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Immerse Yourself

With International Forest Bathing Day falling on 12 September, I thought I would explore this intriguing idea, which for many people has become a way to improve wellbeing.

The expression “forest bathing” is memorable and striking, but could also be confusing. Not only is there no need to get wet, but you don’t even have to be in a forest. The expression is used to cover different ways of connecting with nature and the outdoors. Thinking about bathing, I think of words like cleansing, immersive and soaking. So maybe this is an opportunity to feel your mind “cleansed” as you “immerse” yourself in the natural world, and “soak in” the sights and sounds of a forest, a field or a single city tree. Unlike a shower, where the focus is on speed, bathing is more about slowing down and going deeper, absorbing: as is forest bathing as a form of nature connection.

And why forest bathing? Forests do have a particular place in popular imagination. They are hushed, places of stillness, a world of their own. They enfold you in their shade. So again there’s the idea of an immersive experience of nature – but as we know, that’s in no way limited to forests themselves. I used to walk regularly in a wood. There was a hush, a feeling of being enclosed, away from the open fields which surrounded the wood. Walking there regularly I got to see it in all different moods and times of year. But now that I live nowhere near a wood or forest, I still immerse myself in nature all the time.

Founded two years ago, the Forest Bathing Institute is working to develop forest bathing in the UK: running forest bathing gatherings at places like Leith Hill, Kew Gardens and the RSPB Sandy reserve, and training people to become forest bathing guides themselves. Another important aspect of their work is cooperating with six UK universities on research into the impact of forest bathing. Lived experience and testimonials can be powerful, but assessment, monitoring of measurable impacts, is needed if forest bathing is to gain the recognition and funds it deserves. To this end, the UK’s first peer-reviewed research paper into forest bathing’s health benefits has recently been published. It reveals clear impacts on mood, emotions and also heart rate.

And forest bathing is growing rapidly. Organisations like the National Trust & Forestry England promote and explore forest bathing. Many Forest School programmes in different locations draw on forest bathing. With forest bathing videos on You Tube, you don’t even have to be in nature – instead you can try immersing yourself in the natural world from your desk or chair.

The more forest bathing grows and the more research is done, the more questions will be answered. I wonder if people who live in urban areas benefit most from forest bathing, as a welcome contrast to their everyday? I wonder if forest and woodland will be proven to have a stronger impact than other natural settings?

Thinking of forest bathing reminded me of the Whipsnade Tree Cathedral in Bedfordshire: trees planted to form the shape of a built Christian cathedral. As in a built cathedral, this becomes a reflective, contemplative space, somewhere to think what matters.

Do you have any experiences of forest bathing to share, or thoughts or questions? It would be great if you’d like to share in Medley’s Facebook group Thank you https://www.facebook.com/groups/359291215486002

Well Spring

The other day I heard someone say how boredom can become a real issue when struggling with mental health issues, and how being interested by nature and seeking out new species can be a help. It made absolute sense I thought. If mental health issues oblige you to take time out, to step back from work or other activity, then the hours may feel long. In turn, this can tip you further into overthinking, fear or depression.

Nature is a constant stimulus, partly because it is ever changing through the year. And yet I have to remember to look out and notice. Earlier this week I noticed reddish tips on a conifer tree I walk past regularly. Now I want to find out what they are. Are these flowers? Do conifers even have flowers?! I know so little about them. And how many times have I passed this tree without seeing reddish tips before, maybe in previous years? I see the tree, the only conifer along that road, but fail to notice this. Now that it’s spring I look out more – the day I saw the tips I also noticed a patch of dog violets and hazel and hawthorn leaves opening on bushes.

Spring feels like a fresh start, a new opportunity. I sometimes think spring would be a better time for New Year, it feels more of a fit. This in itself may be depressing if no fresh start feels possible for you. It can also be daunting if you’ve shelved plans and tasks over winter and now need to press ahead. No more excuses…

But spring is a time of renewal. Lighter days, warmer temperatures, plants growing, birds singing. Maybe weather shouldn’t so impact mood but it is proven to do so. In one way nothing really changes with spring, in another everything is different.

