Healing Powers of Medical Qigong especially for seniors & those challenged with trauma from stroke and cancer. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Acupuncture, Chinese Herbs, Ancient Medical Tattooing & Yang Sheng, Nature Art & Music. Blogging about how to grow, obtain & create your survival medicine supply.
Doing field-recording & nature audio immersion has helped me manage and heal both my aortic dissection symptoms and my kidney cancer. Not only do I find immense pleasure in hiking far into the wilderness to place the recorders in isolated habitat, but processing the audio and then listening to the languages of nature makes me feel like I am cloaked with a snug, weighted blanket woven by Gaia.
Four hours of mid-May post-sunset amphibian calls across the wide, tidally influenced West Goose Creek marsh in the Wakulla District of the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. The audio begins around 7pm EST and continues to 11 pm EST during a light drizzly rain. Recorded frogs include pig frogs (Rana grylio), leopard frogs (Lithobates sphenocephalus), green tree frogs (Hyla cinerea) and others. Herons and other wading birds can be heard in the background occasionally and the periodic aircraft engine noise passing overhead. The wide open marsh is covered with black needlerush (Juncus spp.) and crimson marsh mallow (Hibiscus coccineus). Our Sony D10 recorders equipped with Clippy stereo microphones protected with windbubbles and dry bags were placed about 2 meters above the saturated ground secured in evergreen branches of wax myrtle shrubs (Morella cerifera).
Forest bathing, also known as "Shinrin-Yoku" in Japanese, refers to spending time in a forest or natural environment for the purpose of enhancing health, wellness, and happiness. The practice is not exercise, or hiking, or jogging; it is simply being in nature, connecting with the universal through our senses of sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch.
Very real health management substances can be acquired through Forest Bathing
The connection between forest bathing and healing trauma or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has been known to traditional healers since the beginning of time but has only recently been acknowledged in scientific literature.
One of my favorite Forest Bathing places is found deep in the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge
Importantly, some potential reasons and mechanisms to explain how forest bathing could be beneficial include:
Stress Reduction: One of the significant benefits of forest bathing is stress reduction. Natural settings can decrease cortisol levels, pulse rate, and blood pressure, which are typically heightened in individuals suffering from trauma or PTSD. Lowering these stress indicators can help individuals manage their symptoms more effectively.
Mood Enhancement: Nature and forest environments are associated with enhanced mood and feelings of wellbeing. This could be beneficial for individuals with PTSD, who often suffer from mood disorders such as depression and anxiety.
Mindfulness and Presence: The practice encourages mindfulness and living in the present moment, which can help distract individuals from traumatic memories and intrusive thoughts that contribute to PTSD.
Improved Sleep: Forest bathing can contribute to better sleep, which is often a challenge for individuals with PTSD. Better sleep can lead to improvements in mental and physical health.
Boosts Immune System: Exposure to forests enhances the activity of natural killer cells, a component of the immune system that helps combat disease. This is partly due to inhaling phytoncides, organic compounds with antibacterial properties released by trees.
Therapeutic Setting: A forest can provide a calming and safe environment for therapeutic activities, such as trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy or exposure therapy.
Nature Connection: Some research suggests that developing a connection with nature can aid in trauma recovery, as it can promote feelings of peace, resilience, and overall mental wellbeing.
Remember, while forest bathing may provide potential benefits, it should not replace traditional treatment methods for PTSD and trauma, such as psychotherapy and medication. If you or someone else has PTSD or has experienced a traumatic event, it's crucial to seek help from a mental health professional.
Hiking way into the coastal swamps here in Florida to set up my audio equipment for overnight wildlife recording is one of the significant ways I manage my health. The relaxation to my body and mind is indescribable. When out in nature I am awed by the immensity of the earth's vast expanses rich in diversity, color, textures, smells and sounds. 'Forest (or marsh in my case) bathing' is truly healing.
Here is a link to one of my latest recordings, an overnight marsh pond collection of frog calls. I find this audio to be quite relaxing and have been playing for background ASMR throughout the days. Hope you find healing, enjoyment and relaxation in Mother Nature's symphony! Over three hours primarily of Southern Leopard Frogs, Lithobates (Rana) sphenocephala and southeastern field cricket, Gryllus rubens from the edge of a fresh water shallow marsh pond in the SMNWR. Leopard frogs are one of the most common types of frogs in Florida. Much of the habitat in the SMNWR where I normally record is a mix of fresh and saltwater. This particular area where the recording was collected was primarily freshwater. Leopard frogs however are one of the more salt tolerant of Florida frog species. The nights are still cool here so mating season has not fully arrived. Rather than the typical frantic mating calls of late spring, the calls here are of a more nuanced conversational type. Audio recorded from 9pm to 10pm February 18, 2023 with Sony PCM M10 and Clippy stereo microphones, windcovers and drybags.
