Exploring the Health and Healing Benefits of Nature

July 18, 2022 Joe Brady

As we all marvel at the brand new photographs by the James Webb telescope it is overwhelming to realize that we are also a product of the awesome beauty of nature. We are indeed stardust, as the elements being created by those distant galaxies are the same elements that evolve into the elements that create a life here on earth. Modern scientists and ancient Taoist philosophers both conclude that we and the natural world we live in are one and cannot be separated. We are not separate from nature, we are one with nature even though we have spent a good deal of our history conquering nature and indeed defiling it with our waste. “Science merely bears witness to the wisdom of the Tao” Professor Wen-Shan Huang a well-known sociologist, anthropologist, editor, and author and my original tai chi teacher.” The Dao, or the Way, is the approach in accord with the flow of Nature. The basic idea of the Taoists is to enable people to realize that, since human life is really only a small part of a larger process of nature, the human life which makes sense are those which are in harmony with nature” Zhong Daosong, Taoist master at Baiyun Temple.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/3d3d674d7a45444f34457a6333566d54/index.html

Modern scientists today are rediscovering the role that “natures therapy” has in human health. This month’s grand rounds at the Harvard Medical School’s Osher Center for Integrative Medicine were entitled ‘Nature Nurtures: Exploring the Health and Healing Benefits of Being Connected to Mother Earth.’ This special edition was presented by Dr. David Victorson, from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and served to launch our new Integrative Medicine and Planetary Health program line.

This presentation will provide an overview of some of the known health benefits of spending time in green and blue spaces, including a review of research best practices and recommendations for future inquiry. Links will be made between individual health outcomes and the health of our planet. Finally, data will be presented on psychosocial and biological outcomes from a nature-based program with young adults affected by cancer and their caregivers.

Watch the video Grand Rounds Here

https://youtu.be/al76L71kUsk