Spring can encourage creativity – maybe drawing or painting spring flowers, as I’ve been enjoying lately, or for some people, writing or photography. Songs and music of all different styles draw on sunshine and flowers and spring, like Edelweiss from The Sound Of Music or It Might As Well Be Spring by Ella Fitzgerald. They’re all responses to spring. So too is growing and planting, in however limited a space. Whether you sow seeds on a windowsill or in a garden or on an allotment, it opens up another dimension, other stimuli.

Our minds thrive on stimulus, the more multi-sensory the better. Without stimulus, research has shown we are more likely to develop cognitive decline or even dementia, and to experience depression. Technology has brought us more stimulus than ever before, but the contrast of natural stimuli is important as well.

Just try looking. You never know what you might see. It would be great if you have any thoughts or experiences to share in Medley’s Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/359291215486002? Thank you.

Carefree

Behind the term “young carers”, there are so many individual stories, lives and everyday experiences. Young Carers Action Day, 16 March 2023, feels like an opportunity to think what might enrich young carers’ lives across their very different situations.

We imagine childhood and youth should be carefree, fun, relaxed, even as we remember that growing up really wasn’t all like that. So the very idea of young carers contradicts those ideals. Some young people care for one or two parents, some for a sibling, some for a grandparent or other relative. Some will be the main or sole carer, some may help others to care for someone. Caring may be long-term or temporary. It may be all the young person has ever known, or an illness or accident may have happened quite suddenly, turning the familiar upside down. And young carers may be still at primary school or nearing adulthood. At present, the many issues within the health and care sectors impact further on carers of all ages. Support may be more uneven, less regular, all placing more responsibility on the young carer.

Maybe creativity – such as music and art – could particularly help young carers as something to turn to at any spare moment – not just at a young carers’ group. Not all young carers can attend such a group, and even if they do, there will be far more days when the group isn’t on, so that music and art could be a constant for them.

Music is important to so many young people. Following a particular music style or performer is like a ritual for many teenagers, all about identity, self-discovery and self-expression. It also creates common ground to share with others, at school or at a young carers’ group. The opportunity to experiment with playing an instrument or singing could also be liberating. Learning an instrument to any level requires time commitment that’s probably unrealistic for most young carers – just another pressure – but improvising for fun could be the way to go.

The visual arts might be another outlet. They’re varied – something for everyone – and don’t need regular commitment. Film, photography and digital art might appeal to young people who like technology. Drawing and painting are expressive, absorbing and calming. And drawing in particular is something you can fit into odd moments and come back to whenever possible. It could also encourage young carers to journal, which is therapeutic as a way to express how they feel.

Music and the visual arts could also be interests to share with the person who needs care, something positive to enjoy together if and when possible. For caring for a family member is about relationship, not just an endless list of tasks to complete. This adds to the commitment, maybe creating anxiety and sadness, but also opens up chances for shared closeness, maybe happy interludes as well.

It would be great if you have any thoughts or experiences to share in Medley’s Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/359291215486002? Thank you.

On Prescription

Now that social prescribing has become a familiar term, it is easy to forget that just a few years ago prescribing was still all about medicine and pharmacies. Maybe more than anything else, social prescribing embodies a gradual move to more preventative healthcare and healthcare going beyond the immediate and beyond the physical.

When social prescribing was first trialled as an experiment in integrated healthcare at Bromley By Bow Centre in East London, its founders may little have imagined that we would nowbe marking Social Prescribing Day – or maybe they saw straight away that this would run and run. They won the RSA Albert Medal in 2022 for their work.

Growth has been rapid. I remember learning about social prescribing back in 2019, while bid writing for a charity. Then, coverage was uneven across the UK, with some clinical commissioning groups actively rolling out social prescribing but others still making plans. Pandemic and lockdowns and such unsettled times for the public sector and NHS have done little to slow social prescribing’s surge since then. It has drawn together bodies like Arts Council England and Sport England to work with the Department of Health, and at local level thousands of link workers form a considerable network to connect patients and activities. I’ve seen this in action as I’m now an arts for wellbeing practitioner.

It isn’t all plain sailing. There’s always a chance that something growing so quickly could become unwieldy. There are issues with funding, as while social prescribing helps activity providers reach participants, it does not itself fund the activities. Then there’s the real need for cohesive and comprehensive publicity. One survey asked GPs about barriers to social prescribing : 72% cited lack of awareness of programmes and activities. This may be partly because social prescribing is so very diverse, covering so many different activities and providers.

