How to Destress in Times of High Stress
There is a tree out there waiting for you to come and sit with it. Destressing next to a tree can be incredibly healing, and it’s easy enough do.
All you have to do is locate a tree—and it can be anywhere: in your yard, a nearby park, or any other tree you feel particularly drawn to. Find that tree. This “pull” you feel emanating from it is its energy calling out to you. Yes. You.
Did you know that trees have not only a fungal network beneath the soil, but also a web of energy and communication above ground, just as we do? It is their energetic connection to each other and Mother Earth.
Trees have an invaluable service rarely talked about. Indigenous people the world over still understand this because they never severed the connection between themselves and Earth.
But you too can reconnect with Her. First, find the tree that you feel drawn to. Next, mentally ask the tree if you can sit with it for a while. Introduce yourself to it and ask if it can help to remove the stress you carry.
You will feel the tree’s response to you as a gentle pull or tug toward it. You may also feel enveloped by warmth or a sense of fullness in your chest. These are all signs of, “Yes, come sit with me.”
Next, sit down, with your back against the tree. Close your eyes. Breathe in deeply through your nose, into your stomach, and out through your mouth. Do this slowly three times. Do not cross your arms, your wrists, or your ankles. Just sink into the tree and allow it to bring Mother Earth’s loving energy up through your feet, legs, and torso. As this lifegiving energy fills you, it will spill across your shoulders, arms, wrists, and fingers. The gentle pulsating will flow up through your neck, and into your head. Last, picture an opening at the top of your head and visualize this healing light move upward from within you and connect with the cosmos that surrounds you.
Remain like this until you feel like opening your eyes and returning to the here and now of the third dimension. You should feel better and less stressed. Practice this technique as often as you like—with the tree’s permission.
