Activities
Sit spot activities are based in the practice of observation.
Each activity asks the participant to observe their environment with care in order to comprehend the significance of the natural world.
We invite you to take a minute and practice one or all of these sit spot activities!
Senses Activity
The goal of this activity is to address and express feelings. What could be better way to do this than using the five senses in nature?
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Observe 5 things you see, 4 things you feel,
and 3 things you hear.
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Be intentional about observing your surroundings, and they will become more important to you. Allow for time and space for you to be yourself and experience the world around you.
Gratitude Activity
Practice being grateful for the minute moments in your day. There can be a lot of overwhelming factors in life that hinder our ability to just sit down, breathe, and express gratitude.
Notice the sensation of sitting down in the sit spot. How does it feel to pause and sit in one place for five minutes?
Do little things from the day feel more or less important when surrounded by nature?
Make a list of all the little things in your life you feel grateful for, and the little things in nature that bring you joy. Sit and breathe there, with your list, for five minutes.
A Meditation for Busy Students
University students can be very stressed with homework, holidays, finals, and the plethora of other time consuming tasks in daily life.
When you come to a sit spot, do not put in any headphones. Close your eyes and focus on the surrounding noises of the birds chirping, and the wind blowing in the distance. As they whistle, focus on your breathing. Notice how the same air you breathe allows birds to chirp and the wind to sing.
The Bird Activity
Spend some time focusing on listening to the birds.
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Can you tell them apart from their calls? From what areas around you are they coming from? Does there appear to be any communication patterns?
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What is their overall mood? What is you mood?
Do they seem calm, busy, anxious, or happy? Do you?
Squirrel Counting Activity
Sometimes, there are a lot of squirrels, especially on campus. This activity is pretty self-explanatory. Challenge yourself to see how many squirrels you can spot in one sitting.
The next time you visit the spot, see if you can count even more than before!
Breathing Activity
It may have been a while since you last stopped and just...breathed, sitting out in nature.
Try this exercise at a favorite outdoor spot of yours!
Inhale for 7 seconds
Hold for 8 seconds
Exhale for 5 seconds
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This exercise is proven to help with anxiety, and it can help manage stress as well.
Nature Journaling Activity
A great way to connect with nature and deepen your awareness of the natural world is to practice documenting observations.
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Bring a notebook and pencil to your sit spot.
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Observe the plants, animals, and other natural elements around you.
Sketch or write about what you see, hear, smell, and feel.
Take notes on any changes or patterns over time.
Cloud Spotting Activity
Can you determine the types of clouds? Are they nimbus, cumulus, cirrus, or does it even matter? Do you spot any shapes that could be interpreted as something else?
Are they moving? How fast?
Observe one cloud as it travels across the sky.