There may be challenges, but these only show social prescribing’s scale and impact – for obviously there will be challenges for any movement that seeks to respond to individual needs on such a scale. It follows that social prescribing also has huge scope to enrich and enhance lives. At a time when everyday healthcare is under such pressure, the expansion of social prescribing demonstrates a real commitment to doing far more than just “getting by”. It recognizes the many factors that shape health and wellbeing. It strengthens community at a time when community is ever more fragmented and areas have become dormitories. It looks at the big picture, but also at the individual, and draws the two together. For the creative health sector, it embodies a unique opportunity to integrate further into healthcare. For patients, it opens doors.

Could you share any thoughts in Medley’s Facebook group? Go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/359291215486002 Thank you.

Talk To The Trees

Remember lockdown? As so many in-person gatherings moved online or, in time, outdoors, I read about therapy being held outdoors. Some counsellors and therapists were seeing patients or clients outside, maybe in a garden or park or by going for a walk together. Patients reported feeling more at ease and relaxed during these outdoor sessions.

I’ve never had any counselling or therapy. But I do feel that if I ever wanted to talk to someone like this, an outdoor setting would absolutely feel more relaxed, less intense and more informal. I’d particularly like walking and talking – that seems like a natural way to share. Compared to sitting in an office or room, outdoors would feel more familiar and welcoming, and maybe more equal too, on neutral ground. Some patients found they could open up more easily not having to make eye contact, walking along side by side.

Sitting one-to-one with a therapist or counsellor might feel nerve-wracking, even forced. Outdoors in the elements, the focus might feel less on you, on your words or on how you come across. And meeting outdoors could work well for group therapy as well, as an enjoyable shared experience.

Outdoor therapy, and outdoor wellbeing initiatives, come in so many different forms. Dance for wellbeing is being held outside more than it used to be, combining the physical and mental benefits of movement, dance and rhythm with the added impact of connecting with nature and the outdoors. Whether or not there’s talking therapy as part of this, it is in itself an expressive and therapeutic way to spend time.

The outdoors can seem more open and free. People who have claustrophobia struggle with being indoors, particularly in confined spaces and with other people. And people who have agoraphobia, who find it difficult to leave home at all, might find it easier to go out for a walk than to a therapist’s office. And since Covid, being outdoors can still feel safer.

Nature’s impacts on mood and mental health are well known. So outdoor therapy adds this further element to the therapy itself. Being amidst trees slows heartbeat and lowers blood pressure, so people who get agitated during therapy might find an outdoor session less distressing. Looking at the sky, or at insects or birds, alters perspective as well.

Obviously the specific setting matters, and it may depend where you would usually see a therapist. Some people dread going to healthcare settings like a GP surgery, clinic or hospital, so that meeting in a park would be far preferable. But it won’t be for everyone. For some, sitting indoors in a quiet room could be more helpful and focused. It could be difficult to find suitable outdoor locations nearby. Sadly, many city parks do have issues with safety and anti-social behaviour. Wet or cold weather could prevent therapy going ahead. And outdoors could be too public if you’re concerned about being overheard or being seen by someone you know while upset.

What do you think about outdoor therapy? Could you share any thoughts in Medley’s Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/359291215486002? Thank you.

Deeper Than Words

Trauma has so many different roots and forms. Looking up synonyms for trauma, I found words like pain, damage, disturbance, hurt, scars, wounds and shock. Some people will retreat inwards, into silence. Others will want to talk, to emote. Some will experience trauma bonds, wanting to relive what happened.

I recently read about the experiences of some of the 705 people who survived the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 – and how they reacted and responded to that disaster over the years ahead. Disassociation was common – feelings of unreality about what happened and feeling disconnected from those memories. Some shut out the memories to a greater or lesser degree as they were able. Some threw themselves into living life to the full, into activity. Some found that as time went on, later events in their lives revived the memories, and with them the trauma.

Tradition and the customs of the day played their part too – counselling and therapy were far less common then than now, and so there were limited opportunities for the average Titanic survivor to share or express their trauma.

Nevertheless, however common therapy may have become, expressing trauma verbally can still be a struggle. Words can fail to capture the scale of what has happened, or the depth of emotion. This is where visual arts can be very helpful as an alternative, maybe drawing how you visualize your feelings. There’s no need for detailed representations, people can use simple lines, motifs, colours or symbols. These can help think through whatever has happened, or perhaps understand your own response. They also set those feelings down “out there”, on a sheet of paper, no longer in your head alone. This can feel like a release. It’s usually best that art is used this way with the support and care of a therapist.

