For devotees of friluftsliv, it’s always time to get outside. Emma Richards takes a meditative walk in the woods...
Nature doesn’t resist the cold – it adapts, puts down deeper roots and strengthens from within. What if we did the same? For when cold weather tries to keep us trapped indoors, living life outside can be a gloriously metamorphic act.
Norwegians have a word for it: friluftsliv. It was Henrik Ibsen, their national playwright, who coined the term in the 1850s to describe the benefits of spending time in remote locations for spiritual and physical wellbeing. But the concept – literally ‘free air living’ – is as old as the Scandinavian Mountains. And no self-respecting Nordic soul would let winter prevent her from enjoying it.
I’m testing out the therapeutic claims of friluftsliv rather closer to home: on a walking meditation in the Surrey Hills led by nature wisdom guide Lisa Duncan and ex-Gurkha, former SAS soldier and Everest mountaineer Krish Thapa. Together we wander off into ancient woodland filled with blazing beeches, towering oaks and Scots pine.
Friluftsliv
Krish leads our first guided meditation with lots of shoulder rolling, finger twisting and long, deep exhalations. Then something curious happens: a reawakening, whereby I begin to notice details around me. The citrusy scent of wood sorrel, mellow sunlight filtering through trees, the sound of birdsong, and the sight of vivid coloured moss trailing a veil-like over branches.
Amidst the dense leaf litter and winter ferns, I spy a cluster of red-capped, white-spotted fungi. They look enticing, like the innocent dwellings of fairytale creatures and woodland sprites. As Lisa reveals, however, they do in fact induce “mind-bending hallucinations”. Our wilderness of larch trees, lichens, and wizened hawthorn is sufficiently zen.
Recent studies show that spending time in green spaces significantly reduces anxiety and boosts cognition. Fellow walker Lois agrees.
“I always found that my lowest times were when I had no connection to nature,” she admits. “Now I go out all year round.”
For Krish, too, this makes perfect sense.
“It’s only as we step into the wild, away from noise and distractions, that nature shows us who we really are,” he insists.
In other words, nature can shift our perspective – as our next exercise today shows. We are invited to pick up an object from the forest floor (mine is a branch) and assign to it an external fear we’re facing. By walking around it clockwise, we visualise our fear from different angles and begin to see it in a new light. It’s a powerful mental reset.
Grounding aside, friluftsliv also teaches us sensory wisdom. We learn how to slow down and observe. The woods, for example, are more beautiful now that it’s raining. And in winter, says Krish, we should embrace the cold silence as it bids us pay attention.
Today it is not yet Baltic, but Krish still emerges barefoot onto the grass, eyes shining, carrying his Tibetan singing bowl and gong. His first note is loud and clear, before warping off into woodland. Krish weaves between us, enabling us all to feel the frequencies from different directions and in varying intensities. As we stretch out to touch the bowl, I feel the humming vibrations in my bones. It’s as if my nervous system is exhaling.
The oxygen-rich air is making me hungry. Food is a key part of friluftsliv, promoting conversation and laughter – and everything tastes better outside. Using twisted trunks as handrails to guide ourselves down a steep slope, we shelter halfway to enjoy Lisa’s fabulous Japanese bento. She’s even foraged ingredients from our trail. And so we tuck into sticky rice with chestnuts, Japanese egg roll with porcini mushrooms and warm porcini broth.
Winding my way back to the café, I’m already dreaming of the next walk, breathing in the smell of damp earth, tracing bark with my fingertips and crunching the beech mast underfoot. Modern life has never felt so far away.
Next walk is June 6, 3.5 hours, £55. Book now.
Friluftsliv
Get out in nature
- Forest Bathing and Nature Walks: Embrace the season with sunrise yoga, meditation walks or outdoor poetry under the stars with Lisa Duncan (also a friluftsliv guide). Learn more.
- Bushcraft, Joyful Outdoors, Godalming: Rediscover your inner child with bushcraft. You’ll be taught vital survival skills like shelter building and firemaking. Learn more.
- Birdwatching, Dorney Wetlands, Windsor: Nature enthusiasts will love this peaceful reserve, a fantastic habitat in which to spot winter birds like fronted geese and golden plover. Learn more.
- Sauna and Cold Plunge Therapy, Buckland Park Lake, between Reigate and Dorking: Kickstart those endorphins with some winter swimming at this 50-acre lake. Follow with a Finnish-inspired wood-burning sauna. Learn more.
- Outdoor Swimming, Shepperton Splash, Shepperton: Try waterside activities from kayaking to paddleboarding in the idyllic setting of this beautiful freshwater lake. Learn more.
