Whether you’re an amateur yoga enthusiast or an experienced yogi veteran, the benefits of yoga outdoors can be far-reaching for all levels of ability. After all, yoga is a spiritual experience and being at one with mother nature opens up a whole world of positive experiences which indoor yoga just can’t offer.
We’ve taken a look at some of the benefits of practicing yoga in the great outdoors and why you should definitely try it.
1. Spending time in nature can replenish depleted energy
Spending time outside offers excellent benefits for both the body and mind. Being surrounded by green spaces (fields and forests) and blue spaces (canals, rivers, and the coastline) can boost your mood by enabling you to maintain higher levels of vitamin D and serotonin.
To get the maximum benefit, we recommend you spend at least an hour practising yoga outside per week.
2. Natural scenery can heighten awareness
In the wilderness, our instincts are heightened as we navigate our surroundings, the fresh air offers us a greater sense of smell and the breeze makes our hairs stand on end.
Practicing yoga outside offers us the opportunity to really tune into our senses and withdraw from the daily stresses of life.
By listening to the natural movements around us, our bodies are enabled in their movements, helping you to find a natural flow and rhythm to your yoga practise.
3. The outdoors can further boost meditation benefits
Spending time outdoors is proven to have positive psychological effects, inducing positive mood and reducing negative mood and stress.
When we’re less stressed we are much better able to concentrate and when we can concentrate effectively, meditating during yoga becomes much more fluid and natural.
Because nature activates our senses, the outdoors makes our practice more alert and wakeful, whilst simultaneously producing a greater sense of calm.
4. Practicing Yoga outdoors can increase your ‘core’ strength and ‘balance’
Mixing up the kinds of terrain where you practise is a sure-fire way to challenge your usual posture and core strength. And, with greater, varied practise comes greater ability.
You might opt to start out on sturdier, softer, grassy areas (especially if you’re a beginner) to find your perfect posture.
More practiced yogis can opt for sand or even rocky mountain terrain to really engage the core and push your mind to focus more clearly on every movement your body makes, in turn making you stronger and more balanced.
Read next: 10 of the best coastal walking routes in England – with some amazing views and spots for Yoga and Meditation.