Music, too, shares this non-verbal expressive power. Hearing or playing melody and rhythm can say more than words. One Titanic survivor was Eva Hart, who was just 7 years old when she escaped the sinking ship, on which her father died. While growing up, she took up music as a haven, a way to distract her mind and focus on something. She enjoyed singing, and occasionally sang on BBC radio as a professional soprano, as well as teaching music to local children while a young woman.

Creativity of many forms can ease trauma, whether as an expressive outlet – usually as part of supported therapy – or as time apart, a refuge. A survivor of 9/11 shared a while ago how she has immersed herself more and more in art since that day. Obviously responses to trauma depend on many elements – age, experience, personality, and the trauma itself. Surviving a famous disaster like the Titanic or 9/11 will be very different from surviving personal, hidden abuse or illness or relationship breakdown. But in other ways most trauma may be alike, and music and art – as well as drama and dance – open up new spaces, for thinking more, or for thinking less.

Maybe you have ideas or responses to share in Medley’s Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/359291215486002? Thank you.

Concrete Cows

A few years ago I heard about Providence Youth Club in Battersea, London, welcoming a group of farm animals from The Shallowford Trust’s Dartmoor farm to a local city carpark for a week. Londoners could come to see the calves, lambs and pigs in the straw in pens just across the street from shops and cafes. Remembering this has spurred me to learn more about actual city farms – not like this event, where a rural farm brought animals to the city for a while, but farms literally rooted and grounded within cities.

So what have I discovered? There are over 200 city and school farms in the UK. Far more than I’d imagined. Many have been running for forty or fifty years, such as Vauxhall City Farm in London (which began in 1976) and Stonebridge Farm in Nottingham (1980). They’ve stood the test of time. Over these years, urbanisation has deepened, but so too has awareness of our need to interact with nature. “Nature Deficit Disorder” has entered the language, and nature connection has become more recognized as a model for mental health care. Most city farms have threefold aims: education, recreation, and wellbeing.

London is home to many city farms, and no wonder for the need is immense in such a large city. But they’re also active in smaller cities countrywide, like Bath. It must be more and more of a struggle now to open new city farms as demand for urban land is so high, and that land is so costly. But the movement continues. Many diversify – growing vegetables, rearing animals, running farm shops, setting up animal adoption initiatives and opening for pony rides and a chance for children to feed the animals. All creates an income stream but also engages local communities, making these farms a strong presence.

Even living in the countryside, farming can still feel like the unknown. I have lived in rural villages most of my life. The round of the farming year feels familiar – lambing, calving, sowing, harvesting. Yet I rarely set foot on a farm or in a barn, and know little about farmers’ everyday tasks. Yes, I feel connected to the land as I walk in the countryside – but it strikes me that city farms have far closer community links than do most rural farms. A city farm is there in the midst of busy neighbourhoods, and reaches out, day by day.

Feeling part of the cycle of nature is known to have a positive impact on mental health – connecting with the land beneath our feet. We all depend on food and farming to survive from one day to another. Seeing how this farming happens, and even contributing to it or sharing in it in some small way, is empowering. Feeling disconnected, on the other hand, is known to contribute to mental health issues. Whether that is feeling disconnected from place, from other people, from community or from work, all can produce rootlessness, lack of purpose and issues with identity.

City farms, then, can be far more than a green space in the city. Have you been to one? It would be interesting if you would like to share any thoughts or responses in Medley’s Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/359291215486002 Thank you.

Endless Possibility

In my house sits an old guitar, unused for many years. Sometimes I’ve wondered about learning to play, but still haven’t taken the plunge. All I remember about the one and only time I went to a guitar class (at a music club for young people, when I was about 12), was all the talk about chords. I never went back. So playing guitar’s a mystery to me, and yet I respond to guitar music when I hear it played by others. Classical guitar calms and stills me, makes me feel grounded. Then there’s the loud blasting guitar of heavy metal and rock. Is any other instrument as commonplace across genres as diverse as folk, rock classical, techno and pop?

