Touch: How Contact With Nature Supports Our Health

Touching natural surfaces such as soil, plants, and stone provides grounding sensory input and exposes the body to beneficial environmental microbes. This talk explores how physical contact with nature can support mood, stress regulation, and nervous system balance. You will be guided to mindfully touch something natural and notice sensation.

This practice supports embodiment and calm.

Transcript

Hello everybody, This is Audrey Costa from Deep Rooted Wellness and welcome back to the Science of Nature. Today we're going to talk about the sense of touch and the microbes in the earth. Soil contains healthy microbes that interact with our nervous and our immune systems. Research suggests that when we expose ourselves to these natural microbes, They help to support your mood, Reduce inflammation, And improve resilience to stress. Touching the earth also provides a grounding sensory input that helps regulate our nervous system. This is one reason why gardening, Walking barefoot on the grass, Or simply touching plants can feel calming and stabilizing. Today's challenge is to go touch something in nature, Whether it's dirt or a leaf, The bark of a tree, Some sand, Or simply holding a stone. Take notice of the temperature, The texture, And the weight. Let your nervous system settle doing this simple connection. Thank you for joining, I hope you have a wonderful day.