Nature’s Healing Vibrations

July 2026

Strong healing vibrations are present in the great outdoors – emanating from singing birds, romping squirrels and chipmunks, along with the multitude of trees, shrubs, and flowers. Communing with these gifts of nature provides for a centering and calming experience and brings us more fully into the present moment.

One approach for opening awareness to these energies involves engagement of the five senses. This nature journey might begin with awakening the taste buds with a soothing cup of herbal tea. Then, walk outside and take a deep breath of fresh air noticing the smells coming from the greenery and blossoming flowers. Listen to the rustling of leaves, wind sounds, or chirping birds. Gaze up toward the sky opening your sight into its expansive landscape. Go over and touch the bark of a tree tuning into its textures and the inherent strength of its trunk, while feeling the earth below your feet.

Another way to capture the essence of nature’s qi (vital energy) is garnered through the Chinese exercises of Taiji (Tai Chi) and Qigong. They are traditionally practiced outdoors for communing with nature and utilizing its forces for self-nourishment and energetic transformation. Performing these ancient healing arts opens flow of qi not only in the area being moved but throughout the body. When balanced and strengthened, our qi keeps us fit and healthy.

Taiji emphasizes relaxation, yielding, softness, and spontaneity in the midst of rapid forceful movement. Its circular movements integrated with the breath and specific mind intent practices move and guide qi through the body with both healing and martial purpose. Some names of its distinctive movements were originally drawn from musings of nature such as Wave Hands Like Clouds. A Taiji player uses this imagery to imbue their movement with the flowing qi of “fluffy white clouds”.

Qigong is the art of cultivating vital energy and promoting internal healing through gentle movements and techniques that incorporate breath, sound, visualization, and self-massage. It is often thought of as “Feng Shui for the body” or “Chinese Yoga”. Placing palms over one’s centerline level with the heart – the “sea of tranquility” – while sending love and appreciation to oneself and surrounding nature is a prime example. A qigong practitioner connects and draws energy inward from the great outdoors while performing standing meditation. This involves extending their arms and directing their hands toward a tree, feeling its energy and drawing strength from doing so.

Ancient Daoists sought to explore the appropriate place of human beings in relationship to themselves, each other, and as intermediaries between heaven and earth. Working to harmonize with these forces has been a centerpiece of Taiji and Qigong internal practice for centuries combined with balancing one’s physical and spiritual aspects. This includes consciously drawing yang qi from the heaven above and yin qi from the earth below to nourish our human body.

Yin energy represents the more feminine, soft, yielding, internal, receptive and calming aspects of life. It forms the basis of the nervous system, bones, and bodily fluids. Yang energy represents the more masculine, hard, firm, external and active aspects of life. It is associated with igniting physiological and mental activation. In Chinese medicine, it is believed that good health is achieved when there is a balance of yin and yang, the polar opposites that comprise every part of the natural world.

It is thus highly recommended that you designate space and time in your life to commune with the great outdoors. It will bring you into a place of greater connection, deeper relaxation, and inner peace. You will find yourself more energized, aware of energetic phenomenon, and appreciative of nature’s many gifts.