Try listening to three such different guitar pieces today as the Concierto de Aranjuez, one of Jimi Hendrix’s songs and a hit by Simon & Garfunkel. Think what different impacts they have on you. Maybe you respond to one more than another, maybe one will fit your mood one day and another the next. When you think about the guitar this Guitar Day (11 February), which music style comes first to mind? Is it most of all a folk instrument to you, classical or maybe rock? Even asking that question shows the guitar’s unique heritage.

There’ss omething very informal and communal about the guitar. If someone has a guitar and starts strumming, people tend to gather round to listen, chat or sing along. This can prove useful in sharing music for wellbeing – someone taking their guitar into, say, a care home, is a very natural way to share music that is familiar and lively, encouraging people to sing along.

Guitar has a long heritage, some 800 years old. It has stood out sometimes. In Baroque times the guitar was a common instrument, a legacy which survives in pieces like Vivaldi’s lively Guitar Concerto. It may have been overshadowed as a classical instrument by the violin and cello, but has still inspired a continuing stream of music by composers like Benjamin Britten and William Walton. In Spain guitar has remained more central, played by such masters as Andres Segovia. And down the years guitar has held unique importance in musicmaking. For countless teenagers dreaming of fame, for buskers, for singer songwriters and for superstars, it has opened up a new world.

A hallmark of all forms of creativity is variety – the endless possibilities (limited only by imagination) which can so enhance living. Surely the guitar embodies this variety. New styles and technology have played their part – electric guitar, rock and rhythm guitar. Stimulus is there in abundance. Start to experience guitar music, and you set out on an endless journey.

Which three pieces or songs will you choose to listen to? And share what you think in Medley’s Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/359291215486002

Day By Day

Are you a creature of habit? I know I am. I do like to be spontaneous too and to try different things, but I find that life works better if I follow a routine. Working for myself from home that’s particularly important – but in other parts of my life as well, routine really helps. Routine might seem dreary, all about what you have to do. What about fitting art into your daily routine as something positve, making some small part of your day mindful and creative?

Many people might think that they just don’t have the time to do art every day. Obviously that may be true – but by concentrating on quicker art ideas, it can be possible. There are so many different art styles, subjects and media that there’s lots of scope in just ten, fifteen or twenty minutes. Drawing is quicker than painting (no time spent setting up and clearing away) and some media are quicker than others- felt tip pens will cover large areas more quickly than will ballpoint pens or colouring pencils. You might want to set a particular time of day to have you art time – maybe first thing in the morning, in the evening, or last thing at night. Some people find drawing or journaling before going to sleep helps wind down and sleep better. Whatever the time, I know I’m more likely to get some art done if I have already fixed that as my time for art, and got materials lined up ready.

I’ve been thinking about how and why art as part of everyday routine could benefit wellbeing, because I’m running an online daily art for wellbeing challenge for the month of February (https://medley.live/community-sessions/) I’ve named the challenge “Set Aside” because I feel that setting aside some time each day to be creative, just 15 minutes, opens up space for yourself, to focus on something positive and to be mindful as you create something tangible. It makes every day productive, which really lifts mood. But that’s not all. Art can become a way to set aside issues in life as well, just for a while, as you take a step back and go with the flow. The issues will still be there when you lay down your pen or paintbrush but they might feel less immediate, or you might feel your mind is clearer to think them through. Having this small space “away” each day can be a little goal, a haven where line and colour may be all that matter.

Making art a regular part of your routine can help motivate you, which might be a struggle if you are depressed.

One specific way art helps wellbeing is that it’s always there. Think what else makes you feel better – more contented, more positive or less anxious. It might be talking to other people, talking to a counsellor or sitting in the sunshine. But there are times when there’s nobody to talk with, or no sunshine, when the day dawns cloudy and wet. Art is a constant – portable, flexible, varied and stimulating. Maybe it could become a positive constant in your life.

It would be great if you’d like to share any thoughts or reactions in Medley’s Facebook group on art and mental health, Think Art – go to https://www.fcebook.com/groups/244072321150998/

New Encounters

Art and nature – how they interact, how they benefit wellbeing together and apart – are integral to my Medley arts for wellbeing initiative. So when I heard about Nature In Art, an art gallery, I obviously wanted to learn more. Located 2 miles outside Gloucester, this is none other than the world’s first art gallery entirely dedicated to depictions of the natural world in the fine, decorative and applied arts.

