This week I’m in Scotland and England for work.  I’m spending a few days with a friend in Glasgow, then heading south to Birmingham to speak at Jon LeToc’s Fitness Entrepreneur Bootcamp.  I’m excited on all levels to be here.  Plus, I’ve had a book on my shelves for months and decided now would be the perfect time to start finally reading it – The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner.

So, I’ve moved more than 30 times, traveled to 42 countries during my (almost) 32 years on earth, and have an undergraduate degree in Sociology and Religious Studies from the University of Virginia.  Thus, given the both sociological and travel-oriented slant of this book, I assumed it would be an equally interesting, insightful, and entertaining read.  Only 100 pages into the text, I am happy to inform you I have not been disappointed.

Although not a dissertation on health and wellness, the author offers some simple, yet powerful, anecdotes that apply to my line of work.    The passage below stood out to me because it encapsulates the concept I explain during my popular “12 Steps to Better Health Now” speech which, by the way, is also a section of my Just Roll With It Bootcamp one-day seminar series: Step 10 – Find Physical Activity You Enjoy and Do it Regularly.  The bullets underneath say: Movement vs Exercise, Fresh Air, and Daily.

Ah….FRESH AIR.  It’s pretty simple folks.  Get some! (fresh air, that is)  Want proof for why what you already know feels really good is, in fact, really good for you?

From The Geography of Bliss: “In 1984 a psychologist named Roger Ulrich studied patients recuperating from gallbladder surgery at a Pennsylvania hospital. Some patients were assigned to a room overlooking a small strand of deciduous trees. Others were assigned to rooms that overlooked a brick wall. Ulrich describes the results: “Patients with the natural window view had shorter post-operatics hospital stays, had fewer negative comments in nurses’ notes…and tended to have lower scores for minor post-surgical complications such as persistent headache or nausea requiring medication. Moreover, the wall-view patients required many more injections of potent painkillers.”

I’m not recovering from gallbladder surgery or anything, but you get the message, right? Nature truly can be our best, and often most widely available and FREE, drug!  Ever use “nature therapy” to help you post-op or during a stressful time?  Please do share a comment or two with the other Semper Sarah readers below in the comments section, and cheers to getting’ some (fresh air) and having a grand week! 🙂