Pilates Soulful Sunday: We Are One with Nature
- Michael King
- Sep 7
- 3 min read
Have you ever paused beneath a tree and felt, even for a moment, that you breathe the same air, draw strength from the same earth, and belong to something far greater than yourself? That is not just poetic, it is profoundly true.
The Whispering Languages of Trees
Trees are not silent giants. They converse in chemical tones known as phytoncides. These are volatile organic compounds, such as alpha pinene and myrcene, that trees release to protect themselves from insects and microbes. In coniferous forests, for instance, approximately five kilograms of volatile phytoncides may be released per hectare per day, helping to cleanse the air by reducing airborne microbial counts.
When we walk among these giants, in what the Japanese call shinrin yoku, or forest bathing, those same phytoncides we inhale trigger a remarkable response in our bodies.
Nature’s Immune Boost
Studies consistently show that time spent in the forest:
Increases both the number and activity of our natural killer cells, key immune cells that target virus infected and tumour cells.
Lowers cortisol levels and other stress hormones, which in turn supports our immune system as stress is a known suppressor.
Enhances mood, lowers blood pressure and heart rate, and calms the mind, further strengthening our wellbeing.
Results in immune function benefits that can last for more than a month after just a three day, two night forest immersion.
In short, breathing forest air is like receiving nature’s aromatherapy and immune tonic all in one.
We, Nature, and Everything in Between
There is something deeply poetic and scientifically factual here. Nature does not just live around us, it lives through us.
Nature gives us a palette, a rich canvas of colours, scents, tastes, and rhythms that guide and sustain us. From the vibrant green of leaves to the golden glow of a ripe grain, this palette is not only what we see and sense, but also what nourishes and restores us.
Everything we consume, from the food we eat to the air we breathe, originates in the natural world. That carrot’s vitamins, that elderberry’s antioxidants, the phytoncides in pine, each is a whisper of nature’s intelligence and generosity.
When we honour that, by eating whole nourishing foods and walking in woods, it is more than self care. It is remembering that we are part of an interconnected web. Healing ourselves is healing our world, and vice versa.
Soulful Sunday Invitation
So this Soulful Sunday, try something simple yet profound:
Breathe slowly beneath a tree and let its scent meet your senses.
Walk mindfully in green spaces, whether a park, woodland, or even your garden, and lean into the stillness.
Eat something uncooked and connected to the earth. Let it remind you of those shared life forces.
Recognise that your immune system, your peace, your breath, and your food all sail on the same river of being, rooted in nature.
We are not separate from the forest. We are the forest breathing, healing, growing.
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