Wellness in the Wilderness – Détails, épisodes et analyse

🙏 Help us bring "Reconnecting with Nature: Healing Ourselves and the Planet" to SXSW in 2025!

In 2022, I had the pleasure of interviewing surf therapy visionary Natalie Small LMFT, founder of Groundswell Community Project. The similarities in our work became immediately clear - if I am hiking my feelings, Natalie is surfing her feelings, and we are both helping others do the same. It was only a matter of time before we started to visualize a world where our powers combined helped unite lovers of land and sea in deeply healing experiences.

For our first step/paddle into this new world together and hot off the heels of my book launch at the conference in March, we are thrilled to submit our panel for your consideration at SXSW in 2025.

ABOUT OUR PANEL:
In today’s technology-driven world, our disconnection from nature is more apparent than ever, impacting our mental and physical well-being. Join us as we explore innovative approaches to reintegrating nature into our daily lives and workspaces. By leveraging the healing power of the great outdoors, we create pathways to improve mental and physical health while fostering a deeper connection to the planet. Together, we'll discover how nature-based therapies and outdoor experiences can serve as potent solutions to the widespread disconnection and environmental challenges we face today.
TAKEAWAYS
🌱 Gain insights into how modern lifestyles contribute to our growing disconnection from nature and the subsequent impacts on mental and physical health.
🌱 Discover how you can incorporate nature into your work and daily routine to foster personal health and contribute to planetary healing.
🌱 Understand the broader implications of reconnecting with nature for communities and the environment, and how collective efforts can lead to change.
Voting is open through August 18, thank you for your support!

VOTE HERE: https://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/149826

Clearly we are not okay - as a society, as a community, as humans. After a nice weekend with some friends, we realized we had forgotten how to hang out, but only after remembering how good it felt. This might blow your mind, I know it did for me since the time period shared is from the year I graduated high school until near-present day. This article in The Atlantic⁠ talks about this phenomenon:

"From 2003 to 2022, American men reduced their average hours of face-to-face socializing by about 30 percent. For unmarried Americans, the decline was even bigger—more than 35 percent. For teenagers, it was more than 45 percent. Boys and girls ages 15 to 19 reduced their weekly social hangouts by more than three hours a week. In short, there is no statistical record of any other period in U.S. history when people have spent more time on their own."

In this episode, Sydney and Barry discuss:

• Hiking Your Feelings' themes and the universal application of the lessons and topics within
• "If it all ends tomorrow, I'm grateful that we've been doing the work we've been doing, and that I've gotten to know myself this well." - Sydney
• Sydney and Barry have a moment where language moves to embodied understanding, and then Sydney unpacks in real time, how that transition happens - finding the language -> understanding in context -> embodied understanding
• The benefits of having conversations on the trail vs. our tendency to rush through it face-to-face
• Barry shares a skydiving metaphor for how he's been feeling lately
• How to not die in the wilderness (and why Mount Washington in New Hampshire is so underestimated)

UPCOMING EVENTS:

• March 4: Intentional Hiking - join us for a chance to win a Kula Cloth and a signed copy of Hiking Your Feelings: Blazing a Trail to Self-Love!
• March 5: Public Lands Alliance Conference
• March 9: Hiking Your Feelings launch at SXSW + Book Signing at SXSW
• March 10: Hike around Austin with Hiking My Feelings x The Trail Conservancy, sponsored by Gossamer Gear
• March 12: Hiking Your Feelings Publication Day! Join us for the launch party in San Diego at Diesel in Del Mar, sponsored by Babe Kombucha and Muffin But Good Vibes
• March 19: Hiking Your Feelings Virtual Launch Party
• March 20: Blaze Your Own Trail to Self-Love Open House

Join Sydney as she shares 12 tips to help you find your version of Wellness in the Wilderness.

How did Catalina Backcountry get started? Why did Cinde MacGugan-Cassidy decide to buy the business? How has her career in public service influenced how she runs the business? And what is her vision for responsible recreation on Catalina Island? This week we'll be chatting with Cinde about how Catalina Backcountry got started, her success so far, and her vision for the future.

In a society that seems hell-bent on keeping us separate from our authentic selves, each other, and the planet we call home, Samuel J's music is the great unifier.

From the White Mountains of New Hampshire to the rugged backcountry of Catalina Island and everything in between, Barry Williams has been an outdoorist and educator in a professional capacity for the past 25+ years.

How does spending time outdoors influence music? For Brendan Dane (Alific), the call of the Loons from his childhood in New England inspired an entire song.

What happens when the worst-case scenario unfolds in slow motion in the desolate wilderness of America's National Parks? How do you return to the places that have brought so much joy and so much pain after tragedy strikes? On April 3, 2021, Emily and her partner, Alexander Lofgren, traveled to Death Valley National Park on a routine camping trip. The next day began the biggest nightmare of their lives - Alex fell from a 70’ cliff and succumbed to his injuries a half hour later. Emily suffered severe injuries while down-climbing the cliff to his aide, but was able to comfort him as he took his final breaths. Unfortunately, this would be the first of six days she had to survive alone, next to the love of her life, on this desolate cliffside until she was found and rescued. Later in 2021, the Alexander Lofgren Veterans in Parks act was passed, and now, thanks to the legislation Alex was working on before his passing, Veterans and Gold Star families have access to the National Parks for life. In this episode, we'll hear about the accident, the physical and emotional recovery Emily has endured since, the vision she has for keeping Alex's legacy alive, how she found the strength and courage to return to the scene of the accident, and her intentions for utilizing the healing power of nature as she continues her recovery.

When time spent outside is an integral part of your lifestyle, how do you cope when an injury keeps you indoors? When we avoid our emotional breaking point, what happens to our physical bodies? And how do we re-integrate after a period away from our favorite activities and places? For Drew Petersen, skiing has been part of his life for as long as he can remember. Once a toddler on skis and now a professional skier, Drew has been exploring the intersections of mental health and time spent outside and connecting the dots on his own mental health journey. Ever the storyteller, Drew's latest film, Ups + Downs (2022), has started a new conversation about mental health in the outdoor community. But what led to the making of Ups + Downs? What is Drew working on now? And how can healing + sharing our stories shine a light on difficult topics and give others permission to do the same? Tune in to find out!

Is 2023 the year you prioritize finding your version of Wellness in the Wilderness? Looking for inspiration to weave more intention into all aspects of your life? This week we're chatting with Anastasia Allison, founder of Kula Cloth, about how her decision to let life be easy has transformed the way she experiences life and continues to innovate in her business. Through the power of shared story, we're excited to tap into the sense of possibilities that a new year brings, and share some rituals and activities that have helped us breathe life into our wildest dreams.