Richard Ryan, Professor of Psychology, University of Rochester
A PLEASANT MEDITATION IN WHICH EYES AND EARS ARE OPEN
This new therapeutic approach, born thanks to a special audiovisual technique, is based on precise frequencies and cycles that can act on the central nervous system, bringing deep relaxation and a state of general well-being.
The method of filming and editing is the distinctive point of Alamar compared to other Nature videos, because the type of images and the rhythm with which they follow one another in fade-out, with precise durations (short/long), allow connection with Nature, to the point of restoring a deep inner balance. The exclusive use of natural sounds, without any interference or pollution, amplifies the feel-good effect.
The benefits of frequencies and cycles
Natura Alamar’s videos are based on precise frequencies and cycles, which have beneficial effects on an emotional, cognitive and physiological level. It is a matter of isolating specific frequencies and ensuring, through the type of footage and sequences, that they capture attention for the time necessary for an intense feeling of well-being and deep regeneration to take hold.
They induce contemplation without the need for experience or awareness.
They relax, soothe, bring inner calm, good humour, wonder.
They increase attention spans, creativity, intuition.
They encourage social relationships, collaboration and empathy.
THE BREATH OF LIFE
CRANIOSACRAL RHYTHMS
Each theme develops on the cycles of life energy, according to the craniosacral technique devised by Dr Sutherland. He discovered that undulatory and involuntary rhythms originate in our body, highlighting the existence of a fluctuation of the cerebrospinal fluid, the liquid that surrounds and protects our brain and spinal cord. A true ‘fluid’ respiration, the deep breathing of cells. This breathing is expressed in the rhythmic movements of the fluids, creating tides that spread throughout the body.
THE SHORT AND LONG SEQUENCES
The correct cycles of ‘The Breath of Life’ (Sutherland) are known as the Medium Tide and the Long Tide, or Primary Breathing and are a fundamental parameter for our well-being.
Natura Alamar’s video collection traces exactly the same rhythms with the two sequences, the short and the long ones, proposing viewing and listening to the cycles of the ‘internal’ tides. This promotes the rebalancing of cerebrospinal fluid cycles and a healthier state of being.
The experience with Nature, real or reproduced, offers a concrete opportunity for the recovery of cognitive resources and the restoration of optimal levels of physiological activation. There are two theories that can explain the positive effects of Nature on human functioning: the Stress Recovery Theory ( Stress Recovery Theory ) and the Attention Restoration Theory ( Attention Restoration Theory ).
THE METHOD
The beauty of photography combined with the vitality of video. The fixed framing that characterises each scene conveys security, stability, calming the viewer, while the dynamism of the video allows the viewer to experience Nature in its contemporary state, intriguing the mind and hooking it into the scene.
The balance between movement and stillness, between action and non-action, anchors the audience, bringing them into connection with Nature and making them experience its extraordinary regenerating power. From balance springs harmony. As Plotinus states: ‘Movement is pure, Stillness is stable, Beauty transpires, Vision is realised in its fullness, Life is perfect and untiring’.
Familiar sceneries evoke emotional memory, bringing back the awe and wonder of the first glance, the regenerating peace of beloved places. “If we are able to recover those places that activate positive perceptions in us, we give a strong hand to our psychophysical balance”. (F. Inghilleri, “I luoghi che curano”, 2021).
In a familiar Nature we feel safe, this triggers involuntary attention. Direct attention, the attention we use every day, is prone to run out quickly, giving rise to stress. When involuntary attention is activated, directed attention can rest and regenerate. Moreover, thanks to the evocative power of films, cellular memory is reactivated, which reconnects all the senses to the experience. Learn more >
Watching the Natura Alamar Life videos can become a pleasant open-eyed meditation, easy and comfortable at any time, without the need for any practice or awareness.
The movements within the scene capture the attention, involving the viewer in a ‘meditation on a fixed point’, one of the simplest and most popular techniques (Trataka, meaning ‘to gaze at’). In just a few moments, the mind calms down, thoughts clear away. You can get in touch with your purest and deepest self, in union and resonance with the beauty of Nature. Learn more >
The vibrational frequencies of colours, of medicinal plants and flowers, of the elements, of the seasons, of the different environments and phases of the day, make it possible to act as effectively and precisely as possible depending on the moment, the state of mind, the pathology.
The Experience Nature series constitutes a kind of audiovisual natural remedies pharmacy, a palette of emotions, memories, life force, through the specific vibrations of the various aspects of Nature. Moreover, out of 100 pieces of information that reach the brain, 81 come from the eyes and 11 from the ears, which gives an idea of the effectiveness of the audiovisual tool to act on the individual as a whole (source: Memory Planet, September 2012). Learn more >
Each subject, be it a colour, a flower, a landscape, is conveyed through themes that offer, in addition to the individual films, two sequences in which all the scenes alternate in fade-out, marking the cycles of the Primary Breathing (cf. Sutherland). The short sequence follows the inhalation, or exhalation times of the Medium Tide, while the long sequence those of the Long Tide or Primary Breathing, favouring realignment with the cycles of the state of well-being.
The sequences also allow a prolonged immersion in Nature even in subjects with concentration difficulties: when attention is about to fail, the image is renewed in a harmonious and coherent manner, keeping involuntary attention alive.
BENEFITS
Stress Recovery Theory (Ulrich, 1983)
For ten years, Ulrich set up hospital walls with naturalistic images and then formulated his theory, which has been validated by 40 years of other important researches worldwide. Increasingly, researchers around the world are confirming its validity. According to the Stress Recovery Theory, Nature promotes psychophysical wellbeing by activating emotional, cognitive and physiological responses, even to the reduction of blood pressure, muscle tension and skin conductivity, allowing recovery from psychophysiological stress situations and a significant reduction in pain perception. Learn more >
Attention Restoration Theory (Kaplan – Kaplan, 1989)
The Attention Restoration Theory proposed by psychologists Stephen and Rachel Kaplan, later endorsed by a great deal of research, states that Nature exerts a fascination function capable of regenerating the direct attention potential of human beings. A new approach to the identification of cognitive restoration mechanisms, demonstrating how environments characterised by a high presence of natural elements allow the brain circuits deputed to attention to ‘rest’ and refresh themselves a little, favouring the regeneration of cognitive and intuitive resources and, more generally, of the individual’s psychophysical and relational capacities. Learn more >
Contemplative viewing of the beauty and vitality of Nature trains the ability to pay conscious attention to the present moment (Mindfulness). It promotes an effortless meditative state: the brain activates substances that change the mental atmosphere, transform negative emotions into positive ones and keep anxiety at bay.
- Meditation succeeds in modifying and depotentiating cellular sequences that are dangerous to health, while at the same time making those of important genes more active. (Herbert Benson)
- It can affect the brain, particularly in brain regions related to memory, self-awareness, empathy and stress. (Massachusetts General Hospital)
- It is helpful in reducing the risk of heart attack. (American Heart Association)
- Contemplating natural scenery allows different areas of the brain to work in synchrony. (Hunter et al., 2010) Learn more >
Nature’s therapeutic properties act on a physical, mental, psychic and spiritual level. Each colour, element, flower emits its own particular frequency, whose vibrations activate the electromagnetic fields of the human body, stimulating that same energy, in resonance. A conscious use of specific frequencies allows a more effective and targeted intervention.
“Everything lives, only because it vibrates. […] This is the principle on which chromotherapy works today: it resonates that part of our body that has been created in a specific colour”. (Maurizio Forza, Symbolic Homeopathy).
“Colours are a life force and source of energy, capable of stimulating the formation of body cells and influencing nerves and organs”. (Dr Christa Muths)Learn more>
According to the Attention Restoration Theory, in order to be regenerative (Restorative) an environment must fulfil 4 characteristics:
- be different from the daily routine (Being-away)
- be able to promote exploration without cognitive effort (Extent)
- provide aesthetically pleasing stimuli (Fascination)
- be familiar (Compatibility).
The Experience Nature videos fulfil the requirements, allowing a deeply regenerative experience, with important psychophysical benefits.Learn more>
All of Alamar’s living pictures allow for multisensory use, combining vision with tactile and/or olfactory/taste experiences, stimulating all the senses with synaesthesia. Many flowers and medicinal plants, certain types of fruit, and tall trees such as Scots pines are the basis of wellness treatments: the use of the films encourages a better connection with the chosen essence, revealing the life of the flower or plant from which it derives.
Audiovisual stimulation, in a sensory practice, envelops the experience in beauty and enhances its benefit. It is an exclusively sensorial practice, aimed at the person in his or her entirety, and since it does not operate through cognitive aspects, but through the dimension of enjoyment and pleasure, it is particularly indicated in the recovery of capacities.