As such, Nature In Art has the scope to demonstrate just how strongly nature has inspired painters and so many other creatives over the years. There are temporary and touring exhibitions, like the Wildlife Photographer of the Year show opening on 7 February 2023, There are events, and opportunities to see present-day artists at work, and chances for young people to get involved. And then there’s the gallery’s permanent collection, which continues to grow. This features fine, decorative and applied arts from 60 different countries, produced across 1,500 years by some 600 artists and makers. There are paintings, yes, but also ceramics, textiles, sculptures and mosaics to name but some. Nature In Art is run by a charity which began in 1982 and opened the gallery’s doors for the first time in 1988. It has no ongoing or guaranteed funding, so that running events and welcoming the public are vital. The gallery is housed in a Georgian mansion, Wallworth Hall, a scenic setting which fits a gallery celebrating nature and its beauties.

As someone who particularly enjoys drawing and painting nature (birds, animals, plants) I was struck by just how many different media and styles feature in the collection. I like trying different media (graphite, colour pens and pencils, paints) – but this takes variety to another level. Abstract and near-abstract art is also present. I am far more familiar with figurative art, but am enjoying experimenting with abstract now as well – so the idea of focusing abstract art on specific nature subjects seems a new possibility. That’s partly why I feel art galleries can so enrich our lives – not only as somewhere to see and wonder at great art, but also to give us new stimulus and ideas to enjoy trying ourselves. Creativity feeds on creativity.

As I combine art and nature wherever possible in my wellbeing work, I think about how and why they enrich each other for greater impact. Art really can enhance the way we encounter nature. Looking at some of the artworks on the Nature In Art website made me think again about the creatures they portray. Some are realist in style, showing a far closer view of a bird, say, than I would have in nature. Others might be surreal, like one painting of birds and bats flying which really highlights the wonder of flight. These all open up new experiences of nature.

Have a look at videos and virtual tours at https://natureinart.org.uk And share what you think in Medley’s Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/359291215486002

All Ears

I recently saw a quote on a T shirt which read: “Animals may not be our whole lives, but they make our lives whole”. Maybe you agree with that saying? Having a companion animal is known to boost mental – as well as physical – health, as proven by research studies and by the everyday lived experience of so many people. Living with, caring for or interacting with an animal can also have specific impacts on people with issues like a disability. But it’s the animals’ own wellbeing I’m writing about here – as more and more owners care so deeply for this that they don’t just give treats or go for long walks, but use music too to enhance their pets’ lives, just as they might do for themselves.

Photo by Dominika Roseclay on Pexels.com

More and more I hear of people playing music to their animals – leaving music or the radio on for them when they themselves go out, or playing it to them when they are in, to calm or stimulate the pets. With many animals left salone for long periods of time while their owners go to work, music and sound can really help. And surely, the happier the pet, the happier the owner as well.

Stimulus is known to improve wellbeing, lift mood and make people and animals more alert. Sensory stimulus like music could be particularly important for animals like dogs which have limited response to colour or other visual stimuli.

I’ve heard of a lady playing classical music to the horses in the stables she runs. Farm animals too can experience music – I’ve heard that playing classical music to cows in milking sheds even improves milk yields as it relaxes the cows. And on the radio, Classic FM features special dedicated Pet Sounds shows for Bonfire Night and New Year to soothe pets distressed by loud fireworks.

One question is this: do animals have their own tastes in music? Could some find particular music styles just as addictive – or as deafening – as we do? One experiment played different kinds of dance music to elephants. The elephants responded to the rumba, which they seemed to enjoy, but the tango failed to impress! It would be interesting to learn more about other species or other music genres.

And nature has its own music. Now that sound recordists capture so many of nature’s sounds using the latest technology, I wonder if playing these to companion animals might be beneficial to their wellbeing? Who are we to think “our” music is better or more stimulating? Many natural habitats hum with life – with birdsong, animal calls (barks, coughs, growls or bleats), the buzz or whirr of insects, the trickle or rush of running water – and these outdoor environments are companion animals’ natural setting, so playing them these sounds might help. It might calm and still owners too, as a way to experience nature in a moment, wherever you are. So many people now are so used to screens and music, constant stimulus, that maybe natural sounds could be a counterbalance?

Do you have or know an animal which enjoys music or other sounds? It would be great to hear any experiences in Medley’s Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/359291215486002 Thank you.