Eight Holistic Benefits of Running Outside in Nature
By Tim Kelly
Posted on June 6, 2025
By Tim Kelly | Source My mom has this thing where, when she sees a cardinal flying by or perched in a tree, she says it’s a family member that has passed away, checking in on us. Every now and then, when I’m running outside on a trail, one will swoop down in front of me and no matter how tired I am, it invigorates me and makes me smile. Sometimes I even run a little more because of it.
There are countless other times I have these little moments when running outside. So, what is it about running in nature that feels so good?
There are many well-known facts about why running is good for you. From heart health to muscle tone, these benefits are easily found in abundance in magazines and blog posts. Chances are, you’re already aware of them. My goal in this article is to cover some of the lesser-known, yet really cool benefits of running in nature.
In my opinion, the physiological benefits of running outside are often the most overlooked but interesting aspect of hitting your local trails. Let’s explore!
Physiological benefits of running outside
1. Manage stress
While it often has a bad reputation for obvious reasons, stress actually plays a vital role in helping us grow and evolve as humans and also helps us to accomplish the goals and responsibilities we set for ourselves, as long as we don’t, metaphorically speaking, overflow the cup. Chronic stress, or too much stress, is bad for us, but voluntary, manageable stress has actually been found to have quick and lasting effects, both mentally and physically.
According to research from UC Berkeley, “Manageable stress increases alertness and performance. And by encouraging the growth of stem cells that become brain cells, stress improves memory. The increase in stem cells and neuron generation makes sense from an adaptive point of view.”
So, what does this have to do with running outside? First, running, in general, is voluntary stress for both the mind and body. The more we get out for our runs, the more we work to increase our strength, stamina, discipline, and stress response. Running outside gives us added variability and keeps us mentally strong and adaptable to our environment. Ever trained for a race in the spring and then come race day it’s 80 degrees and humid? It’s not fun for anyone, and rarely will you hear of someone running their personal best in such conditions. Choosing to run in weather that is less than ideal keeps us mentally and physically limber to these changes in the environment. Next time it’s 45 degrees and raining, or on the other hand, 80-plus degrees and sunny, tap your motivation muscle and get out the door. (Just remember to gear up appropriately and stay hydrated!)
I can personally attest to this as the winter, more so than the heat of the summer, is when I find it most difficult to lace up and get out the door. I can say with certainty, though, that 100% of the time I get my run in, I’m glad I did it. I feel better, and I’m better for it.
2. Enjoy moments of awe
Much like the sighting of a cardinal, there are many things we experience when running outside that make us feel good. Flowers blooming along a trail, a misty waterfall (if you’re lucky enough to live in an area with waterfalls!), a beautiful bird swooping down, a big buck standing up ahead on the trail.
This idea can be referred to as awe. Awe is often reserved for big moments like seeing a huge double rainbow across the sky or looking at the Grand Canyon for the first time. Awe can also be experienced through what I’ll refer to as “micro-moments,” and there are many opportunities for these moments while out on a run in nature. These moments are also scientifically beneficial to humans.
“Even brief experiences of awe yield a host of benefits including an expanded sense of time and enhanced feelings of generosity, well-being, and humility,” according to a study from UC San Francisco. Additional research from UC Berkeley found that regularly experiencing awe can likely help with inflammation levels (something many of us runners can benefit from).
Physical health benefits of running outside
3. Soak up some vitamin D
Vitamin D is one of our body’s most critical nutrient needs, helping us in a multitude of ways from bone density to immune health. Despite this fact, roughly 35% of Americans are vitamin D deficient, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
One of the best ways to get your vitamin D levels up is direct sunlight absorbed through your skin. What better way to do so than on a run on your local trails while breathing in the fresh air? Next time you’re out running and the sun is shining, just think of nature giving you a metaphorical IV drip of a life-sustaining nutrient. Pretty cool, huh?
