wherever you go, there you are
the natural world is always within you
sunrise on the summer solstice, 2024
As someone who grew up in a small town, I have mostly been free from the hyper-romanticisation of escaping the city to live in nature.
It was a blessing to grow up the way I did.
I know intimately, how restorative it is to the body and spirit to breathe air heavy with salt. To have the eyes rinsed clean, purified by gazing at the place where the ocean meets the sky, the heart exalted by the sight of endless sea of green.
I also know that rural, coastal or small town living can be restrictive, lonely and hard sometimes.
A lot of my work, a lot of what I spend time thinking about is the space beyond the obvious, the measurable and the objective. Not by ignoring reality - but understanding it, considering it, and then looking beyond that space.
On a surface level, it isn’t up for debate.
Living in nature is objectively healthier. And yet: you can live in the most beautiful, natural place in the world and still be unhealthy, unhappy and unfilled.
You can also live in a very dense city and feel spiritually alive — deeply connected to a larger, greater source.
I share this not to say city life is better, because it’s not. I share this to invite our yearning for more quiet, more stillness, more connection with the natural world into our everyday, starting now, wherever we are.
You do not have to wait, to reconnect with nature (or start anything at all)
We often fantasise about the holiday, the beach house, the new relationship, while staying stagnant and stuck where we are. No matter where you live, or what situation you’re in, you can lift the spirit, get life a little unstuck by bringing in tiny elements of whatever it is our heart is calling out for into our present. The current moment is where everything begins to change.
Wherever you go, there you are
A new job, country, relationship or environment are beautiful goals and experiences to celebrate but they will not inherently fix anything or create long time health or happiness. We have to make moves inwards, as well as outwards.
You can connect to nature while living in the city (it just takes more work, and thats okay)
This has been a big part of my own personal exploration over the last few years, as someone who left the city to move back home to the coast… and then moved to Tokyo. I spent many hours at my desk, overlooking the flowers, the vegetable garden, the ocean in the background wondering why on earth I was trading this for the biggest city in the world but the best decisions in life don’t often make sense. If we have the courage to follow the hearts pull, more often than not, we easily figure the practical stuff out.
Our connection to nature, to the elements, to the seasons, the moon, sun and the earth is more important now than ever before.
Our attention hangs on by a thread so thin, it hardly belongs to us anymore.
The speed of life today would melt the brain of someone who lived just a few hundred years ago. The currency is anxiety and if there isn’t direct action taken against living in a disembodied sea of distraction, it is very difficult to resist the pull.
No matter where you live, you can make a conscious effort to be in relationship with nature.
And I don’t think it has anything to do with throwing your phone into the ocean or deleting all your social media.
As someone who lives in a heaving, pulsing concrete city, here are a few small, simple practices that change everything for me. I’d love to hear yours too.
Watch the sunrise and sunset — Two holy moments, available to us every single day. A favourite string of memories for me last year were evening summer walks through the nature strip that links my suburb to the next as the sun set and the cicadas whirred. Being present at these moments connects us to something sacred and primal: I think we all feel it.
Walk — And of course, walking connects us to nature, even in the city. Walking multiple times a day is best, but sunrise and sunset are extra special. Remember that no amount is too small. It can even be around the block, noticing the single tree, or the neighbours balcony herbs if thats all you’ve got.
Cook with seasonal ingredients — This doesn’t need to be fancy or complicated. If needed you can google the seasonal produce of the area you live and a few nights a week incorporate those ingredients into a meal. Look up herbs for the season you’re in and make a tea before bed. Keep it simple. Let it be easy, first.
Bring nature into your home — I find a huge difference to the energy of my apartment (where I work full time and live from) when I bring plants and fresh flowers as inside offerings. I also love large crystals, beeswax candles and use natural fabrics where possible. My tatami mats are my favourite place to work. Other ideas are using a stone as a centrepiece or chopstick rests, or shell to hold your soap.
Move the energy — I grew up knowing different types of wind. The southerly brings the cool change. The northerly is dry, hot and will burn your throat. The windows of my childhood home were always open, letting the salt on the breeze move energy all the way through. Even in the height of winter and summer, I open the windows every day, even if just for a short moment. I also burn high quality natural incense and resins most days.
Work with herbs —Something as simple and accessible as a herbal infusion sitting on the counter, or bathing with plants (in Japan the practice of seasonal bathing with plants at a local sento is one of my favourite things, I highly recommend trying when you visit.) I love a sun tea on the balcony. Simply place a small handful of herbs in a large glass jar, cover with room temperature water (I use onsen water) and leave in the sun for a few hours, or under the moon overnight.
