#004 – Podcast Episode
In this episode I interview my sister a retired Canadian Ambassador who lives in Ottawa, Canada. Patricia Fortier now works on for profit and non-profit Boards. One of the for profit boards is Greenlane Renewables based in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. As she explains this innovative start up is converting the gas methane (one of the most powerful air pollutants) to natural gas for use in public sector transportation (buses). This good news for the atmosphere.
Please tell me about one childhood memory
She says that the most vivid memories for her are all around our family cottage on Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba. Particularly in the summer mornings when we go down to the beach to look at the sparkles in the water. After several teas together, we brave the cold water and swim right into the sparkles.
Was there a time in your adult life that the value of spending time outside helped you?
We always knew that going outside was good for us. Our grandfather in his nineties still kept his daily walk outside habit. Our father who had MS had an electric wheelchair and he used it to get outside. Both our grandfather and our father were even more cheerful as a result of these activities. And as kids we were always told to get outside.
What helps you to get outside?
I live alone and so I make plans with friends who often live alone too, to go for daily walks. If I find that my mind is going in circles I propel myself out the door.
What prevents you from going outside?
The weather, when it rains or is icy I usually stay inside.
What tips would you give others for little outside microbreaks?
In the morning when I open my front door to gather up my daily newspapers, I stop look into the tree branches. I breathe in and out through my nose while I am doing that because you told me it stimulates my parasympathetic nervous system. I then feel very calm. And we need that when we are looking at the news these days.
Is there anything you wish I would have asked you but didn’t?
When I am out walking I try to catch people’s eye and say hello. I think it makes a difference. I feel better and I hope it makes others feel better too. When I say hello they look up, maybe because they are older they are watching their step so they don’t fall. I do notice more seniors with nordic walking poles/Urban Poles.
My Take On My Sister’s Outside Mindset
My sister lost her husband recently. I am pleased that she makes plans to with others to get outside near trees every day. This is helping her to deal with her stress of her deep loss. She is combining the benefits of social engagement with being outside close to trees.
When Patricia talked about the sparkles on the water she is also tapping into the stress relieving benefits (up to 60%) of fractals. As we know fractals are naturally occurring patterns in nature that reflect are reflected in our body composition too – “nature’s trademarks” – as nanophysicist Taylor at University of Oregon tell us.
When my sister steps out her front door to gather her papers and looks into tree branches she is looking at fractals. When she breathes in and out through her nose, she is further stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system. The key cranial nerve is the vagus nerve which is stimulated when we go outside and stimulated even more when we breathe in and out through our nose. The parasympathetic nervous system is also known as the rest and digest system. Th core of that system is the vagus nerve, the longest in the body, wanders from our mid brain, through our neck, to our diaphragm (slows breathing), to our hearts (slows heart rate), to our digestive system (improves digestive juice secretion and movement of food). All this happens the moment my sister steps outside.
