This book is a progression—a quiet unfolding, a gentle deepening, a journey that mirrors the natural rhythms of growth.

Each chapter builds upon the one before it inviting you to move from outer awareness to inner stillness, from observing the world to feeling your place within it.

You begin with the foundational practices of presence and breath, learning to ground yourself and return to the moment. From there, you open the heart, awaken the senses, and step into creative expression with the land.

Wild Stillness holds 108 nature-based practices drawn from breath, movement, creativity, and deep connection with the natural world. It is spacious, poetic, and sensory, and created to support those who hold space for the wellbeing of others, while tending to their own.

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The Wellbeing Benefits of Nature-Based Practices

Nature offers more than beauty—it’s a powerful, research-backed support for emotional, mental, and physical wellbeing. Integrating simple, nature-based practices into life can have profound and lasting effects.

🌿 1. Reduces Stress and Anxiety

• Time in nature helps lower cortisol levels and regulate the nervous system

• Even short outdoor mindfulness breaks reduce emotional overwhelm and improve emotional regulation

🌿 2. Enhances Focus and Attention

• Natural environments restore cognitive function and reduce mental fatigue (Attention Restoration Theory)

• Mindful observation outdoors boosts students' ability to focus and return to learning ready and calm

🌿 3. Builds Emotional Resilience

• Nature-based practices foster connection, curiosity, and a sense of belonging—important foundations for emotional wellbeing

• Grounding in natural rhythms helps students process emotions more gently and with greater self-awareness

🌿 4. Encourages Self-Regulation

• Breathwork, walking meditation, and sensory noticing in nature offer embodied tools for calming and centering

• These can be integrated into classroom routines, playground transitions, or restorative spaces

🌿 5. Supports Staff Wellbeing

• Staff who engage in nature-based mindfulness experience improved mood, reduced burnout, and greater presence with students

• These practices can be built into brief staff check-ins, PD days, or outdoor team moments

🌿 6. Strengthens Connection & Belonging

• Shared time in nature fosters connection across peer groups, classrooms, and staff teams

• It gently supports inclusive, compassionate school cultures rooted in care