4. Enhance your overall fitness
In almost any system on earth, whether the human body, society, or your backyard garden, diversity creates more resilience and strength. Running outside offers more diversity of terrain and stimulus from jumping over cracks and puddles, turning the corner, running up and down hills or stairs, avoiding roots in the trail, and more. In turn, more is demanded from your body relative to running on a treadmill, paved road, or a track.
For example, your core is more engaged when you’re turning a corner or a trail switchback, your quads are more engaged when you’re running downhill, and your calves are more engaged when jumping over a curb or running uphill. Running on a treadmill (while still a great physical workout) limits the number of muscles you engage relative to running outside. The stronger your entire body is, the more resilient and more efficient it becomes. In addition, the more you bound down the trail avoiding roots or rocks, the more you develop a better sense of balance.
5. Improve your knee and back health
This one, I know, can be difficult to believe. Many of us runners have likely been told, “Your knees are going to be shot by the time you’re 50!” Yet a study from The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery comparing 675 runners concluded that the arthritis rate of marathon runners was well below that of the average American. When running on trails outside, the softer surface is more gentle on your knees, hips, and back than concrete or a treadmill.
6. Increase your lifespan
A 2018 meta-analysis published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine concluded that running participation is associated with 27%, 30%, and 23% lower risk of all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality, respectively, compared with no running. That’s quite a big difference and a seriously good reason to get outside every week.
Mental health benefits of running outside
7. Decrease depression
Simply put, running helps combat depression. This probably doesn’t come as a surprise to most, as I think any runner reading this would agree that running helps to keep your stress and anxiety balanced and ward off depression. Running outside adds another layer of mental health to the equation. When running outside, you’re breathing in fresh air, running as the sun is rising or setting, maybe feeling the wind at your back or the chill of an early morning.
We, as humans, have evolved over a long time in a symbiotic relationship with nature. It likely just feels, well, “natural” and refreshing to most. Running outside allows you to explore new areas and new trails and see, hear, smell, and feel new things. You’re likely passing by people and locking eyes, maybe even smiling. That moment with other people, especially while in nature, has much deeper-reaching mental and physical benefits than one likely realizes.
8. Take a break from technostress
Last, but certainly not least, we all need a break from work, social media, and screen time. More and more studies are coming out that prove the negative mental, physical, and emotional health effects of too much screen time. In one study, spending too much time staring at your phone or computer was found to have a multitude of negative health impacts, including ADHD, depression, lack of sleep, and anxiety. If setting your phone down for an hour and breathing in fresh air isn’t quite enough, lacing up your favorite trail shoes, moving your body through the woods in nature, and working up a sweat can certainly help melt away the stress of the day.
Reconnect with nature
I might be biased, but I can confidently say that almost anyone will enjoy running outside. Generally speaking, we as humans do not get nearly enough time outside as we used to. From time spent at work, commuting in a car, sleeping indoors, or watching Netflix, we’re not as connected with nature as we were not so long ago. Lacing up and getting out the door to feel the sun on your skin, to seek out those moments of awe, to feel a sense of accomplishment from doing a full trail loop around the lake, to simply breathe in some fresh air — there’s nothing quite like it.
Our writer’s advice is intended for informational or general educational purposes only. We always encourage you to speak with your physician or healthcare provider before making any adjustments to your running, nutrition, or fitness routines.
Observe, Feel and Only then Decide if You Want to Go Into the Thought
Ashtar via A.S.
Posted on April 14, 2024
My dearest brothers and sisters,
This is Ashtar speaking. I greet you in peace and low.
I deeply empathize with the people of Earth, and I understand that your suffering is currently too much. We have stepped up our covert actions and are sending the maximum amount of energy to Earth that we think you can handle. You may be noticing that the energies are very intense and electrifying right now. Humanity is undergoing a profound transformation right now on a deep, subtle, energetic level.
It is still likely but not guaranteed that your lives will substantially improve and you will physically meet us in 2024 or 2025.
