Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Moving in nature and an encounter with wild boar
Rewilding is an essential part of Earth Strength, where we move mindfully in nature learning the skills of our ancestors. Key to this is the art of tracking, where mindfulness meets movement in nature. Tracking can best be described as learning to use all our senses to observe our surroundings and, like a wilderness Sherlock, make realistic deductions from what we have observed.
A common misconception of tracking, is that it is just about following sign (tracks) and therefore the main sense being used is sight. However the best trackers use 8 ‘senses’ including; sight, sound, smell, touch, hearing, feeling (proprioception), memory, reason and gut feeling.
The greatest trackers on earth are the First Nations peoples. Their skills are simple yet profound, they have a state of awareness that enables them to observe their surroundings with acute and detailed intensity. Any distractions that get in the way of that awareness will result in the loss of the animal they are tracking. In our past this loss would have been a matter of life and death, consequently awareness or mindfulness was not a ‘spiritual add on’ to life, but central to our survival.
As the hunters track, their movements will include, bending, squatting, twisting, crawling, walking and running. The running element might be what we now call distance running, to facilitate persistence hunting, or the final explosive sprint if ambush or surprise hunting is being used.
These are all skills that I like to use on a daily basis when exploring the mountains above my beautiful village. The sub-tropical oak forest that grows from between the giant boulders is one of the richest ecosystems in the world. I am lucky enough to share this place with many species of wild animal, including that most elusive and rarest of big cats; the Iberian lynx.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The presence of these animals gives me a great opportunity to practise and refine my tracking skills as I move through this landscape. Last week I was in one of the remoter areas of the mountain and I looked down and noticed what I thought were wild boar tracks. My brain immediately dismissed this as impossible as boar have been extinct in this area for many years due to over hunting.
However my gut sense said look again, this is a boar track.
This is the time to get down low and to engage all of those senses….. is this the right place for a boar, how was it moving, were there feeding sign; droppings, pushed or broken plants, where had it come from and where was it going?
Keeping on the trail I followed it through dense thickets, around giant rocks and across mountain streams. Stopping and checking, feeling, smelling and listening. Then move forward a bit further, starting to anticipate the animals line of travel.
Ahead there is a movement, a slight sound and the unmistakable smell of freshly turned over soil. I could feel my heart rate increase and the breath deepen…. so I stop and very slowly crouch down – all my senses reaching out forwards. After a moment or two I see the movement again.
The wind is blowing to me, so I know that whatever is there cannot get my scent. I move closer and there in a wet forest glade is a small group of wild boar. Two females and two youngsters, rooting through the wet earth in search of bulbs and insects. It’s a special moment and I sit down to savour it.
Suddenly the wind drops and their highly tuned senses pick up on my presence. They look in my general direction and some deep instinct inside them says move. Slowly and without fear they melt away into the forest until they are invisible. I decide to leave them be and I continue on my own exploration, grateful for that moment of connection.
This is an example of moving through the wild with ease and imagination, of moving mindfully, connected with nature and not being separate from it. In this way we become participative with the natural world and not just a spectator, we move into and become a part of the view rather than merely gazing at it passively. It is about becoming animal and rewilding ourselves.
Come and join us on a rewilding adventure on this mountain where we have our base.
This is what we teach and this is the way of things at Earth Strength. Move the Body…Still the Mind
The post Moving In Nature – Tracking appeared first on Earth Strength.