Rodger Douglas
Doctor of Medical Heilkunst
Naturing
After treating chronic disease for several years I’ve come to conclusion that modern life is one of the main reasons why we feel so sick and tired all the time. Our urban lifestyles often pull us away from the natural rhythms that once nourished our bodies and spirits, so in my practice, I try my best to get my city dwelling clients to reconnect with nature.
In my Heilkunst practice, I encourage clients to rediscover the natural world. Not through demanding routines or elaborate programes, but through simple, enjoyable experiences. Here are a few ways to reconnect with nature.
1. Forest Bathing
Finding peace among the trees
There is something deeply comforting about walking through a forest. The filtered sunlight, the rustling leaves, the scent of damp earth, and the sounds of birds create an atmosphere very different from the busy world we inhabit.
In Japan, the practice of Shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing, encourages us to experience the forest through our senses.
Unlike hiking, forest bathing isn't about exercise, distance, or reaching a destination. It's about slowing down and allowing nature to capture our attention.
Forest Bathing and Skin Health
Living with a persistent skin condition can be emotionally exhausting. Visible symptoms, discomfort, self-consciousness, and worries about flare-ups may create an ongoing cycle of tension.
Stress can aggravate conditions such as psoriasis, eczema, and acne, and may contribute to flushing in people with rosacea.
Forest bathing offers an opportunity to interrupt this cycle. Spending quiet time in natural surroundings may encourage relaxation, ease emotional tension, and help restore a sense of calm.
The forest doesn't need to cure your skin condition to become a valuable part of your healing journey.
Try Forest Bathing
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Walk slowly. Forget about reaching a destination. Allow yourself to wander without a particular purpose.
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Engage your senses. Notice the changing light, the scent of trees, birdsong, and the textures around you.
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Find a resting place. Sit beneath a tree or beside a stream. Spend ten minutes simply observing.
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Try a little nature photography. Look for interesting patterns, colours, and details that you might otherwise overlook.
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Visit regularly. Returning to the same place helps you develop a relationship with its changing character.
You don't need a remote wilderness. A quiet park, botanical garden, or tree-lined path can be a wonderful place to begin.
2. Earthing
Reconnecting with the ground beneath our feet
We tend to think of the Earth as solid ground beneath us, but it is also part of an enormous natural electrical system.
Every day, thunderstorms around the world help maintain an electrical difference between the Earth's surface and the atmosphere. We rarely notice this invisible environment, yet life has always existed within it.
This raises an intriguing question: could direct contact with the Earth influence our biology?
This idea forms the basis of earthing, also known as grounding.
Proponents suggest that direct contact with the ground allows the body to share the Earth's electrical potential. The possibility of wider health effects is still being investigated, and claims about treating inflammation or chronic disease remain uncertain.
But there are other reasons to enjoy contact with the natural world.
Walking barefoot through grass, feeling warm sand beneath your feet, or resting beside a river can be wonderfully soothing experiences.
Earthing and Skin Health
For someone living with psoriasis, acne, or rosacea, earthing can be approached as a gentle relaxation practice rather than a treatment for the condition itself.
Feeling the ground beneath your feet may help shift your attention away from discomfort and worry and towards the immediate sensations of the natural world.
Simple Ways to Practise Earthing
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Walk barefoot on clean grass, sand, or suitable natural ground.
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Sit on the grass in a garden or park and feel the ground beneath you.
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Spend time by water, wading along a safe shoreline or enjoying the sensations of a shallow stream.
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Try mindful contact. Notice temperature, texture, pressure, and the way your body responds.
Choose safe, clean environments and avoid barefoot contact when you have open wounds, broken skin, or impaired sensation.
Earthing needn't involve expensive equipment. Sometimes the simplest approach is to take off your shoes and enjoy the grass beneath your feet.
Earthing is a therapeutic technique that involves “grounding” or electrically reconnecting to the earth. Basically, it's putting your body in direct contact with the earth.