I wish you could see how much of a positive impact you are making. It is likely much more than you are consciously aware of, and I would love for you to feel glad and emboldened and feel that your life has meaning — because indeed, it does.
Hopefully after we have landed, we can show you how much of an impact you have made, even energetically just by being on Earth.
Today I feel privileged that I can give you another message. As with the previous two messages, my hope is that this will give you tools with which you can reduce your suffering. Because you can’t avoid pain, but with enough spiritual growth and perspective you can avoid suffering.
I invite you to imagine a cat that is depressed because some other cats are thinking thoughts that it disagrees with.
Or imagine a cat that is angry because other cats aren’t developing their awareness quickly enough.
Or imagine a cat that is anxious because for years now it is primarily focused on hoping that a certain future will manifest, and it is waiting for that future to manifest.
Wouldn’t you think there is almost something wrong with that cat, that it is almost mentally ill?
You might think: “you’re a cat. All these thought patterns and preoccupations don’t actually help you. Just go and be in the moment. Do what is needed to maintain your body and your life, and then go and lie in the sun somewhere, or go play, or do whatever you want.”
Well, while you are certainly more developed than cats, I mostly feel the same way about the vehicles or lower selves of Earth humans (namely your mind, body and emotions). Ultimately your soul is the one making the big decisions, and ultimately your soul is safe and can’t fail here on Earth regardless. And also, your lower self has very little control over when us galactics will actually land. So there’s no point to your mind being so stressed out and worried and always being preoccupied with the future.
The point of your mind isn’t to be worried and anxious all the time. It isn’t even to maximize pleasure and your lifespan, or minimize pain and risk. The point of your mind is to experience the world and learn lessons and possibly be of service. So go and do that instead of worrying about the state of the world so much.
Earth humans engage in all kinds of behaviors and thoughts patterns that either aren’t useful at all, or that only become useful at a significantly higher level of consciousness than even the average spiritual person is.
SECTION: THOUGHTS YOU MIGHT NOT WANT TO GO INTO
For example, judging other people isn’t useful. You haven’t lived their life, so how can you possibly judge them?
Giving people unsolicited advice isn’t useful, unless you have listened to them extensively first (far more than most people do) and have offered them plenty of appreciation and love first (far more than most people do).
Pushing one side of some culture war or political issue isn’t useful, if you do that with the attitude that your side is 100% right and the other side is 100% wrong. While certainly one side might be more right than the other, issues don’t become permanent battlegrounds if both sides don’t have at least some valid points or unaddressed concerns. So: if you want to engage in culture war or political issues at all, then first raise your level of consciousness until you can genuinely see both perspectives and can see the flaws and unaddressed concerns that both camps have.
Extensively studying politics isn’t useful, except if your calling is to do something with politics (and even then I would consider raising your level of consciousness first and doing something with politics second). That said, learning about politics a bit is fine, because that helps you with understanding the world you live in.
Excessively studying intel or alt-media news or speculating when things might change also isn’t useful. It’s good to know how the world works in broad strokes, but ultimately it doesn’t benefit you to know every detail about things that you have no control over anyway. And spending excessive time wondering when the galactics will land just means you’re not living in the present.
Worrying about the state of the world isn’t useful, because the actual you, your reincarnating soul, can’t be harmed. Not to mention that just being upset about the situation in for example Palestine, without doing anything about it, doesn’t actually help anyone. For most people, I would recommend focusing mainly inwards, with some attention paid to the external world but not too much. Even if your ultimate goal is to improve the outside world, focusing inwards first makes you far more effective at improving the outside world.
Next up: criticizing someone or telling someone they’re wrong or publicly disagreeing with someone is useful in certain situations, however most people do that far more often than would be beneficial.
Chasing pleasure and avoiding pain can be useful to an extent, because it can point to things that you need to have a more functional life, or things that you need to avoid so that you can continue to have experiences here on Earth. Meeting your needs is a valid practice. At the same time, most people are too focused on chasing pleasure and avoiding pain, when those things are ultimately just experiences. It’s possible to just observe that you have pain, without going into it.
