Lockdown Biohack #13 - Using Your Senses

The idea for sharing these biohacks with you evolved from a sense of longing to contribute to the world to offer something to the pandemic. Maybe it’s because I am a Pisces that I can’t just focus on my immediate community rather I’m always thinking about the whole world at large. Having spent time in India, Thailand, Ecuador, Morocco, Spain, and many places in Europe, Canada, and the US, I always make a point of being with the local people, not necessarily in fancy hotels. Sadly travel is out of the question for now so we can only reminisce about the places we've been. I’m curious about human nature and what are the fundamental characteristics of humans all over the world that provide us with the tools to survive and be happy. My conclusion is that one of the humans’ greatest attributes is the ability to adapt.

Using our sense of smell which is the strongest memory trigger we have, we can return to places we have been in the past. When my children were young I used to take them camping at Algonquin Park because I believed that all children should sleep on the ground at least one time a year. We would go hiking and I would get them to stop and smell the forest. We would pick up leaves and dirt from the ground and smell them. My plan was to imprint a love for nature, hiking, and a love for the outdoors. It worked and now they are teaching their children to love nature too.

What outdoor winter smells or scents bring you happy memories? Do you know what snow smells like? Is there a particular outdoor scent of winter that you could tap into right now?

Go outside today and focus on using all your senses. Smell the air. Look around and observe what makes you happy. Listen to the sound of the wind or the birds. Smell the pine needles or the trunk of a tree. Taste the snow. Feel the cold on your barefoot or use your bare hands to rub snow on your face. Sit in the snow and be absolutely present. Can you smell ice?

What you are seeing, hearing, experiencing at any moment is changing not only your mood, but how your nervous, endocrine, and immune systems are working. Every part of your body and brain is responding to your actions. Nature is healing you.

Try not to think that what you are doing is either good or bad, but rather experience it, as if it is so. I encourage you to include the whole family. I am sure kids would participate too.

Feel free to share your experiences so others can learn from you.

Tag #lockdownbiohacks

Keep being cool.

Soul to sole,

Barefoot Sue