Bathing — This one is very Tokyo specific, but visiting the bathhouse (sento) or taking a weekend trip to an onsen village has been one of the most beautiful and important rituals for me. I also like fresh eucalyptus sprigs in the shower, bathing with milk and oils, taking showers by candlelight and so on.
Work with the energetics of the days of the week — City life can sometimes feel overly mechanical and mundane, but even if you work a 9-5 you can imbue the energetics of the weekdays into your life through ritual, time for hobbies, scent and how you dress. Learn more here.
Take regular trips out of the city — Even if this is simply taking a train to the edge of the city where there is a mountain, a lake, a beach or a view. A temple is beautiful, too. The horizon, the colour green, the mountains, the water are all soothing and purifying for the spirit. See the trip as a pilgrimage and even if it’s a short time, you can receive the beauty of it all very deeply.
Get to know the moon — try to make eye contact with the moon most days (when the sky is clear, at least) and during the three days around the new and full moon, take even just ten minutes for a meditation practice, journalling moment or small ritual. Done over time, this becomes rhythmic and is very, very powerful: especially for women.
Practice. — A practice of becoming comfortable and still: moving and stretching the body, connects us to the wild, natural rivers, mountains and valleys within ourselves. In many ways this is all we need. To remember we are nature, not machines. Of course, the best place to do this, in my opinion, is The Daily Rest Studio but all you really need is yourself.
Alongside, and above all this:
Learn the seasons and the cycles of the place you live. Get to know the names of the flowers and trees that grow in proximity to your home.
Pay attention to them.
Pay attention to yourself.
Pay attention to the moment.
Pay attention.
And watch everything begin to shift.
New Year Notes
My unpopular belief is that you don’t always have to know *exactly* what you want to have the best year ever. Too often, my best years and seasons looked almost the exact opposite of anything I had thought, intended or hoped.
Sometimes, it’s more than enough just to know the next step. Sometimes, it’s more than enough just to know what needs to be let go of, left in the year that was.
To be perfectly honest, one of the most powerful lessons I have ever learnt is to be okay with saying I don’t know, yet.
Even when you have a business.
Even when the year is new.
Even when you feel like you have nothing to hold onto.
As we roll over into 2025, I’m excited.
I’m excited to keep writing and creating. To mature and deepen within TDR studio. I’m excited to keep learning and struggling with Japanese. To curate retreats you will never forget. To be more of myself than ever before. To deepen my practice. To read a lot of great books. To sit in my favourite cafes. To start bellydancing lessons. To laugh with my friends.
To leave fear behind, finally ♡. (a whole thread, if you need it).
I am so excited about the new year, our new seasons in TDR studio. We are starting (gently, softly) today with The Elemental Body: a deep, three month exploration into re-remembering our relationship with the elemental and subtle body.
We start with the roots, the sacral, the earth and water elements. The Elemental Body is a remembering that our physical bodies are sacred and seasonal, as we work deeply with yin yoga, alchemical meditation practices and energetic boundaries and protection. We have some beautiful guest workshops coming in this first season, too, with dates to be announced soon.
As we start the year, here is my offering to you: The 3 Month Subscription is 20% off until January 31st with the code REST-2025, taking the price from $220 AUD, to $176 (and yes, this is available for current members too, you can easily apply in your member dashboard).
The best part?
This is not a one time discount, but an ongoing price that will continue as long as your membership is active.
I truly hope that this small offering will make a season, or a whole year of Rest, sweetness, movement and inspiration more accessible for you.
I can’t wait to see you in the studio.
With love,
Emmie xo
Also —
My dear friend
& I are hosting a free class on Romanticising Social Media this week! Because I believe we can actually have a healthy relationship with social media — it just takes a bit of discipline and daring to bring a little romance back into the mix.Sign up here if you’re interested :)
With love,
Emmie
Emmie, this was like a deep, nourishing breath of fresh air. 🤍 Everywhere I have lived, I have incorporated whatever nature I can access into my daily life. Sitting in my backyard or park visits in Adelaide. Touching the leaves of my plants or walking by the river in Brisbane. And now, surrounded by the beach on one side and the lush hinterland on the other in Lennox Head. 🌊 I feel most like myself in nature: present, grounded, calm, joyful... and I think this is what they meant when they said "the best things in life are free" (as well as love, obvs). x
Very inspiring, love that you give advice that is simple and often free to follow! I had a long walk after work yesterday with no music and felt grateful for all the beautiful native plants and that I live in a suburb with so much green space.