Having all kinds of ideas about how you or how your life or how the world should be probably isn’t useful, because your mind really doesn’t have nearly enough information to evaluate these things. If you have resistance to how your life is or how the world is, then it’s entirely possible that your soul wants you to have precisely that life or be in a world that is in that state, so that you can learn critical lessons and release your resistance to it. Yes, I know it’s hard, but being confronted with things you’re in resistance to is exactly how you overcome that resistance.
Having ideas that other people should do certain things — whether that’s your friend, or whether that’s galactics or gray hats intervening — isn’t very useful, because other people have free will. Also, worrying about things that are outside your control isn’t very useful.
Victim consciousness isn’t useful. Labeling huge groups of people as being uniformly bad or uniformly good or uniformly as victims isn’t useful.
Trying to avoid things can be practically necessary in some cases — your vehicle is still a physical body. However sometimes it’s a form of resistance, where people try to avoid something unpleasant that’s nevertheless beneficial, or that their soul wants in order to learn certain lessons. In fact, if you’re in resistance to something or are strongly judging something, then that thing happening to you or that thing happening on Earth may exactly be what you need to learn your lesson and overcome your resistance.
So as you can see: the average person has a huge amount of thought patterns and judgements and labels that don’t actually benefit them.
SECTION: LABELS AND MEANINGS
I invite you to be conscious of labels that you attach to people. Is that person actually a jerk, or is he just having a really bad day or is something awful going on in his life? Is that anti-immigration person actually a racist? Is that left-winger actually just a hypocritical virtue signaller? Are you sure about these things, or is it just easy and pleasing to the ego to label others in a negative way?
Also, I invite you to be conscious of the meanings that you give to things. If someone doesn’t call you back, then yes, it’s possible that they secretly don’t like you — but perhaps they were just busy and forgot. And yes, perhaps right now your life isn’t fun, and I empathize — but that doesn’t mean that you failed, or that your life will always suck, or that you are not good enough, or something like that. Giving a careless meaning to something is how you turn pain into suffering.
Since recently, this channeler has been having deep and satisfying meditations. This channeler is feeling that even in the very unlikely case that us galactics never showed up, even if he would never be in a relationship again, then he can still have a worthwhile and reasonably happy life just by meditating every day and focusing on his spiritual growth. And the channeler realized that this was entirely inside his control, because all he needs to do is just sit down and meditate.
There is still pain in the channeler’s life, but at this moment there is no suffering.
This is an example of the kind of attitude that makes someone’s soul go: “okay, lessons have been learned, there is no need anymore to live in a dark, tough world..” And indeed, the channeler has had the opportunity in this lifetime to individually ascend and leave his body. He chose not to because he wanted to remain on Earth and keep helping others and being of service.
Conversely, back when the channeler still felt that his happiness and well-being depended primarily on others, his soul felt that there were still lessons to be learned on Earth.
Anyone who feels that they primarily depend on others for their happiness or well-being, probably are exactly where they need to be, because their soul probably wants them to learn some more lessons on Earth. While the people who have learned their Earth lessons are the kind of people who are mostly fine and mostly at peace with being on Earth right now, in a deep way, where all of their inner parts are aligned to that. So it’s not just the surface-level, “look at my life being amazing” while some forgotten inner part is screaming on the inside.
Yes, I understand that genuinely reaching inner peace, with all inner parts being aligned to it, is really hard. Later in this message I will share a practice that I think is great for spiritual development.
The amount of healing and spiritual work required to get there might seem endless. Doing healing work can also be very painful in the short and perhaps medium term. However, it’s not like there’s only a pot of gold at the very end of the road, and the healing path until then is only pain. Even well before reaching the point of inner peace, your life and mental well-being will probably improve dramatically if you do your healing work and spiritual work.
