25/11/2025
🌲🌊⭐️ IF YOU’RE FEELING LIKE S**T OR GRIEVING, PLEASE READ. THE POWER OF NATURE, MOVEMENT & TOUCH — A STARBOY WELLBEING POST ⭐️🌊🌲
Over the years, many of you have watched me explore, research and write about the deep connection between nature, movement, mental health and embodied wellbeing — blending intuitive, lived experience with the growing body of science-backed evidence. Today, I want to share more about how Starboy Fitness & Massage / Starboy Retreats (est. 2018) was built on the vision of supporting people physically, mentally and emotionally in nature … and why that location truly matters.
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🌿 NATURE AS MEDICINE — THE PSYCHOLOGY & PHYSIOLOGY BEHIND IT
Spending time in nature isn't just “nice” — it has measurable effects on the mind and body.
Research in environmental psychology consistently shows that being outdoors:
lowers cortisol (the stress hormone)
improves mood and emotional stability
boosts focus, memory and cognitive performance
reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety
improves cardiovascular and immune function
A systematic review of natural environment exposure found strong evidence that nature boosts mood, and mixed but promising evidence around stress reduction.
Green exercise (i.e. physical activity in nature) show large benefits for self-esteem and mood, even with short exposure.
In fact, studies have found a “synergistic” effect of combining exercise + nature: green exercise increases self-esteem, improves mood, and reduces blood pressure more than exercise alone.
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🏋️♂️🌲 TRAINING IN THE WOODS — WHY IT HITS DIFFERENTLY
Working out in woodland environments taps into our primal biology. Surrounded by trees, fresh air and natural movement patterns, the body responds in ways a gym simply can’t replicate.
Science shows that exercising in nature:
enhances motivation and consistency
increases endorphin and dopamine release
reduces perceived exertion (the workout feels easier)
strengthens the mind-body connection
improves respiratory health from cleaner, oxygen-rich air
One randomised crossover trial had participants do a 1-hour walk in three settings: natural (green), urban, and indoors, measuring cortisol, heart rate, heart rate variability, and psychological restorativeness. The natural environment (green) produced greater relaxation, more positive emotion, and a better recovery profile than urban or indoor settings.
Also, in studies of clinical populations (people with mental health challenges), group green exercise (e.g. countryside walks) significantly improved mood and self-esteem over six weeks.
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🌊💪 BEACH SESSIONS — THE POWER OF BLUE SPACES
Training with the backdrop of the sea and sky adds additional wellbeing benefits. While specific beach-workout studies are still emerging, evidence around water / “blue” environments shows strong mental-health impacts:
Blue spaces (e.g. coasts) are often more restorative than built environments.
The rhythmic sounds of waves help regulate the nervous system.
Water environments encourage presence, deeper breathing and recovery.
Some of the broader green-exercise meta-analyses also find that environments with water (i.e., “blue + green”) generate larger mental health benefits.
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🔥🌌 EVENINGS, RETREATS & EVENTS UNDER THE STARS
Starboy Retreats were created to offer immersive wellbeing experiences that reconnect you to nature, your breath, your senses and your inner peace.
Our fireside evenings and retreats incorporate:
Soundbaths under the branches or beside the sea
Massages around the fire, surrounded by natural sound
Meditation and breathwork in the open night air
Community circles, grounding under the stars
The combination of heat, sound vibration and nature activates the parasympathetic nervous system — helping the body drop into deep rest. This supports emotional release, clarity and nervous system healing.
While specific RCTs on fireside soundbaths in nature are still limited, the underlying mechanisms are well supported: sound vibration + touch + natural environments all contribute to parasympathetic activation, which is backed by broader stress-recovery research in both nature and touch therapies.
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✨ THE MENTAL HEALTH BENEFITS OF MASSAGE & FACIAL THERAPIES
Touch-based therapies are one of the most powerful yet underrated tools for mental health. Research shows that massage therapy:
reduces anxiety and depressive symptoms
lowers heart rate and blood pressure
increases serotonin and dopamine
improves body awareness and self-connection
releases muscular tension linked to emotional holding
One key study found that massage decreases cortisol by an average of ~31%, and increases serotonin (~28%) and dopamine (~31%).
This neurochemical shift supports why massage feels so restorative and healing for the mind, not just the body.
Facials (relaxing, revitalising) work similarly in calming neural pathways, engaging relaxation systems, reducing stress and promoting a sense of self-care and restoration — especially when delivered in a calm, natural context like under the open sky or next to a fire.
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⭐️ THE STARBOY VISION SINCE 2018
From the very beginning, Starboy Fitness & Massage / Starboy Retreats has been rooted in one purpose:
To help and support people through movement, nature and holistic therapies.
This isn’t just fitness. It isn’t just massage. It isn’t just retreats.
It’s a pathway back to wellbeing, balance and self-strength — through experiences that work with the human body, not against it.
Whether you're training, healing, resting or reconnecting, the intention remains the same:
Supporting your mental health, your physical health and your overall wellbeing — all held by nature.
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🔗 SCIENCE-BASED REFERENCES
Barton, J., Bragg, R., Pretty, J., Roberts, J., & Wood, C. (2010). Green Exercise: Dose-response for self-esteem and mood. Environmental Science & Technology.
Pretty, J., Peacock, J., Sellens, M., & Griffin, M. (2005). The mental and physical health outcomes of green exercise. International Journal of Environmental Health Research.
Barton, J., & Rogerson, M. (2025). Evaluating the benefits of green exercise: a randomized controlled trial in natural, urban, and indoor environments. Journal of Environmental Psychology.
Fuller, R. A., & Gaston, K. J. (2015). A comparison of four typical green exercise environments and prediction of psychological health outcomes. Royal Society for Public Health / Environmental Health.
Horgan, J., et al. (2009). Exercise-, nature-, and socially interactive-based initiatives improve mood and self-esteem in a clinical population. Journal of Mental Health.
Field, T. (2005). Cortisol decreases and serotonin and dopamine increase following massage therapy: Review and meta-analysis. Psychoneuroendocrinology.
(Green Exercise Meta-Analysis) Barton, J. et al. What is the best dose of nature and green exercise for improving mental health?
(Recent) Systematic review: “A systematic review and meta-analysis demonstrating a positive effect of green exercise interventions on mental well-being” (57 studies)
Over the festive period & in to 🌟2026 i hope to see and support many of you, on you're wellbeing journey. Heres to feeling....
🌟HAPPIER, HEALTHIER AND STRONGER🌟
- check out the photos. the reels, the feedback, post comments and reviews.
Magick is real✨️ immediate first hand experiences for me are the real findings, however science is capturing and catching up, as technical advances capture how our hearts.minds, cells and more respond to nature🌳🌊✨️
