What happens when you step out of the environment that shaped you — and into one that reveals you?

In this conversation, I sit down with Cory, a leadership coach based in rural Japan, whose work brings individuals and teams into nature not as an escape, but as a catalyst for clarity.

After years in Tokyo's corporate world, Cory found himself living and working in the mountains of Minakami — a place of shifting rivers, deep seasonal rhythms, and what he describes as a quiet "homecoming." What emerged wasn't just a lifestyle change, but a different way of working with leaders.

We explore how nature acts as a co-facilitator in leadership development, why many of us "armor up" to function in modern environments, and what becomes possible when that armor starts to loosen.

This conversation also holds an important tension: not everyone is meant to leave their life behind. The real work may be learning how to live more fully where you already are.

If you've ever felt the pull of nature — or wondered what it might reveal about who you are — this episode offers a grounded place to begin.

As the seasons begin to shift, it's a reminder that change doesn't always come from trying harder — sometimes it comes from changing conditions.

In this solo walk episode, Susan reflects on how much our wellbeing is shaped not just by what we do, but by the environments we're part of. Drawing on both nature and her experience in organizational wellbeing, she explores a different lens: what if feeling "off" isn't something to fix within ourselves, but a signal about the conditions we're operating in?

This episode invites a simple but powerful question — what are the conditions you're living in, and how are they shaping how you feel?

Jessica DeAngelo joins me for a conversation about what happens when we step outside, move our bodies, and give ourselves space to think differently.

After a pivotal moment with her young daughter, Jessica began a simple experiment: 30 minutes a day in nature, without technology. What followed wasn't a quick fix, but a shift — from scattered attention to clearer thinking, from constant input to something more grounded.

In this episode, we explore how movement and time outdoors support creativity, why stepping away from screens can help us refocus on what actually matters, and how a consistent, accessible practice in nature can change the way we show up in both our work and our lives.

This conversation is for anyone who feels mentally full, stretched thin, or stuck — and is curious what might open up with a little more space, movement, and time outside.

On a morning walk, three blue jay feathers stop Susan in her tracks — a small moment that opens into a deeper reflection on change and possibility.

In this solo episode, she shares the story of imaginal cells — the cells inside a caterpillar that carry the blueprint for a butterfly. During transformation, the caterpillar doesn't simply change form. It dissolves completely before something new begins to organize.

Through this lens, Susan explores how periods of uncertainty in our own lives may not be signs that something is wrong, but part of a natural process of reorganization.

She reflects on what it means to speak what feels true, how connection is created through that honesty, and why paying attention to what's quietly emerging matters — even when it's not fully formed.

If something in your life feels undefined or in transition, this episode offers a way to hold that space with a bit more curiosity.

Nature is often treated as a luxury — something we visit when we have time.

But public health researcher Jay Maddock has spent years studying something different: what actually happens in the body when we spend time outside.

In this conversation, Jay shares the research behind what many of us intuitively feel. Within minutes of stepping outside, blood pressure drops, mood improves, and our nervous system begins to reset. Over longer periods, time in nature may even strengthen immune function.

Jay's work sits at the intersection of public health, behavioral science, and environmental psychology. From leading the Center for Health and Nature at Texas A&M to helping launch the Nature and Health Alliance, he is helping build the research infrastructure behind what many people already sense: nature isn't an escape from life — it's part of how human health works.

Susan and Jay explore micro-doses of nature, weekend "macro doses," nature prescriptions in healthcare systems, and why the biggest shift often comes simply from moving from no nature to some nature.

The conversation is both scientific and practical — a reminder that even small moments outside can have meaningful effects on how we feel and function.

In our conversation we explore:

• Why even 10 minutes outside can shift how we feel
• The idea of "micro-doses" and "macro-doses" of nature
• Research linking greener neighborhoods with better mental health
• The growing movement of nature prescriptions in healthcare
• How nature can help restore attention and reduce burnout

One of the most important insights Jay shares is simple:

The greatest benefit from nature often comes from moving from no exposure to some exposure.

Small moments outside may matter more than we think.

What environments shape your day?

In this walk episode of Rooted: A Podcast About Nature & Wellbeing, Susan explores a simple but powerful idea: most of us move through three environments every day — the natural environment, the built environment, and the artificial environment.

Nature surrounds us with living systems that regulate and restore. Built environments provide the structures that organize our lives. Artificial environments — screens, platforms, and digital tools — increasingly hold our attention.

Each environment serves a role. But they operate in very different rhythms.

Through reflection and the story of the alder tree, a species known for quietly strengthening the ecosystems around it, Susan considers how these environments influence our attention, energy, and sense of grounding. Rather than offering prescriptions, this episode begins with a simple practice: noticing the environments we move through and what we experience in each one.

Sometimes the first step toward feeling more rooted is simply paying attention.

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Reflection for listeners:
Over the next few days, notice the environments you move through. When are you in the natural environment? The built environment? The artificial environment? What shifts in how you feel as you move between them?

What if you've never been a "nature person" - but nature is exactly what you need?

Claudia Kraut spent decades in organizational health and wellbeing, just like Susan. She called herself an "interior gal" - someone who only went outside when she was made to. Then at 50, she tried something new: a trail run. It changed everything.

In this conversation, Susan and Claudia explore how there are so many ways to connect with nature, and you can start exactly where you are. Maybe it's an app that helps you find trails nearby. Maybe it's a few minutes of fresh air on your lunch break. Maybe eventually it's a trail run, or a daily sit spot, or just noticing the seasons shifting outside your window.

You don't have to become someone you're not. You just have to start where you can.

Claudia shares her lived experience of bringing more nature into her life - how she does it, why it matters, what changed for her. Susan and Claudia talk about the research showing nature's impact on wellbeing, but more importantly, they explore the practical, accessible ways people can begin connecting with nature right now.

They also discuss how technology can help rather than hinder our connection to what's real, how organizations can integrate nature into workplace wellbeing strategies, and why nature isn't just essential to wellbeing - it's foundational.

If you've been curious about nature but weren't sure where to start, or if you think "I'm just not a nature person," this conversation is for you.

What if the steadiness you've been searching for isn't somewhere you need to go — it's something you already are?

A lot is changing right now. For many of us, it feels like standing in a rushing river, the current pulling harder than we expected. The instinct is to move faster, do more, strategize harder. But what if the most powerful thing you could do is plant your feet?

This is a Sit episode — something a little different from a typical podcast. No guest. No interview. Just host Susan Morgan Bailey guiding you through a short, grounding experience using breath, the senses, and whatever nature is available to you right now. Even if that's only a window.

Susan is a former science teacher, current transformational coach, and 25-year veteran of organizational wellbeing. In this episode she introduces the sit spot — a simple practice of returning to the same place in nature each day to listen, observe, and arrive. It's one of the most accessible and quietly powerful tools she knows for finding what she calls peaceful steadiness: the place inside you that doesn't move the way the world is moving.

In 20 minutes, you'll settle your breath, open your senses, and remember something that tends to get lost in the noise — that you are nature, not separate from it. And that belonging doesn't go anywhere, even when everything else seems to.

No wilderness required. No special conditions. Just willingness and a place to be still.

If you've been feeling the pull of everything that's changing and need somewhere to plant your feet — this episode is for you.