People on Earth often seem to either want to make huge, dramatic changes immediately in their life or on the planet, or they feel that it’s pointless and they don’t change anything. Well, it may not be possible to make huge, dramatic, productive changes instantly. However, if you consistently work towards improving things a little bit, then over time you can make a great difference indeed.
For example, for one week, it can suffice to introduce a small thing in your routine that takes just ten minutes in total. And then after that week, or perhaps after a few weeks, you can see if you feel ready to introduce one more small thing.
People tend to overestimate how much they can change immediately, and underestimate how much they can change by consistently making little changes.
Next up, I’ll share a spiritual practice that I think is very useful.
SECTION: OBSERVE, FEEL AND ONLY THEN DECIDE IF YOU WANT TO GO INTO THE THOUGHT
Thoughts and emotions just arise. You can’t control those things arising in you.
However, when a so-called negative thought or emotion arises, most people instantly go into the thought. So for example, if the thought is that this person or this group of people is bad, then often people immediately start thinking about all the ways in which this person or this group is indeed bad. Or people might try to find rational arguments to debunk the thought — but that is still going into the thought. You are still responding to a thought with thoughts.
If you want to get more thoughts zooming around in your head, then respond to thoughts with thoughts.
If you don’t want to get more thoughts zooming around in your head, then I recommend the following:
If a so-called negative emotion or thought arises in you, first observe the thought or emotion and feel it fully. And only once that’s done do I suggest that you decide if you want to indeed go into the thought and start thinking along those lines or start rationally evaluating the thought. Also, if you want to take action, I suggest only doing that after you have observed the thought or feeling and felt it fully.
For example, suppose that a thought arises in you: “I am not good enough”, or “that person is bad.” I don’t recommend immediately agreeing with that, or immediately trying to disprove the statement, or immediately labeling the thought or emotion itself as bad.
Instead just observe it and feel the corresponding emotions fully. If feeling those emotions fully takes a long time, then that’s how long it takes. If you feel the urge to cry or to move your body or to make sounds, do so if you’re in a safe environment. That is part of the healing process.
If after a certain period you notice another feeling coming up, it’s fine to feel that. That can be a part of the healing process as well.
Only once you’ve observed and felt the emotions do I suggest deciding if you indeed want to think about whether you are not good enough, or think about whether that person is bad. If you want to think about those topics, that’s fine, but then it’s a conscious choice.
If you don’t, that’s fine too, then you can just let it go and move on with your life. If it’s helpful, you can visualize a cloud drifting by, or something gently being swept away by the river. You may also find that once you’ve fully felt the corresponding emotions, the thought is often fine with leaving.
So, when a so-called negative thought or emotion arises: observe it, feel it fully, and only then decide if you want to go into the thought.
If you’re trying to observe or to feel and you find yourself having a lot of thoughts, bring your attention to how you’re feeling. Don’t focus on your thoughts, focus on your feelings. The point here isn’t trying to determine what’s true via your feelings: listening to your emotions is a quite bad way to determine what is true or not. The point here is that feeling your feelings will lead to emotional healing. After all, what you’re feeling, you’re healing. And that emotional healing, in turn, will mean that your mind feels the need to produce fewer thoughts.
Yes, it can be hard when so-called negative thoughts or emotions come up to consistently observe, feel and only then decide if you want to go into the thought. However, no one is expecting you to do this always, or do this flawlessly. I am just saying that this is a useful practice — and no one starts out by being immediately perfect at a practice. Instead, you get better at a practice by practicing it.
So, that’s what I recommend: observe, feel and only then decide if you want to go into the thought.
To make things a bit more clear, let’s look at a few things that Earth humans often do instead.
The stereotypical Earth male approach is to skip the “feel” step, and to be primarily concerned with whether thoughts are correct or not, and with what actions are or aren’t appropriate. It would be healthier for Earth men to feel more — but then again, men and women often lose respect for or attraction to Earth men who cry. So unfortunately it’s understandable that men don’t feel safe to feel their emotions. And again, it’s not just other men who should be more tolerant of men expressing emotional distress, it’s also women who should be more tolerant of that.
