9 Ways Getting Outdoors Improves Your Mental Health

At Canvas Solutions, it is no secret that we promote getting outside! The number 1 reason many Michiganders can’t bare the winter is because they have yet to find their Winter Season Activity! We believe that it essential to enjoy the outdoors all year long specifically because it will help improve the health of your brain.

Oxygen is not only healing for the brain, but also our lungs, heart, and throat. Outdoors is usually the ideal place to practice meditation and face and body yoga because you get both oxygen and blood flowing through your body. The great feeling you experience will be due to the instant endorphins beings released.

  1. Clear Your Mind

    It’s no secret that fresh air flow is essential for a healthy brain. The more you breathe, the better you feel because it is your main source of being and presence.

  2. Expand Awareness

    As you continue to engage in nature, you will become more aware of the seasonal changes around you. You may start to notice how your body shifts with the changes as well. Keeping a journal track these transitions can be beneficial and entertaining.

  3. Ground Your Energy

    Meditating outdoors may come more naturally. You can mindlessly focus on your breathe, heartbeat, or the sounds of nature. If you are in a city scene, people watching without judgement is another great form of meditation.

  4. Regain a Sense of Self

    Finding yourself can also mean sacrifice. While we don’t like losing things, letting go is an important lesson we can all benefit from at times.

  5. Nutrients

    Notice how the earth’s seasonal foods provide the nutrients that we need, when we need them. For example: citrus blossoms during the winter season, providing the vitamins we would otherwise lack.

  6. Simplicity

    The culture around is hyper-focused on stimulating the visual and audible senses. Relying of heavily on sounds or sight alone can drown out our other senses. Finding a place to reset yourself is becoming more necessary with the high stress of today’s culture.

  7. Expand Your Survival Skills

    Hunting, foraging, and gardening are all basic survival skills that can naturally grow into a healthy lifestyle. Learning at your own pace so you keep interest without getting overwhelmed.

  8. Physical Benefits

    Being healthy and honest with yourself comes from listening to your body’s needs and meeting them with the proper solutions. Chances are: if your physical nutrients are met, then your mental health will follow suit.

  9. Time in the Outdoors Leads to Healthy Hobbies that Contribute to the Eco System

    Taking walks and picking up litter is a great example of getting outdoors to better yourself and the environment simultaneously.

Tuning into your body comes easier when you are engaged with the natural seasons. Listening to your body is the number one rule when it comes to health and wellness. We recommend taking a moment to journal every so often. You can simply start start by writing down the thoughts that come to you while meditation as a form of release. Once it is on paper, you can evaluate your thought at a later time.

Take a look at our list below and start exploring an activity or two that peaks your interest. There is no need for a big commitment right away, just have fun exploring!

  • Stargazing

  • Forest Bathing

  • Gardening

  • Foraging

  • Fishing

  • Hydrotherapy


Blood flow comes naturally more than ever when we are engaging in outdoor movement. Some of our favorite hobbies include: fishing, dancing, hiking, yoga, foraging, and more!

Tell us in the comments below some of your favorite ways to spend time in the outdoors, we would love to hear from you :)

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