Into the Saw Palmetto dominated pine flatwoods to the marsh waterline where I'll set up recorders for overnight audio collection
An hour of sunlight left, heading into the wet saw palmetto dominated pine and cypress lined sloughs to set up Sony recorders for overnight field recordings. Lots of migratory birds have made their way to the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge and they are quite vocal after dark & just before sunrise. I enclose the recorders set at 24 bit/96000 (50% gain) in drybags and cover the stereo mics (PIP power lav type, usually MikroUsi or Clippy) with fuzzy wind covers. Hang the drybags on a tree branch, draping mics over branches or using a wire hair tie place around trunk with a binaural mic arrangement. So excited to go back out at sunrise & collect recorders. Not quite like sleeping under the stars but listening to the night sounds of the marsh & flatwoods is healing. Check out bio link for a sampling of field recordings from the marshes of SMNWR
Coyote Pack reconciliation calls after a midnight hunt in the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. Recorder placed in a mixed hardwood slough in the midst of a wet pine flatwoods. Sony PCM with stereo microphones in dry bags. Waxing moon, light rain. November 2021. The acoustics of the flatwoods are complex. An abundance of water surface creates wave reflection and 'echos' as well as does the fire influenced open midstory under the acres and acres of pines. Note: Coyote calls are usually a signal for the pack to regather or to call juveniles after nighttime excursions and not necessarily to signal a kill.
Here is an hour long audio of freshwater pond night sounds in the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. Audio clip contains Anhinga (their calls are ethereal), Great Blue Heron and Common Gallinule and Catbird, calls post sunset calls from the Headquarters Pond area of the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge on November 12, 2021. Sony PCM recorder with Clippy272 stereo microphones in a double dry bag placed in the fronds of a Sabal palmetto tree approximately 3 meters from the shoreline. Waxing moon, moderate temperatures and scattered light rain.
Spending a day hiking in nature makes me feel much better. This 'feeling better' can be quantified too. For me, spending time out in the wilds resets my nervous system, lowers my blood pressure, dissipates stress and just makes me feel all around better.
Back in the city however we are continually exposed to a much heavier, constant background noise loading than we would be if we lived way out in the country.There is a huge difference between the sounds in the urban core and the sounds in the wildlife refuge far away from roads, highways, buildings, factories and urban infrastructure. Because we are desensitized to urban noise levels wedon't realize how much this excess urban noise may be affecting our bodies.
How does the constant elevated noise level from the city impact our health?Irreversible hearing loss is now one of the most prevalent health issues affecting humans, as are hypertension and stress. Loud urban noises include both unwanted noises such as traffic and wanted noises that include stereo speakers, concerts and loud car speakers. All noises have a direct impact on our well being.
Spending a weekend day out in a state or regional park away from the city can provide a number of health benefits. Time outdoors make us aware of just how noisy the urban core actually is. From a health perspective it is important to recognize the true levels of ambient city noise we are exposed to daily. Recognizing noises we previously ignored leads to an understanding of how spending time outside the city in nature can provide a number of important positive effects on our bodily systems.
The first 15 seconds of this audio was recorded just outside the Tallahassee city limit, in a residential neighborhood at midnight. The next 15 seconds were taken in the SMNWR at midnight, both recordings set with same gain (input volume) levels.The differences in city noise and nature noise can be obvious when the ambient noise levels of both are compared side by side.
When is the last time you have spent a number of hours outdoors, away from the city, hiking, tubing, swimming or camping? Next time you go, pay attention to the differences between the noises from home and the much lower levels of background noise in the forests. Once we are able to distinguish between urban and nature noise levels the contrast is obviously evident.
Working with nature recordings has heightened my desire to visit and re-visit the wilds. As soon as I leave the city and draw near to the coastal wetlands preserves I feel a sense of relaxation come over me. Immersed in birds' and frogs' melodious calls and the buffered quiet of forest green, my body responds with a noticeable increase in available energy tempered with deep relaxation.
I am renewed. Yet too soon the sun sets low and it is time to return to the noisy city.
Set out recorders last night in the refuge (I've a scientific Special Use Permit to do so) for overnight recording.
The St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge is amazingly beautiful. Went back out before sunrise to retrieve the recorders.
Field Recording in the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, Kevin Songer
Here are some photos of hiking out to where I had the Sonys placed.
Field Recording in the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, Kevin Songer
The second photo is how I attach the recorder to a tree or shrub, in two dry bags (one inside the other) and then the two diurnal microphones covered with fuzzy windshields.
Field Recording in the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, Kevin Songer
Be sure to check out the fourth photo where a reptile was following me.
Alligator following me while Field Recording in the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, Kevin Songer
Sometimes wildlife think the fuzzy windshields are big bugs and bite at them but spit the fuzzies back out pretty quickly. I can often hear the 'blah-meh' on the recorder afterwards, lol.
Field Recording in the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, Kevin Songer
I know I have captured some pretty spectacular audio of a marsh wren, Cistothorus palustris, last night.
Will be posting audio on my Soundwave page and here once processed. We live on an amazing planet.
Nature is teaching me so much about life, healing and art.
One hour audio clip of a Green Tree Frog chorus (Hyla cinera) along the banks of Headquarter's Pond in the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. Occasional Pig Frog calls are interspersed throughout the Green Tree Frog choruses.
Nature languages possess many important survival, health and community qualities. Listening to the languages of nature can bring us humans closer to our evolutionary roots, heal our hypertension and stress and open many doors of adventure and opportunity.
We humans have long forgotten how to listen to what nature is telling us. Enjoy this hour of these aquatic frogs as they chorus together.