In The Earthing Movie: the Remarkable Science of Grounding, Clinton Ober, the founder of Earthing tells a story.
“One of my friend’s sister, a little Indian girl, had scarlet fever. She'd been to the doctors and all that kind of stuff and she wasn't getting well. They brought her home and there was nothing they could do for her. Everybody was really traumatized by it.
Then one of the elders, they dug a pit and put a little bit of straw in it, and they put her in the ground. They built a fire there and just sat with her for days and then next thing we knew she was up running around she was okay. It was just awesome, just totally awesome.”
There are two reasons why I started with this quote. Firstly, the little girl recovered, so it shows that earthing works. And it works for serious conditions. Secondly, and more importantly, the girl spent a few days in the pit. Nothing is easy
Thunderstorm
Stand outside during a thunderstorm and you'll witness one of nature's greatest electrical displays. Within the clouds, tiny collisions between ice crystals and water droplets separate electrical charges until billions of volts build up. Eventually, the imbalance becomes so great that a bolt of lightning races between cloud and Earth.
We think of the Earth as solid ground beneath our feet, but it is also part of a vast electrical system. Every day, thunderstorms occurring around the world continually recharge the atmosphere, maintaining a small but measurable electrical difference between the Earth's surface and the air above it. We rarely notice this invisible electrical environment, yet every living creature exists within it.
This raises an intriguing question. If life evolved while immersed in the Earth's natural electrical field, could direct contact with the ground have biological effects? This idea forms the basis of earthing, also known as grounding.
Proponents suggest that walking barefoot on grass, sand, or soil allows the body to reconnect with the Earth's electrical potential. Others point to the minerals, microbes, and organic richness of the soil itself as equally important contributors to health.
Perhaps these ideas need not compete. The Earth is more than a source of minerals or a conductor of electricity. It is a living environment that interacts with us in many ways: chemically, biologically, thermally, psychologically, and electrically as well.
Ways to ground yourself
There are many ways you can reconnecting to the earth. This can be done through either direct or indirect contact with the earth.
Walking barefoot. One of the easiest ways to ground yourself to the earth is simply to walk barefoot. You can do this on grass, sand, or even mud, allowing your skin to touch the natural ground can provide you with grounding energy.
Lying on the ground. You can increase your skin-to-earth contact by lying on the ground. You can do it in the grass by the park or on the sand at the beach.
Submersing in water. Water may be used to ground in the same way the physical earth is used for grounding. Swim or wade in a lake, river or the ocean. Be sure to stay safe when swimming, especially in murky or deep waters.
Grounding equipment. If going outside to ground yourself isn’t an option, there are alternatives. One method of earthing involves connecting a metal rod to the ground outside and then connecting the rod to your body through a wire. Another method is to use grounding equipment such as grounding mats, grounding sheets or blankets, or grounding bands and patches?
The Earthing Movie
Sunning
Natural daylight helps regulate our internal biological clock, influencing sleep, alertness, hormones, and mood. Yet many of us spend most of our waking hours indoors under artificial lighting, followed by evenings illuminated by screens.
Sunning is about restoring a healthier relationship with natural light.
It isn't about tanning or exposing yourself to intense midday sunshine. It's about welcoming daylight into everyday life while respecting your skin's individual needs.
4. Seasonal Living
Finding balance with nature's changing rhythms
Nature moves in cycles.
Spring brings new growth, summer offers warmth and abundance, autumn prepares the landscape for change, and winter invites stillness and rest.
For most of human history, people adjusted their activities, food, and daily routines according to these seasonal changes.
Modern conveniences allow us to live almost identically throughout the year. While this has many advantages, it can also make us less aware of nature's rhythms.
Seasonal living encourages us to pay attention again.
The Seasons and Your Skin
Our skin responds continually to changes in temperature, humidity, sunlight, and weather.
Spring — Renewal
Enjoy the longer days, fresh greenery, and opportunities to spend more time outdoors. Notice whether pollen, changing temperatures, or new activities affect your skin.
