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The benefits of hiking and other outdoor activities
Outdoor activities such as hiking connects us with nature and is good for our health and wellbeing.
Connecting with nature
Being in the outdoors lets each of us make connections to the environment. This can give us a stronger understanding of who we are and where we live. Learning in the outdoors helps us understand the connections between all living things, including people, and their physical environment.
Health and wellbeing
Connection to the land and to nature has been shown to improve mental and physical wellbeing. Wellbeing is about feeling good and functioning well. The greater your wellbeing, the better you can live, study, work, and play - and cope with the tough times.
Hauora
Unique to Aotearoa New Zealand, hauora is a Māori philosophy of health. In a Māori world view, everything is connected. The Māori word "whenua", which means both "land" and "placenta", provides an example of this link between people and land. Māori belong to the land as tangata whenua, the people of the land. All things are united through mauri, the life force.
The four parts of hauora are:
- Taha tinana - physical wellbeing
- Taha hinengaro - mental and emotional wellbeing
- Taha whānau - social wellbeing
- Taha wairua - spiritual wellbeing
Planning, preparing, and taking part in an outdoor activity such as walking, and hiking will give you the chance to develop within all four aspects of hauora.
Ponder this:
Complete the The benefits of hiking and other outdoor activities quiz.
More about the four aspects of hauora
Taha tinana - Physical well-being
- improving physical fitness, strength, flexibility, and endurance
- improving agility, co-ordination, and balance
- developing new or better skills
- getting to know your physical limits
Taha hinengaro - Mental and emotional well-being
- increasing self confidence
- building motivation
- improving decision making skills
- gaining satisfaction from working towards a goal
- learning to cope with challenging situations
- developing resilience and independence
- learning how to assess and manage risks
- gaining survival skills
Taha whānau - Social well-being
- gaining respect for what you can achieve
- travelling to new and exciting places
- meeting people and developing friendships
- learning co-operative skills
- working together as a team and building trust
- inspiring other people to give things a go
Taha wairua - Spiritual well-being
- getting close to nature and seeing it at its best
- increased knowledge and awareness of the environment
- seeing that the environment is worth protecting
- gaining a better understanding of interconnectedness and our place in 'the big picture'
- developing self-awareness