The best thing you can do for yourself is to create a place at home or close by where you can go and just “BE” with nature on a daily basis. This is not only very healing for you and nature but it also allows you a beautiful place to observe the what is going on around you.

This is one of my special places in nature where I sit - The natural world has shown me so much by daily use of this beautiful sit spot. It has allowed me to become present and open to all of the changes that are continually happening around me…

“The earth has its music for those who will listen.” ―George Santayana

In a world full of noise and distractions and a constant pushing and pulling of us to do things, to achieve goals, to strive harder, to do more, to be available at every moment to whoever wants us I feel that it’s time to remember who we are and to nourish and love ourselves and our true connections to the natural world that we are a part of.

This is why I am creating this blog to support a slower, more connected, more grounded self. One that most of us have forgotten even exists!

I had never heard of a ‘Sit Spot’ before my training as a guide with Association of Nature and Forest Therapy (ANFT). But it has become a very invaluable tool.

What is a Sit Spot? It’s somewhere that you can go, to listen, clear your mind and slow down. It’s somewhere you can sit and observe all that is around you, where you can become one with your surroundings, not separate from them.

“You should sit in nature for 20 minutes a day…Unless you’re busy, then you should sit for an hour”. - Old Zen Meditation

I have a couple of sit spots at home - The natural world has shown me so much by daily use of these beautiful spots and allowed me to become present and open to all of the changes that are continually happening around me. Each day, each season, each year shows me something different.

How to use your Sit Spot…

I use my ‘Sit Spot’ on a daily basis. It’s where I start my day from (or sometimes end my day). I take my cup of tea out there and I sit, listen, look and feel what is happening in my surroundings. No phone, no people, nothing but myself and my surroundings. It is the most wonderful start/end to the day.

A tree branch is not a branch at all but a tawny frog mouth owl! It is a wonderful magic trick that nature plays on you. Until you are ready you will not see what is there all the time, right in front of your eyes.

A wishing seed like a little fairy brings me joy and wonder as it floats past me…

All of a sudden a flower, so delicate and beautiful will jump out and say ‘here I am’. Things start to come alive and the world starts to look brighter and lighter around me. Sometimes just sitting and watching the way that the wind moves through the leaves is the most magical thing of all, I feel like I the leaves are waving to me.

Sometimes writing small verses of poetry, sometimes I’m drawn to tears by the beauty of what I am seeing, things that I may have missed if I didn’t take the time to sit.

You just need to find a place that is accessible on a daily basis and make the time to go there and be…

“Sometimes you have to remove all of the dead, unwanted rubbish to allow the full beauty of what is to shine through”

Easy Steps to creating your own place in Nature - “Sit Spot”

Find somewhere that you feel comfortable that you won’t be disturbed for your quite time. This may be in your yard or even in a room in your home if outside isn’t accessible to you.
You may like to use a hammock, a chair or even sit on the ground. As long as you are comfortable to sit there for awhile. I have three different spots.
Make sure that your Sit Spot is somewhere that resonates with you. One of mine is nestled in between a grove of trees where I feel safe and protected. Use your intuition to be guided to the right place for you, it may take you a few goes to get this right, but once you do it will become like a long lost friend to you.
You may need to clear the area. I sometimes rake all of the leaves around one of my sit spots and make a little ring around where I sit with them. It feels like my safe boundary line.
Don’t take your phone with you when you go and sit there. The phone is a great distraction for your mind and you know that it will always ping messages to you. It’s a good way to take back power for loving yourself by leaving it inside for the time that you’re sitting.
Let your family know that you would like to not be disturbed while you are at your special place. They may even become curious over time and want to create their own place.
I sometimes use incense or sage around my sit spot to clear any energy.
You may want to hang some wind chimes or prayer flags which can help you to focus on sight and sound.
You can do a body grounding when you first sit if you feel like your mind is too busy thinking of what you ‘should’ be doing (I have a grounding meditation on my website HERE).
You may like to take a journal out with you to jot down what you are noticing that day or even a sketch pad. (I will talk more about having a nature journal in another blog).
Your mind may want to distract you from observing what is around you. Just thank your mind and don’t follow the thoughts. Bring your focus back to what’s around you; this may be the wind moving softly through the trees or the sounds of the birds or even traffic sounds of cars (which are all a part of what is going on around you and there is no need to try to block them out) or the shadows that the sun is creating on the ground. You could also feel the trees or take off your shoes and connect with the earth under your feel (I have another blog about kissing the earth).

Most of all it’s about being gentle and kind to yourself. Some days it will be easy to sit and feel connected. Some days it won’t. It’s a journey and the more you do it, the easier it will become for you, especially if you have been a person who never sits still and is always reaching for the next ‘thing to do’. But trust me, the journey will be well worth it...

Wishing you happy Sit Spot creating. I would love to hear all about what you are noticing.

Xx Tracey