Journeying out into nature is proven by MIND to reduce stress, improve your confidence and can provide peer support.
November is Men’s Health Awareness month and one of the charities supporting this, is Movember.
Movember was started in 2003 by two men in Australia, they were inspired by a friend’s campaign for breast cancer awareness.
Movember raises awareness of all men’s health issues, but specifically: testicular cancer, prostate cancer and mental health and suicide prevention.
In the past, I’ve not felt adventurous and have hardly pledged time to access nature.
But as Movember encourages doing something mindful and self-supportive, I examined the benefits and concluded that going out of my comfort zone and into a freeing environment would be a positive change for my mental state.
So, I decided I was going to hike up the Malvern hills, a stunning range of hills with overwhelming views of Worcestershire.
Accompanying me on the walk was Brutha T, local musician/meditation practitioner and Rhys, one of my peers who was happy to join us on the walk.
When we arrived on Monday morning, there was a conveyor belt of people queuing up to fill large containers with water from the spring at the foot of the hill – a popular destination for free natural spring water.
As we made the climb, the endorphins were kicking in and the negative tension in my body started to fade out - a release.
After an invigorating hike, we reached the top and circled the beacon.
I had a thought-provoking conversation with Brutha T, from Malvern.
“I think on the deepest level, we are connected to nature.
“The society we’re in doesn’t allow us to connect to nature like we should, and when we do, it allows us to connect to our source energy”.
We took in the landscape, and I felt content with my emotions, no anguish or apprehension – just elation.
Afterwards I caught up with Rhys Samuel, from Pershore, to ask him how he felt about the experience.
“I think going up the Malvern Hills is definitely a challenge and you’re going out of your comfort zone.
“It makes me feel different, it’s a great feeling to escape the everyday normality”.
After having a restful sit down on a bench near Worcestershire Beacon, we started our descent from the summit and ended back near the car park, there were still queues for the spring.
The difference from being at the summit (amongst the panoramic views) to going back to normality, was that despite not being around the wonders of nature anymore, I still felt relaxed and replenished – just as I did at the apex.
