How to practice a ‘sit spot’
The sit spot is the simplest and most powerful way to connect with nature and yourself.
It is a type of mindfulness exercise that encourages you to focus on your physical senses and helps you to make a strong connection with the natural world on your doorstep.
There are many benefits to having a regular sit spot:
• It gives you space to notice your thoughts and emotions.
• Helps relax and calm your mind, reducing stress.
• Shows you the life, beauty and joy of nature that is right on your doorstep.
• Helps you get to know the local wildlife, through observing animal and bird behaviour.
• Helps you to build a relationship with a particular place, which you will return to regularly throughout the seasons.
• Helps you feel a sense of belonging, as you become aware that you are part of something much bigger than yourself.
One of the reasons this is such a powerful practice is that we’re hardwired to need a connection with nature. Our brains evolved in a Palaeolithic environment. Our ancestors got most of their sensory stimulation through observation, tracking animals, surviving in the wilderness and listening to the stories of their elders around the campfire. We are no different, but we live in a world where our brains are being bombarded by a whole load of new and different types of information. This isn’t good for our mental health. The pace of modern technological development means that society has undergone more changes in the past 50 years than in the whole of previous human history. Our brains can’t keep up! So much of the information we now receive is potentially stressful – bad news, pressurising adverts, etc – so our nervous systems are regularly forced into fight or flight mode, without us even realising it.
How to practice your sit spot
Ideally you need outdoor space of some kind, but if you don’t have a garden and can’t get to your local park, move a chair next to a window and leave it open. If you can see a tree or plants outside, that will really help. It’s important to pick a spot that you can return to regularly.
Your chosen location should be fairly quiet, without too many other people around. A lot of people choose to sit with their back against a tree trunk but this isn’t strictly necessary. It just needs to be somewhere that you can sit comfortably for around 20 minutes.
If you can wander in a wilder space, take some time to find your sit spot. Don’t think too hard about it but be aware if you are drawn to any place in particular.
1. Set your intention to let go of the chatter inside your head and be present in the moment. Leave your phone at home. Take a journal or something you can use to write in, in case you feel the urge to record your thoughts, feelings and experiences. Take a watch or alarm clock and set a timer for 20 minutes. You can build up to longer periods over time.
2. Walk slowly towards your sit spot, focusing on what you can see, feel, smell and hear around you.
3. Sit down, get comfortable, and take time to settle into the space. Close your eyes and notice the sensation of your breathing. Notice your thoughts; notice how you feel. Allow everything to wash over you – whatever it is. Don’t judge, just observe what’s going on inside you.
4. Take your shoes off and place your hands on the ground beside you. Feel the earth (or your chair) beneath you, supporting you. Relax into it and take some deep breaths.
5. Take a couple of even deeper, slower breaths in through the nose. Notice the smells and scenes on the air.
6. Open your eyes and pick a point to focus on. Without moving your eyeballs, notice what you can ‘see’ in your peripheral vision, or out of the corners of your eyes. This will help you feel immersed in the landscape. Notice colours, shapes and movement.
7. Close your eyes and notice sounds. Notice the silence between the sounds and the sounds within sounds. Practice focusing on those that are far away and those that are behind, in front or to the left and right of you. Don’t try too hard to identify what you’re hearing, just listen and observe your feelings and thoughts while you do this.
8. Open your eyes again and notice any birds or animals. What can you see? Observe their behaviour and think about what they might be doing. Maybe you recognise individuals that you’ve seen before?
9. Look at the trees and plants. Do you recognise what variety they are?
10. As you return to your sit spot, notice the differences. How do the plants and animals change each time? How does your mood change each time? How do your thoughts change? Be curious about the changes you see and how they affect you.
11. Finally, remind yourself regularly that you are part of this world that you’re watching. You’re not just an observer; you are made of exactly the same stuff as all the animals and plants around you. We humans are taught to see ourselves as somehow separate or different to all the other living things on this planet, but we’re not.
If you practice your sit spot regularly, you’ll soon start to feel the benefits. Remember to relax, let go of any ‘goals’ and don’t get cross with yourself if your mind wanders – that’s perfectly natural. Simply be patient, notice your thoughts without judging and come back to the exercise.
Here’s a video of me talking you through one of my favourite sit spots on the South Downs in Sussex. Enjoy!