“Action on behalf of life transforms. Because the relationship between self and the world is reciprocal, it is not a question of first getting enlightened or saved and then acting. As we work to heal the earth, the earth heals us.”

― Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants

I spent the past year training with Buddhist teacher Mark Coleman through the Awake in the Wild apprenticeship to offer mindfulness-based nature immersions.

I was drawn to spend the past few years immersing myself in nature-based contemplative practice and Buddhist training environments: camping in the open wilderness on silent meditation retreats; living at nature-based Buddhist monasteries and retreat centers; and training at permaculture farms and medicinal gardens.

I wrote my Master’s thesis on my findings from these explorations and the links I was exploring between nature, self-inquiry, and Buddhist meditation. I also wrote a feature piece for Columbia University’s Mindfulness Newsletter on how nature teaches wordless dharma.

Meditate in Nature

Meditation lineages for thousands of years have gained wisdom and insight through nature. Nowhere do we feel more alive, vibrant, and attuned than outdoors. In contemplative silence and immersion, nature works on us in profound ways. Our senses are heightened, our body is relaxed but alert, our mind moves at a more natural pace that soothes the nervous system. I guide nature meditation through simple but effective practices to help us land more deeply into our inner & outer worlds:

• Foundational mindfulness practices: mindfulness of breath, body, thoughts, and emotions

• Skygazing, stargazing, sunset, & sunrise practices: learning to dissolve into a more spacious mind

• Grounding sensory practice: tuning into sights, sounds, and sensations as self-soothing tools during moments of anxiety or panic

• Four Elements: experiencing the elements of air, fire, water, and earth within us and around us

• Heart practices: Loving Kindness (Metta) and Compassion practice to receive warmth and radiate it outwards toward all of life

• Movement practices: walking meditation and informal meandering with curiosity - learn to explore like a child

Mindfulness Skills

Mindfulness: Mindfulness is an invitation to bring an open-hearted attention and curiosity to present-moment experience without judgment, avoidance, or attachment. I teach mindfulness skills focused on relating to our struggles and our joys with fresh eyes, clarity, and equanimity.

Insight Meditation Practice: Contemplation of our sense of self through the lenses of impermanence and interconnectedness can deeply inform how we move through our daily lives. Sensing our connection to other people, other living beings, and the natural world can empower us to live with more open hearts and minds. I offer tools for exploring, internalizing, and integrating these insights through mindfulness.

Nature Practice: Nature is living dharma: in the wild, we can experience states of love and awe, teachings of impermanence and death, and tangible displays of our interconnection with the rest of the living world. I share practices to cultivate greater sensory awareness and connection to nature that help us wake up to the beauty and mystery surrounding us.

Meditation Practice

Guided Mindfulness Meditation: The practices I share draw on my years of meditation training and practice, in both traditional Buddhist traditions as well as contemporary secular mindfulness. Mindfulness practice focuses on cultivating mental skills in concentration, clarity, and equanimity as well as establishing more compassionate and skillful ways of relating to one’s mind, body, and emotions. We explore how to shift and heighten our attention, attuning to any aspect of our present moment experience with clarity and compassion.

Guided Imagery / Visualization: This style draws on the rich preliminary practices of Tibetan Buddhism. Buddhist psychotherapist Miles Neale describes the practices as “a comprehensive meditation system for psychological development… to decondition negative mental habits, rewire positive tendencies, prime a compassionate motivation, establish a realistic view of reality, and internalize the inspiring qualities of a spiritual mentor.” Rather than quieting the mind, these practices provide a strong support through visualization and reflection designed to “purify” and direct the mind towards more compassionate and clarifying motivations for spiritual practice.

Psychological Tools

My training in Clinical Psychology focused on spirituality and mind-body practice. In my studies and research, I investigated the neurophysiology and transformative potential of contemplative practices (meditation, yoga, devotional practices), as well as self-transcendent experiences (awe, interconnectedness, non-dual awareness), and pro-social emotions (compassion, empathy, altruism), and ultimately how strengthening our connection with ourselves, others, and the natural world broadens our capacity for living a meaningful and fulfilling life.

More beautiful states of mind can be cultivated and trained. I draw on the field of Positive Psychology to offer evidence-based practices and exercises to develop: mindfulness, emotional resilience, gratitude, self-compassion, connection, empathy, and authentic wellbeing.

Somatic Mindfulness & Embodied Movement

The mind can live in the future or the past, but the body is always present. Our physical bodies and senses are always here. Embodied awareness helps us ground ourselves in the present moment through attuning more deeply to physical sensations and sensory experiences. Embodied mindfulness practice and mindful movement give us the space to be with our emotions, stories, and habitual thought patterns in a more freeing way.

I share practices that support feeling safe in coming back into our bodies. In the body, free of stories and mental analysis, is where we find the spaciousness for real relief and healing. I share from my personal experience of working with tools to find freedom within chronic pain and overwhelming emotions. I also share restorative yoga practice and mindful movement from my training as a yoga teacher.