and take time to really smell the herbs you already have.

Maybe even take a small amount in your hand, smell it, and experience how the herbs make you feel. Think of where in your body the herbs are energizing you. Does the smell of basil tingle the back of your neck? Does ginger energize your mood? Get curious.

Drink tea blends

Stock your cupboard with a variety of different teas that you know bring you comfort. I love to keep peppermint, ginger, tulsi, and yerba mate in my cupboard at all times.

Almost every night before I go to bed, I drink ginger or peppermint tea to help my digestive system settle down from the day. In the morning I have been replacing coffee with tulsi or Yerba mate, as they are both rich in flavor and delicious with a splash of plant-based milk and agave.

Work with Chakras

In my yoga classes, I often focus on a specific chakra I feel needs balancing in my body and within the world at large. I start by pulling a mudra card from my mudra card deck specific to the chakra I feel needs balancing.

Each chakra is associated with a different element. For instance, our solar plexus chakra is associated with the sun, the heart chakra is associated with air, and so on. Balancing the energy in our body, in turn, balances our energy with nature. If you’re looking to dive deeper into the chakras take my 7 Days Of Meeting The Physical Body With The Subtle Body course in the Coincide Membership Portal.

Wear natural fibers

While we are honoring the earth this week, we are also in Fashion Revolution Week. This organization has been my go-to for learning the many layers within the fashion industry. Take time to observe the fabric that makes up the clothing you wear. Start with looking at some of your favorite pieces and see if any are made from natural fabrics like organic cotton, linen, or silks.

Notice the way organic fabrics feel versus how synthetic fabrics feel. See if you can tell a difference in the quality of the piece. Wearing and buying natural fiber clothing not only benefits the earth but is also better for your body. In this post, I discuss why conscious denim matters for the plant. In this post, I discuss the benefits of wearing conscious fabrics while practicing yoga for the body.

There are many ways we can experience nature even if we are not immersed in her. Feeling nature is simply a practice in allowing ourselves to become one with it, wherever we are.