Benefits of Meditating Outside

No matter your age, health, or lifestyle, meditation is good for just about everyone. Regular meditation practice can aid in lowering your blood pressure, reducing stress levels, and help to develop healthy coping mechanisms. No matter what kind of meditation you practice, you will come to see the positive benefits it brings you - both internal and external.

One of the best ways to meditate is to practice outside. When we meditate outside, there are typically less distractions. There are no screens, no social media, and other distractions that we find indoors on a daily basis. When meditating outside, it is important to find a calm, peaceful place where you can fully be at ease and present in the moment. This location does not need to be silent, but the ambient sounds should not distract you but rather pass through you as you meditate.

Outdoor meditation is beneficial for a number of reasons. One of which is that, simply put, nature is good for us! Studies have shown that people are more likely to heal in a hospital if they have a view of a tree or some other form of nature. Taking breaks during the day to go outside and breathe fresh air - particularly for those who work indoors or spend most of their time inside - has been shown to reduce the signs of depression and anxiety. It makes perfect sense that when you combine these two things, nature and meditation, that there would be phenomenal results.  

Additionally, meditating outside can help to strengthen the mind/ body connection. Outdoor transcendental meditation is particularly beneficial for this, as it is intended to promote a profound state of relaxed awareness. It has been shown that sitting still outside with relaxed limbs helps to create a stronger connection with our bodies

Outdoor meditation has also been shown to significantly decrease signs of depression and stress. Outdoor walking meditations are especially good for you as they help to lower your blood pressure.

Finally, when you meditate outside there is a deeper connection to the earth.  This connection allows us to find an acute sense of relaxation that separates us from the “real world” and allows us to delve deeper into our spiritual selves.