The Science | Heart and Earth

Nature as Medicine: Ancient Wisdom meets Modern Science

The idea that nature can heal isn’t new. Across cultures, people over the centuries have turned to the natural world for restoration, balance, and clarity.

Ancient Traditions of Nature Connection

The idea that nature can heal is not new. Across cultures and centuries, people have turned to the natural world for restoration, guidance, and balance. Forests, rivers, and mountains have long been seen as sacred - not just beautiful, but essential to our wellbeing.

In Ayurveda, India’s ancient system of holistic health, the practice of ritucharya encourages aligning our daily rhythms - movement, rest, and nourishment - with the cycles of nature. This seasonal syncing helps support vitality and emotional balance.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, health is seen as the harmony between our inner landscape and the changing seasons. Spring, for instance, is linked with the liver, the element of wood, and the emotion of growth - guiding us to move gently, release old energy, and invite renewal.

Indigenous North American traditions hold nature as kin - not something separate from us, but part of a sacred web of relationships. Walking meditations, ceremonies, and vision quests have long helped individuals seek healing and direction by listening deeply to the land.

Shinto, Japan’s Indigenous spirituality, views forests as home to kami - sacred spirits. People have long visited shrines within the woods to reconnect with the divine. The modern practice of Shinrin Yoku (Forest Bathing) grows directly from this reverence.

In Celtic and Druidic traditions, forests and trees held great spiritual significance. Oaks, rowans, and yews were honoured as teachers, guardians, and bridges to the otherworld. Seasonal festivals aligned with changes in the land - marking time as something to be felt and honoured, not rushed.

Among Aboriginal Australians, Country is not just land, it’s a living, spiritual entity. Practices like going walkabout are deeply personal and cultural journeys, where individuals reconnect with their identity, ancestors, and purpose through time in nature.

These diverse yet similar traditions remind us that we are nature, not separate from it.

Modern Evidence

Now, science is confirming what these cultures have long understood.

A 2023 meta-analysis in The Lancet Planetary Health reviewed 92 studies on “nature prescription” programmes, structured interventions encouraging time in nature, and found significant benefits:

Blood pressure: reduction in systolic BP by ~4.8 mmHg; diastolic by ~3.8 mmHg
Mental health: moderate‑to‑large reductions in depression and anxiety symptoms
Physical activity: increase of approximately 900 steps per day

Other reviews have shown positive effects on inflammation, weight management, chronic pain, cognitive function, and emotional wellbeing, a true win-win for people and planet.