Humans Outside

Some of the good stuff:

[2:52] Steve Magness’s favorite outdoor space

[3:48] How Steve became someone who likes to go outside

[6:00] Why going outside is so important to him now

[9:18] What’s the difference between toughness and resilience?

[10:41] Examples of awareness

[15:28] What’s wrong with how we tend to think about toughness

[18:06] How do you build toughness?

[21:40] The difference between thoughtful response and reaction

[28:10] How this applies to everyday life

[29:35] Creating a strong why -- and why it matters

[35:41] What this has to do with setting incremental goals

[38:07] Why the Humans Outside 365 challenge is great for this

[41:48] Is toughness a muscle you have to maintain or something you only have to learn once?

[46:44] Steve’s favorite outdoor moment

1 Listener

258 Best Of: What I Learned from Spending 20 Minutes Outside Every Day for 4 Years

Humans Outside

12/08/22 • 59 min

When Amy first started her outdoor challenge it wasn’t to inspire anyone but herself to make getting into nature a daily habit. It wasn’t even because she had found heading outside to be so transformative she had to do it every day. Originally, the 20 minute daily challenge was born of a question: how would her life change if she went outside for a certain amount of time every day for a year? The experiment started September 1, 2017. And there at the beginning was Amy’s friend Holly Wise, helping her develop the concept just as she had for all of Amy’s big ideas since 2004.

In this “best of” episode recorded four years after starting her experiment and hundreds and hundreds of hours outside as part of her daily practice, Amy and Holly discuss what Amy learned over the course of her habit -- and what you can learn, too.

Connect with this episode:

Learn about Ski Babes and Mind and Mountain Follow Sarah Histand on Facebook Follow Sarah Histand on Instagram What to Wear in Cold Weather, Sarah’s first Humans Outside episode Join the Humans Outside Challenge Follow Humans Outside on Instagram Follow Humans Outside on Facebook

Some of the good stuff:

[2:42] Amy’s favorite outdoor space

[4:37] A question no one is asking

[5:47] What Amy has learned over the last four years

[9:02] Was this a surprise?

[12:00] The importance of incremental changes

[16:24] How doing hard things outside helps with life inside

[20:45] How she gets herself to do hard things

[31:49] The stories we tell ourselves and why they matter

[37:49] The going outside pep talks

[49:02] Amy’s relationship with nature

[51:28] Amy’s favorite and most essential outdoor gear

[55:51] Amy’s favorite outdoor moment

1 Listener

268: Why Outside Challenges Like Harsh Weather Can Feel Bad and What to Do About It (Sarah Histand, mental health informed adventure fitness trainer)

Humans Outside

01/19/23 • 46 min

5.0

Ever seen that meme that asks “why do I live some in a place where the air hurts my face?” Heading outside in harsh conditions can feel like a personal attack that has your whole body and mind screaming “noooooooooo!” You want to want to do it, but you don’t. You know there’s no actual danger, but if feels like there is. You want to be someone who goes outside and does cool stuff, but you can’t figure out how to calm down that internal “nope” monologue.

So what can you do about it? In this episode Alaska-based mental health informed adventure fitness trainer Sarah Histand tackles the big question of dealing being kind to your nervous system while teaching it that, hey, heading outside for challenges big and small is a safe and even fun idea. Listen now.

Connect with this episode:

Some of the good stuff:

[2:57] Sarah Histand’s (different from last time) favorite outdoor space

[6:10] How Sarah got into the subject of mind meets mountain

[10:53] Why going outside in harsh weather or for big challenges sometimes feels so very bad

[13:40] Why sometimes it feels totally fine and other times it feels totally not fine

[19:05] All about very individualized risk tolerance

[24:19] Steps for overcoming this problem

[25:13] Snacks and other comfort items

[30:54] Baby steps aren’t just for babies

[32:24] This is an everyone problem -- not just beginners

[37:27] No comparing, please

[39:48] Learning to balance intuition with social pressure

[45:01] How to find more about Sarah

1 Listener

273 Outside Diary: My Favorite Humans Outside Episodes Over 3 Years + a Birthday Giveaway

Humans Outside

02/07/23 • 8 min

It’s been three years since I launched the Humans Outside podcast in the early winter of 2020. It’s been an incredible ride of learning, growth and outdoor adventures for me as I’ve connected with 101 Humans Outside guests and recorded over 270 episodes. But what were some of the ones that have stuck with me the most?