Summer — Light and Warmth
Take advantage of pleasant mornings and evenings. If you have rosacea, heat and strong sunshine may provoke flushing. Sweat and humidity may also aggravate some forms of acne and eczema.
Autumn — Transition
As temperatures fall and the air changes, reconsider your daily routines. This can be a good time to prepare for cooler weather and notice whether your skin requires additional moisture.
Winter — Rest and Restoration
Cold winds, dry air, and indoor heating can be particularly uncomfortable for people with psoriasis, eczema, and sensitive skin. Gentle skin care, comfortable clothing, and attention to indoor humidity may help.
Seasonal living isn't about following rigid rules. It's about noticing how your body responds and making adjustments that support comfort and well-being.
Japan's 72 Microseasons
One beautiful example of seasonal awareness comes from Japan's traditional calendar, which divides the year into 72 microseasons, each lasting approximately five days.
These describe subtle changes such as the arrival of migrating birds, the appearance of new growth, or the gradual melting of ice.
You can practise something similar wherever you live.
Notice when the first flowers bloom, when birds return, or when the evening light begins to change.
You may discover that your own neighbourhood has dozens of small seasons waiting to be noticed.
The Art of Seeing
We often reconnect with nature though the heart and emotions but there is another deeper way, and that's connecting to nature through observation and study. I don't mean reading dry, intellectual books filled with interesting but frivolous facts. No! I want you to connect to nature, and ultimately to yourself, through seeing.
"I once encountered a group of about a dozen hikers who walked right over a perfectly clear leopard spoor. Not one of them noticed it, simply because they were not “spoor conscious”. To them the leopard simply did not exist. Yet to find a fresh leopard spoor in the wilderness adds an exciting new dimension to hiking." Now I'm not asking you to put on a pair of hiking boots and go into the wilderness and study animal tracking.
A World Hidden in Plain Sight
In The Hidden Life of Trees, German forester Peter Wohlleben invites us to reconsider what a forest really is.
Trees are not simply isolated organisms competing for sunlight. Their roots interact with vast networks of soil fungi, through which nutrients move and complex ecological relationships develop. Trees also respond to their neighbours, communicate through chemical signals, and influence the conditions in which other plants grow.
Once you begin to appreciate this, a walk through the woods becomes a different experience. You no longer see merely a collection of trees. You begin to wonder about the relationships and hidden processes taking place around you.
Learning to Read the Landscape
Tristan Gooley takes this idea in another direction. In How to Read Nature, he shows us how the natural world is constantly offering clues to those who know how to recognize them.
The shape of a tree may reveal its exposure to prevailing winds. The position of the sun can help us find direction. Clouds offer hints about approaching weather, while the behaviour of birds and insects can tell us something about our immediate surroundings.
Even an ordinary patch of weeds growing beside the pavement may reveal something about soil conditions, moisture, disturbance, or the changing seasons.
Gooley encourages us to become detectives, piecing together small observations until the landscape begins to tell a story.
And once you learn to recognize these clues, it's difficult to return to seeing nature as merely pleasant scenery.
The Art of Tracking
South African researcher Louis Liebenberg explores an even more remarkable form of observation in The Art of Tracking: The Origin of Science.
He argues that traditional animal tracking is one of humanity's earliest forms of scientific reasoning. A skilled tracker doesn't simply identify footprints. They use imagination, observation, and deduction to reconstruct an animal's movements and behaviour.
Liebenberg offers a wonderful example of how easily we overlook the world around us:
"I once encountered a group of about a dozen hikers who walked right over a perfectly clear leopard spoor. Not one of them noticed it, simply because they were not “spoor conscious”. To them the leopard simply did not exist. Yet to find a fresh leopard spoor in the wilderness adds an exciting new dimension to hiking." ~ Louis Liebenberg, The Art of Tracking: The Origin of Science
I love this observation.
The leopard was there, or at least the evidence of its presence was there. Yet for the hikers, it might as well not have existed.
How much of the natural world are we missing simply because we haven't learned to recognize its signs?
Paul Rezendes develops this practical skill in his wonderfully titled book, Tracking & the Art of Seeing.
He shows how footprints, disturbed soil, feeding marks, broken branches, droppings, and animal trails can reveal the otherwise hidden activities of wildlife.
You don't have to travel to the African wilderness to experience this. A local park may contain squirrel tracks, bird feathers, insect trails, spiderwebs, and countless other signs of life.
What once appeared to be an empty patch of woodland can suddenly become a place filled with activity, even when the animals themselves remain unseen.
Goethe: Learning to See the Whole
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he German poet and natural scientist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe believed that understanding a living organism required more than examining and classifying its individual parts. We must also observe how those parts relate to one another and how the organism changes over time.
He was particularly interested in the transformation of plants, following their development from seed to leaf, flower, and fruit.
Imagine returning to the same tree throughout the year.
In spring, you observe the opening buds. During summer, you notice the fully developed leaves and the spreading canopy. Autumn brings changes in colour and the gradual shedding of leaves. Winter reveals the structure of branches that had been hidden beneath the foliage.
You begin to understand the tree not as a static object, but as a living process unfolding through time.
Goethe's approach encourages patience. Rather than rushing to identify, explain, or categorize everything we encounter, we allow ourselves to observe more carefully.
Sometimes the most interesting discoveries begin when we stop trying to find an immediate answer.
Discovering Your Own Natural World
Now, I'm not suggesting you put on hiking boots, buy expensive equipment, or spend years studying botany and animal tracking.
You can begin with something much simpler.
Choose a familiar place: a garden, local park, riverbank, or even a tree growing beside your street.
Visit it regularly and start asking questions.
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Why are the branches growing more strongly on one side?
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What animal made those marks in the soil?
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Which birds visit this tree, and what are they doing?
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Why do certain plants grow in one place but not another?
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What has changed since my last visit?
Take photographs, make a few sketches, or keep a small nature journal. Read a little about whatever captures your curiosity, then return and observe again.
The important thing is not how many facts you accumulate, but how your relationship with nature changes.
Seeing Nature with New Eyes
For people living with chronic skin conditions such as psoriasis, acne, or rosacea, life can sometimes become dominated by discomfort, worry, and constant attention to symptoms.
Nature observation offers a gentle opportunity to turn that attention outward.
Instead of thinking about your skin, you become absorbed in the activities of a bird, the transformation of a flower, or the mystery of an animal track.
Curiosity gradually replaces preoccupation, even if only for a little while.
And unlike many activities, nature observation doesn't require physical exertion, special equipment, or a particular level of fitness. It is something you can enjoy at your own pace.
The five writers we've explored approach nature from different directions, but they share something important: the natural world becomes richer and more meaningful when we learn to pay attention.
The trees, birds, insects, clouds, and changing seasons have always been there.
What changes is our ability to see them.
And once you begin to see, an ordinary walk may never seem quite so ordinary again.
Plants and Trees
Look at leaf shape and arrangement, bark, buds, flowers, seeds and the overall form of the plant. Notice where it grows. Is the ground shaded or exposed, wet or dry, compacted or loose? Does the plant appear alone or in a colony? Instead of seeing a weed as merely unwanted, consider what its presence may reveal about disturbance, drainage, soil fertility or the season.
Revisit the same plants throughout the year. The timing of budding, flowering, fruiting, leaf colour and leaf fall forms part of a seasonal record known as phenology. Even a few simple notes can reveal how differently each year unfolds.
Birds, Insects, and Animals
Animals are often easier to hear or detect than to see. Begin with movement and sound. Where did the call come from? Was it repeated? Did another bird answer? Is the animal feeding, resting, travelling, defending a territory or responding to danger?
Look for indirect evidence as well: tracks, webs, nests, shed skins, feathers, droppings, gnawed seeds and paths through vegetation. These signs turn observation into a gentle form of detective work. You begin to understand not only which creatures are present, but how they use the landscape.
