IT'S the unique Hampshire business which uses nature connection activities to help give its clients that elusive 'aha' moment.

Forest bathing, mindfulness and meditation are among the pursuits offered by Adore Your Outdoors, based in Winchester.

The firm is enjoying success after 16 months trading, despite having to close for a large chunk of that time.

But nobody else does what they do, according to owner Sonya Dibbin.

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She told the Daily Echo: "I set the business up following redundancy as I knew I wanted to be outdoors more for my own health but also to model behaviour to my son.

"I specialise in nature connection activities, which have mindfulness and meditation at the core, but by adding in nature and photography, it makes meditation more accessible for those who otherwise struggle to turn off the mind chatter. We also specialise in Forest bathing.

"I had to cancel my first sold out session in March 2020 and it’s been a struggle since.

"But seeing my customers having their first “aha” moment when they experience deep nature connection for the first time gets me out of bed in the morning.

"Once you’ve experienced a sense of nature connection, you can develop and deepen your practice. You start to see beauty in nature everywhere, and feel joy and awe for the simplest of things. It really lifts your spirits.

"The psychological construct of nature connectedness is being studied at the University of Derby and they’ve proven nature connection leads to sustained increases in health, happiness, relationships but also your behaviour towards nature. You become more pro-environmental."

Sonya is looking forward to getting back to basics after Covid caused major changes to the fledgling business and jeopardised her livelihood.

She added: "I had to close in lockdown and I’ve only been able to have six people on events instead of ten plus many customers were shielding or too scared to come. Yet I don’t qualify for any help despite being a higher rate tax payer until April 2019. I’ve been living off redundancy money and it’s been scary."

  • We wish Adore Your Outdoors, our trader of the week, every success going forward. If you'd like your Hampshire business to feature in our weekly in paper and online platform supporting local traders, click on the link below.