During the global COVID-19 lockdown, many people found solace in the great
outdoors. They had the time to seek out nature-based activities, and being
outside offered a safe way to social distance from others.
Since then, life has returned to its frenetic pace; but people are spending
more time in nature since the
pandemic.
Perhaps it's no surprise that the outdoor gear
industry
benefited from increased demand during the lockdown, and it has continued to
steadily
grow.
Despite what the glossy ads might communicate, though, gear isn’t necessary for
meaningful nature-based activities. In fact, a small but growing number of
people are seeking outdoor
activities
that offer an intimate and gear-free connection with nature. Service providers
are responding to this interest by offering more naturally connective
experiences in a safe environment.
It wasn’t always that way, though.
“To be quite frank, body surfing wasn’t something we thought people would be
interested in learning to do because what sold out on the market was getting on
a surfboard,” said Travis Bays,
co-founder and surf instructor at Bodhi Surf +
Yoga in Uvita, Costa Rica. Body surfing as
a safety skill was integrated into Bodhi surfing classes in 2016. The company
began offering standalone body surfing experiences in 2019.
In body surfing, people use their body (as opposed to a surfboard) to move with
a wave’s energy. There are tools body surfers can use, including swim fins and
hand planes, but the emphasis is placed on the direct connection between the
body and the wave for propulsion — similar to how fish and dolphins “ride”
waves.
The desire to reconnect with the physical body and draw on the many health
benefits of
nature
are some of the key attractions to organic, immersive experiences like these.
“I think that people are growing curious about alternative, non-medicinal ways
to improve their overall wellness,” said Bella
Massey, founder and head instructor
at Immersia Freediving — a freediving
school launched in Sydney, Australia in October 2020. “Freediving
(diving in deep water without the use of breathing apparatus) is perhaps riding
the same wave as breathwork, cold exposure and sauna culture.”
If either body surfing or freediving sounds a bit nerve-wracking, that’s not
surprising. Removal of gear — whether a scuba tank, surfboard or even shoes —
often happens on the edge of discomfort. But that also has its benefits.
Submersion in water, for example, greatly decreases the distance body surfers
can see — which changes the perspective of their environment.
“When people are in the water, they have to breathe differently and hold their
breath differently,” Bays said. “You have to be really present and in the
moment. It requires heightened awareness.”
Similarly, while learning how to freedive, Immersia Freediving’s clients also
learn important water-safety skills including rescues and how to trust personal
judgment.
“Increasingly, we meet guests who want to explore freediving for mental health
reasons — to find quiet and improve their ability to control their emotions,”
Massey said. Freedivers must learn to listen to their bodies and recognize a
panic response versus their body’s actual needs. “They need to be willing to
break down their own expectations of themselves and accept each stage of the
journey,” she said.
Yet, it doesn’t take water for discomfort to surface, as Amber-Rose
Knight, co-founder of
Beyond Domestication, has discovered. The
London-based company offers experiences including rewilding walks — which
include sensory awareness exercises — barefoot walking, and grounding — which
involves touching the Earth's surface to balance the body’s electrical charge.
“People have a range of reactions to the barefoot walking,” she said.
“Initially, there’s often some nervousness, resistance or even misunderstanding
about why we’re doing it. But as they push through that initial discomfort, we
see a shift — from hesitance to excitement and joy.”
Knight recalled an instance of a child who had never been outside without shoes:
“He refused to walk barefoot; so instead, we had him hug a tree to ground
himself,” she said.
This reconnection with nature is also a chance to slow down and reset in an
increasingly fast-paced world that further removes people from natural
environments. Reconnection is the key word here, as these experiences often
reinforce the innate connection humans have always had with the natural world.
Bays noted, for example, that many kids playing in the ocean naturally body surf
when they let waves carry them toward the shore by lying on their bellies.
Though gear still plays an important role in many outdoor experiences, feedback
from participants in organically immersive experiences such as these is
overwhelmingly positive. They feel rejuvenated and relaxed, more in touch with
both nature and themselves.
“(Body surfing) was such a special addition to what we were already doing, which
was getting people to tune into the ocean,” Bays said. “What better way to get
people to stand up for the
ocean
than to get their whole body immersed into it, and also learn a bit more about
how the ocean feels?”
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JoAnna Haugen is a writer, speaker and solutions advocate who has worked in the travel and tourism industry for her entire career. She is also the founder of Rooted — a solutions platform at the intersection of sustainable tourism, social impact and storytelling. A returned US Peace Corps volunteer, international election observer and intrepid traveler, JoAnna helps tourism professionals decolonize travel and support sustainability using strategic communication skills.
Published Dec 2, 2024 7am EST / 4am PST / 12pm GMT / 1pm CET