Conversely, often a woman (or a man) says things with the intention to vent or to release emotions, and often a man immediately jumps to the realm of saying whether those thoughts are rationally correct or not, and saying which actions would be helpful. However, it’s helpful to first work through the emotions. Once that’s done, the woman is often perfectly capable of making the correct decision herself. This is the age-old “I don’t need advice, I need you to listen to me” annoyance that women have with men.
So what women tend to do better than men is to not skip over emotions. However, the mistake that women (and some men) sometimes make is that they spend too little time sitting down without external distractions and really feeling their emotions. Instead they talk about emotions. However, talking about feeling sad isn’t enough, you also need to sit down and truly feel the sadness.
What I suggest is: observe, feel and only then decide if you want to go into the thought. Men (and some women) often skip over the “feel” step entirely. Women (and some men) sometimes skip over the “feel” step in a subtle way, by not actually feeling their emotions and instead going straight to talking about their feelings. Talking about emotions is fine, but that is the third “go into the thought” step. So ideally people feel their emotions first, and only then decide if they want to talk about their emotions, if they want to take action, et cetera.
It’s true that sometimes conversation can be used to more deeply feel your emotions, but I still suggest the order: feel your emotions first, and only then talk about them. After all, most people you talk to will immediately try to cheer you up, or tell you to disagree with the negative thought, et cetera, and then you’re once again in the realm of going into the thought.
Also, by talking to someone, you’re necessarily having to translate the feeling into words, and then people often drift away from feeling their actual sadness and enter the realm of rationally discussing sadness. So if you’re able to first feel your emotions by yourself, without conversation, do so.
Although if you’re unable to feel your feelings, then talking about them with someone (and trying to feel them as deeply as possible as you can during the conversation) may be your only option. And of course, if that’s your only option, then it’s fine to do so.
Small children actually do what is optimal for emotional health, until Earth adults train them out of it. Namely, when small children are sad, they simply start crying. They don’t outright skip over their emotions, or use talking as a way to subtly skip over the feeling step. Instead, when sadness arises in them, they immediately and deeply feel that sadness. And that is what is optimal for emotional health.
SECTION: YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU HAD UNTIL IT’S GONE
For this last section of the message, I want to comment that some of you may feel that this current situation you’re living in isn’t optimal for you. This may or may not be true. Even if you are living in a situation that’s not optimal for you, however, there are probably still lessons that you can learn here. I get that it’s painful, but right here, right now is an incredible opportunity to learn those lessons.
Beware of the spiritual ego trap where the spiritual person says: I have no more lessons to learn, I’m just here to help others, or I’m just here to do something once the new 5D Earth has materialized. Well, it may be true that you’re here to help others, or are here to do something once the 5D Earth is here. However, if you actually had no more lessons to learn, you would be at peace right now, even on Earth. If you’re not at peace, then probably there are still lessons to be learned, even if you are in a suboptimal situation.
In the future, you might have a blissful life, and you might actually be wishing that you were able to experience just a few more days of Earth life when it was at its harshest. After all, beautiful gems of self-improvement and soul growth can be found right here, right now. Pressure creates diamonds.
So I wouldn’t take this time for granted. I wouldn’t recommend spending this incredibly valuable time on hopes and dreams and living in the future. Instead, I would plant your feet in the soil as it is right here, right now.
Is being on Earth right now hard? Yes, it is very hard, and often very painful. However, you don’t need to be perfect. So long as you do your best with your spiritual practice, that is enough. If so-called negative thoughts or emotions arise, well, you know what to do.
This current difficult time really is coming to an end, and you never know what you had until it’s gone.
These channelings are exclusively submitted to EraofLight.com by the channeler. If you wish to share them elsewhere, please include a link back to this original post.