In this episode I talk about my favorite takeaways from three years of Humans Outside, plus share how you can enter a giveaway I’m hosting to celebrate the Humans Outside birthday. Listen now!

Connect with this episode:

Enter the Humans Outside birthday giveaway

Episode 18: How Nature Can Help Your Marriage (Corie Weathers)

Episode 26: Heading Outdoors to Conquer Challenges Indoors (Nailah Blades Wylie)

Episode 54: How to Use Outdoors as Therapy

Episode 83: Here's Exactly How to Build an Outdoor Habit (Sarah Hays Coomer)

Episode 99: How Heading Outside Makes Your Brain More Creative (Cordele Glass)

Episode 171: How to Create an Outdoor Habit that Works for You (Sarah Hays Coomer)

Episode 179: How to ‘Rewild’ Yourself Even If You Live in a City (Claire Dunn)

Episode 208: Simple and Easy Ways to ‘Rewild’ Your Life by Going Outside (Micah Mortali)

Episode 264: How to Create a Habit That Gives You What You Need (Sarah Hays Coomer)

Episode 268: Why Outside Challenges Like Harsh Weather Can Feel Bad and What to Do About It (Sarah Histand)

Some of the good stuff:

[:50] What podcasting is to me

[1:17] What three years of this podcast means by the numbers

[1:46] What podcasting here means to me

[2:23] A few highlights of the interviews I’ve loved

[7:20] Info about the giveaway

1 Listener

253: What to Wear in Cold Weather (Sarah Histand, adventure fitness trainer)

Humans Outside

11/17/22 • 48 min

We all know that spending time outside in the winter is a major key to getting through the season happy and healthy. Winter temperatures and not knowing how to get comfortable in it might be one of the things keeping you inside. And that makes sense. Why in the world would you want to go outside if you know you’re going to be uncomfortable, cold and miserable?

With a little help from an expert, heading outside in cold weather doesn’t have to be an impossible and really uncomfortable challenge. Today’s guest, Sarah Histand, works to make winter recreation accessible to everyone, and that starts with learning the simple basics on how to stay warm and happy when you’re out there. She breaks down exactly what to wear when it’s cold outside in this helpful and practical episode. Listen now!

Connect with this episode:

Learn about Ski Babes and Mind and Mountain Follow Sarah Histand on Facebook Follow Sarah Histand on Instagram Join the Humans Outside Challenge Follow Humans Outside on Instagram Follow Humans Outside on Facebook

Some of the good stuff:

[3:22] Sarah Histand’s favorite outdoor place [4:16] Fun and weird fact about Valdez [4:59] How Sarah became someone who likes to go outside. [7:28] The connection of mind and getting uncomfortable [12:12] The first thing people need to know about dressing for cold [15:12] The basic steps staying warm outside [18:24] What we mean by layers [22:30] Does getting dress for cold weather have to be expensive? [25:57] An actual example of getting dressed for a cold day [30:11] The glory of the buff [32:33] The biggest cold weather dressing mistake Sarah sees [33:54] The magic of snacks and peeing (yes really) [36:24] Amy and Sarah’s favorite underappreciated gear [39:19] Mistakes that were made [42:19] Why it’s important to be gentle with yourself [45:54] Sarah’s favorite outdoor moment

252 Outdoor Diary: How I’m Using Nature to Get Through Stressful Times

Humans Outside

11/15/22 • 5 min

It’s not exactly a low stress time of year — and if it is now, let’s be honest, it probably will be at least a little stressful soon. That’s just how the holidays go for so many of us. It’s part of life.

