Outdoors is my Therapy

 When you intentionally engage your senses in the world around you, you open up windows of opportunity to experience peace and calm. There are infinite ways that you can do this in nature, and the most simple way is to step outside and look around you. Notice what your eyes are seeing. Notice the textures and the colours around you. Notice the sounds. Breathe in and notice the aromas. Stop, pause,...

Nature provides space for simplicity, tranquility,  peace and quiet as well as space for challenges, risks, and opportunities to stretch your skills and abilities, and expand your knowledge and understanding of the complexity of life.  You can access support in the midst of chaos by finding ways to tap into the simplicity of nature when you need it.  Today's guest is Jessica Carey who says th...

Humans are wired to be sometimes predictable, sometimes unpredictable, just like other things in nature. My challenge to you is to notice the elements of predictability and unpredictability in nature and celebrate the wonder of nature being the same yet different. Celebrate the diversity of our world. Get up close. Be curious and be surprised each time you go outside.  Today's guest loves the...

Meet my friend Krista Bjorn who shares why nature is so important to her. Krista has a particular love of herbs and other plants that are beneficial for healing and nutrition as well as adding beauty to the spaces around her.  She shares her favourite place in the world and has some really practical advice about how nature can support you during stressful times and when you're not feeling wel...

Meet my friend Marco Gliori who has an absolute gift for words. Marco lives in the rural Southern Downs Region of Southern Queensland like myself. Today he shares some of his widely acclaimed bush verse with us, "The Million Stars Motel" including what inspired him to write this poem. Marco also chats about his favourite ways to connect with nature at home and on his extensive travels ac...

Today, you'll hear from my friend Julia Keogh, who shares with us that the outdoors inspires her to keep moving because however you look at it, the outdoor world is ever changing, it's always moving. And she says having that connection with the natural environment is the best health tonic you can have. LINKS Contact Kathryn via her website Grab your free Guide to a Perfect Nature Escape...

In today's episode, you'll hear from my friend Helen Lewis who speaks about awe. Helen lives on a farm near Warwick in southern Queensland where her lifestyle is intimately connected with the outdoors. You'll hear Helen share her sense of awe and her wonder about the natural world around her, the changes that she sees day to day and season to season, and the special spaces and the e...

 Bushfire recovery, like any disaster recovery, is a journey that takes place over time. In 2019 and 2020 the Southern Downs region in southern Queensland was one of many areas across Australia that was impacted by bushfires in the midst of a severe drought. The emotional, economic and environmental impacts on the region's residents and workers has been huge. In recent months I've been l...

Today's episode will inspire you to connect with nature to improve your health and wellbeing. You can be intentional about the time you spend with nature whether you love to go away on epic adventures off the beaten track far from the cities and towns, or whether you connect with nature in ordinary everyday ways. Did you know that it's possible to connect with nature and enjoy the benefi...

My friend and 'Outdoors is my Therapy' Ambassador, Jessica Carey (from ARISE with Jessica Carey) recently joined me for a Nature Escape Day in which we navigated off track and immersed ourselves in the expansiveness of the incredible Granite Belt region in southern Queensland, the traditional lands of the Kambuwal people.  Jessica and I chat about: going off the beaten track on a bush wa...

Have you ever taken yourself away for the day, all by yourself, for a day of peace and quiet in nature? Maybe to the beach, or rainforest or a National Park or maybe a river or lake? There are lots of obstacles that can get in the way of being able to kick back, relax, and reconnect with your inner self. Kathryn guides you with some tried and true strategies to overcome the obstacles, and then she...

Living life in the fast lane can be very satisfying. Running on adrenaline keeps you energised and buzzing but it has drawbacks too. In the hectic pace of living a busy life, even one you love, your stress hormones are circulating constantly through your body and this can have a significant impact on your longer term health. You might not feel it in the moment, but over time the impact can affect...

This amazing planet that we live on has sustained life for many millions of years. It’s a world filled with incredible cycles in nature and in our own lives as humans. When we sit back and observe these cycles, we grow in understanding about our world and ourselves, and we learn that hope helps us to deal with the endings and beginnings that are part of life. Kathryn shares some stories about cycl...

We all have seasons in life, just as the climate has seasons. In this episode Kathryn reflects on letting go of some aspects of her life that she no longer needs. It’s the season of autumn (or fall) and it feels so much lighter! By allowing things to fall away you can create more time, space and energy to focus on what matters most to you at that particular point in your life. As you hunker down t...

Whilst exercise is fabulous for so many reasons, it must be built on a foundation of general movement throughout the day. Nature can give you a helping hand to get a routine of more activity into your day. In today’s episode Kathryn shares some suggestions with you so that you’ll feel motivated to move more and sit less, find more joy in life, and discover the unending little treasures when you co...

There are many ways that nature can help you to relax. In today’s episode Kathryn steps you through a simple and practical exercise that’s based on developing a relaxing association with something from nature that gives you joy. Listen, learn and practise as Kathryn guides you to select an item from nature that you can use as the focus for this activity. You will learn how to relax your body and m...

The Adventure Therapy Project has been inspiring and skilling women to make healthy choices for themselves by valuing self-care, spending time outdoors, challenging themselves in new ways, and being physically active. Throughout 2019 and 2020 the project offered amazing fun and free activities for women in girls in the Southern Downs Region of southern Queensland including bushwalks, gentle nature...

Today I’m sharing with you the value of regularly spending time outdoors for your health and wellbeing. You’ll hear about the Hike + Camp weekend that I recently ran with a small group of women and the joys, benefits and learnings we experienced.  As a long term bushwalker and camper, I know first hand how valuable it is to get out there into nature, challenge yourself physically but also to rest...

Today I’m sharing with you some tips on how to get started bushwalking. There has been a constant stream of questions since COVID disrupted our lives with many people seeking experiences in nature so I wanted to answer some of your questions here including: What equipment do I need to go bushwalking? How much water do I need to take? How much food and what type of food should I take? Where can I g...

I get lots of queries about where you can mountain bike on the Southern Downs and Granite Belt in south east Queensland. In this episode I share with you some of my favourite places to ride close to my home including Mt Marlay in Stanthorpe and the nearby state forest and National Park trails that are open to MTB. Read the blog post which includes all the links mentioned in this episode Where to M...

Getting started with a new exercise routine can seem daunting and expensive. There are a lot of pressures to spend your hard-earned money on exercise gear, equipment, memberships and trainers or coaches. But you don’t need a big budget to get active, improve your fitness and reduce your health risks. Throughout history people have coped quite well with little or no special exercise equipment. So w...

With people increasingly wanting to connect with the outdoors, it's important to look at the longer term picture. How can you make sure that spending time in the outdoors becomes an ongoing habit and not just a passing phase as you react to COVID-19 restrictions? For some of us getting out into nature is a new habit we want to create, for others it’s more about changing the outdoors routine w...

Motivation is a trap that so many people fall into and have difficulty getting out of. If you’ve ever said “I know I should exercise, but I just don’t feel motivated” then this episode is for you! There’s a gap between knowing what you have to do, and actually doing it. The danger with motivation is that it’s a fickle feeling and you really can’t rely on it to be around when you need it. But what...

July 2020 has been self-care month here on the podcast so we’ve had a series of episodes giving you some tools to create self-care opportunities in your life. Today's episode gives you some practical strategies and mindset shifts to deal with the problem of not having enough time for self-care . It builds upon Episode 13 'Stress Less in Nature', Episode 14 'Sensory Mindfulness-...

What really truly is self-care? What do you most need to focus on so you don’t get distracted or led up the wrong path when it comes to self-care? This episode explores the nature of self-care and its similarities to other types of care such as child care, aged care and neighbourly care. Self-care starts with making sure that physical and emotional needs are met, and that self-care actions are ali...