The connection between nature and yoga is inextricable. It is impossible to talk about one without the other.

The word Yoga translates as union. When we practice Yoga our main aim is to connect with simply what is, in the moment. And with the self; the self that is beyond ego, beyond the labels we put on ourselves and others, beyond thoughts and emotions. We try to calm what’s known as the chitta vritti, the mental fluctuations of the mind, by anchoring ourselves in the body using the breath.

When we come to this place of stillness there is no real difference between us, nature and the world around us. We are united with simply what is, as it is in the moment. When we are suffering with anxiety and an overactive mind that is ruminating on the past, or worrying about the future, we are disconnected with what is, with our inner-nature, and thus the nature around us. You could walk through the most beautiful forest, teaming with life and full of bird-song but never really experience it if the mind is constantly somewhere else.

Yoga allows us, every time we come to the mat, to practice this, by using the body as a vehicle to calm down the mind. We calm the mind by noticing the sensations, thoughts and feelings that are arising in the body, and by bringing ourselves back to the breath over and over. Sometimes we might stray, get taken away to another time or place and that’s fine, the thoughts will come, but that is all just a part of the practice. We gently, and without judgement guide ourselves back to the present moment. The more we practice this, the more it begins to seep into your daily life off the mat. You become more in-tune with what is going on around you and life ceases to pass in such a blur, we are not sleepwalking through life, but appreciating the texture of it all, and taking whatever moments we can to learn about the nature of ourselves and of reality.

When we practice Yoga outside in nature, we are more in touch with the elements. You can smell the earthy smells, hear the sounds of nature all around you, you can feel the air on your skin. If you are practising barefoot you are connecting directly with the earth, with no layers of separation. We don’t have to be practising asana, or yoga postures, to practice yoga outdoors, if yoga is simply union with what then that is available to us wherever we go, whatever we are doing. A walk in the woods can become a yoga practice. You can try to take each step mindfully, engaging the mind in the simple but amazing act of walking. All the different muscles that are working that allow us to walk, the feeling of our feet connecting with the earth each every step we take. We can feel the bark of the trees, listen to the leaves and twigs snapping underneath our feet.

‘Walking with mindfulness is being the sacred centre of the world. When we are fully attentive to the experience of taking a step, in that moment we are totally free from any mental torment. We are truly at peace.’

 Michelle McDonald-Smith, Voices of Insight edited by Sharon Salzberg. 

Many of the yoga poses we practice have animal or nature related names. When we take these poses we are embodying the nature of the animal, the essence of it. Tree pose for example, where we are standing on one leg, we stabilise ourselves by pressing the foot down into the earth, as if we were sending roots out into the ground. We can visualise the tree, standing tall and proud. Trees that come in all shapes and sizes, like human bodies do. Trees that sometimes fall, but that’s OK because it’s all part of the flow of life. We do sun salutations as we bow to the rising sun, moon salutations to honour the cycles of the moon. Breath of fire, is a breath technique that requires a lot of focus and is said to fill the body ‘prana’ or life-force energy.

Yoga is a celebration of nature, a celebration of ourselves coming back home to nature, our potential ability like the trees and the mountains, to weather the storms of life, to be calm in the centre of it all. Our ability, like the lotus, to rise up out of the mud and bloom.

Visit www.wildyogabristol.com. You can book through the website and you can contact them for your first lesson for free!

The studio is set in the heart of Westbury Wildlife Park. Enjoy the sound of bird songs and the flowing river in every class. They have regular classes and workshops weekly in a variety of styles and for all levels.

We love Wild Yoga! ❤️