But dealing with it can also be a part of life. And Amy has found that heading outside is perfect for that. In this episode Amy talks about why this time of year is so stressful for her and what she’s been doing about it.

Connect with this episode:

Read about the Center for Environmental Therapeutics

Some of the good stuff:

[:50] The body does, in fact, keep the score

[1:00] Here’s what’s wrong with November

[2:28] And then there comes the holidays

[3:09] Here’s some not so good tools

[3:40] But what about going outside?

[3:55] Make a container out of it

[4:30] A recent example

256 Best Of: How to Use Light to Deal With Winter Blues (Dr. Michael Terman, SAD expert)

Humans Outside

12/01/22 • 48 min

It’s not just your imagination: the winter sads are the real deal. With less sunlight and more darkness over the winter months, you might feel slow and heavy in both body and spirit.

But there are solutions -- we don’t actually have to live like this. And that’s why I brought Dr. Michael Terman, one of top experts in the use of light therapy, onto the podcast to teach us specifically what we need to do to overcome this particular seasonal problem. Here’s his episode.

Connect with this episode:

Take the circadian rhythm assessment

Follow the Center for Environmental Therapeutics on Facebook

Some of the good stuff:

[3:35] Dr. Michael Terman’s favorite outdoor space

[5:23] How he got into the study of light therapy and circadian rhythm

[6:41] What his research found

[10:52] What light has to do with depression

[16:28] Where is it a problem?

[19:15] Does this have to be a problem year after year?

[26:33] What does going outside have to do with it?

[34:09] What is a light box and how to find one

[44:44] Dr. Terman’s favorite outdoor moment

250 Outdoor Diary: What I’ve Learned From Falling Down A Lot Outside

Humans Outside

11/08/22 • 6 min

Amy hasn’t always been OK with falling. Once upon a time it was exactly what she was avoiding. But since she started spending more time outside, she’s realized that falling is a somewhat inevitable part of life -- plus she’s so very good at it.

So how does that help with non-outside things? In this episode Amy addresses what she’s learned from getting comfortable with falling in all the ways. Listen now.

Connect with this episode:

Some of the good stuff:

[:46] A new thing I’m saying

[1:10] I do not have a good background with this thing

[1:20] A brief of history of a lot of falling

[3:14] Falling immersion therapy

[3:35] Getting OK with falling (not really) inside

[4:10] And now these are my options

[5:30] Help a friend out and fail a little please

254 Outdoor Diary: I Hit 1,900 Days of Going Outside and Didn’t Even Notice

Humans Outside

11/22/22 • 5 min

At what point is heading outside for your daily habit really, truly just a part of who you are? That’s a question Amy tackled this week when she realized she’d skated right by the 1,900 day outdoor habit mark without even noticing. Hear more on this episode of the Humans Outside weekly Outdoor Diary.

Connect with this episode:

Learn about Remedy Alpine

Some of the good stuff:

[:45] How I usually keep track of my day tally

[1:01] For a long time, this was important

[2:20] Why this was a surprise

[2:35] Here’s a quick tally of what that means

[3:06] Is this what happens after this much time?

[3:30] It’s just a part of who I am, I guess

[4:37] Here’s how you get this, too

251: A Candid Chat on Healing War Trauma Outside With Our Very Own Veteran (Luke Bushatz, husband, veteran, Remedy Alpine co-founder)

Humans Outside

11/10/22 • 40 min

Military injuries and combat trauma are part of our origin story here at Humans Outside. It’s why we started looking to nature for healing. It’s why we moved to Alaska. And it’s why we ended up spending at least 20 consecutive minutes outside every day, no matter what.

The weeks around Veterans Day are the perfect time to talk about the power of getting outside to address war wounds and the weight of military service. But there’s one thing we’ve never done: bring Luke on the show to talk about it himself.

That seems really silly, so in this episode we fix that. Hear Luke Bushatz gives his own perspective on what he experienced serving in the U.S. Army, how heading outside helped him deal with it and what he’s done about it since through his work with the veteran-focused nonprofit Remedy Alpine. This is an episode you don’t want to miss.

Connect with this episode: