The Climb to Bliss: Nature, Cognitive Reset & the Ayurvedic Path to Inner Alignment
The view from the Refuge Valmasque in the Mercantour Park in France
I just completed a 3 day hike in the Mercantour Region in France, 40km look with about 1300 km elevation gain in total.
There’s something ancient and primal about hiking up a mountain.
Your knees ache. Your feet blister. Your skin brushes against jagged rocks and stiff boots. And still—you keep going.
Somewhere amidst the pain, sweat, and effort, a shift happens. You begin to feel it: clarity. Mental lightness. A sense of emotional release and psychological expansion.
That’s the moment I keep chasing. A state of bliss—not happiness, not excitement, but bliss, that weightless afterglow of connection to something bigger than me. And I often wonder:
Do I need the pain of the climb to reach the bliss at the summit?
Could I stay in that state longer, even after I descend?
Can I find bliss without the struggle?
Nature’s Neurological Magic
According to neuroscientist Dr. Marc Berman, being in nature isn’t just poetic—it’s profoundly cognitive. As highlighted in a conversation on the Huberman Lab podcast, Dr. Berman’s research shows that spending time in nature can:
Improve working memory and focus
Reduce cognitive fatigue
Support emotion regulation
Lower cortisol and stress markers
Boost resilience and mental health
But it’s not just being outside that matters—it’s being immersed. Walking through a forest. Touching the earth. Hearing the birds and wind. These aren’t background noises—they’re medicine.
In fact, Dr. Berman's studies have shown that even brief walks through green spaces significantly outperform urban walks in terms of restoring directed attention and reducing mental noise. That restoration is measurable. Your brain calms down. Your emotions re-align.
So when I hike, what I feel isn’t just psychological—it’s neurological.
The Physical Layer vs. The Psychological Layer
While climbing the mountain, I felt something deeper than just the ache in my legs. I was peeling through layers.
The physical layer was pain, effort, and breathlessness.
But the psychological layer was emotion, clarity, insight—and, sometimes, resistance.
And yet, something in me always seeks to bypass the physical.
"Why do I need to hurt to feel bliss?"
"Can’t I just meditate, skip the sore knees, and feel that same deep sense of peace?"
But maybe the truth is: the body is a gateway to the mind. The climb is not a distraction—it’s the bridge. Without passing through the physical, my mind remains cluttered. The climb carves out space for my soul to breathe.
Still, I ask myself another question:
“Why do we lose the bliss so quickly after we return to our daily lives?”
The Distraction Spiral: Modern Life & the Chemical Crash
Our brains were not wired to handle today’s continuous digital bombardment. According to neuroscience, our prefrontal cortex—the part responsible for executive function and attention—gets overwhelmed with:
Multitasking
Notifications
Constant decision-making
Performance pressure
Hyper-urban stimuli
This leads to a cognitive overload that makes it nearly impossible to stay connected to the emotional clarity we briefly find in nature. Just like a chemical high, the neurochemical reaction fades, and the stress hormones creep back in.
This is because our dopamine systems, when not paced or restored, crash hard. And nature, unlike screen-based gratification, stimulates a slow, grounded dopamine response—ideal for long-term emotional regulation.
But we rush back into our old loops, and the body-mind connection frays again.
So how do we hold on to bliss?
The Ayurvedic Lens: Moving from Experience to Integration
Ayurveda offers a deeper understanding of this phenomenon—not just as a chemical reaction but as an energetic misalignment.
Let’s explore it through the three layers of alignment:
🔹 Body: The Doshas
Vata types may seek movement, exploration, change—making hikes a natural therapy.
Pitta types may crave performance, goals, and the “summit,” and can benefit from cooling, grounding nature.
Kapha types thrive in slow, earthy environments but may need encouragement to move and activate energy.
Pain, effort, and resistance in the body are not obstacles; they’re signs. Ayurveda teaches us to listen. The blister on your foot, the ache in your hip—these are messengers, asking: “Are you in balance?”
🔹 Mind: The Gunas
Rajas (activity, restlessness) pulls us into ambition and comparison—even during rest.
Tamas (inertia, dullness) keeps us in fear or avoidance (“don’t go into the water”).
Sattva (clarity, harmony) is the goal—and nature fosters it deeply.
The moments of bliss during or after hiking are glimpses of sattva. They’re signs that our mind has aligned, even briefly. But sustaining sattva requires daily rituals, stillness, and intentionality—not just exposure to natural beauty.
🔹 Soul: Dharma & the Why
Why do you hike? Why do you climb?
Not everyone does it for performance. Some climb to remember who they are. Others to dissolve fear. Others to feel alive.
And when we move with dharma—not against it—the journey becomes the reward.
I used to force myself into cold lakes because I should overcome my fear. But now I ask: “Is this aligned with my dharma in this moment?”
Sometimes bliss is found in surrender, not in struggle.
Holding the Bliss
So how can we carry the feeling of summit-level bliss into our ordinary days?
Here are some Ayurvedic & neuroscience-informed practices:
🌿 Micro-nature breaks: Daily walks, even in a park, help reset your mind.
🌿 Tuning into the body: Practice body scanning or yoga nidra to access the physical-emotional connection.
🌿 Morning sattva rituals: Start your day with nature-inspired rituals (sun gazing, barefoot grounding, warm herbal drinks).
🌿 Reduce urban overstimulation: Lower screen time, limit multi-tasking, schedule regular “green detox” days.
🌿 Let your why guide you: Check in with your dharma. Why do you do what you do? Where are you headed?
Bliss Is Not a Destination. It’s a Rhythm.
Climbing mountains is not about the summit—it’s about the rhythm of breath, step, effort, release.
Bliss is not found at the peak. It’s found in alignment—between the body that aches, the mind that questions, and the soul that remembers its purpose.
We don’t need to suffer to feel bliss. But we do need to pause, listen, and realign.
Let the forest speak to your mind.
Let the rocks challenge your fears.
Let the water welcome you only when your soul feels ready.
Let the climb soften your resistance, not harden your resolve.
And most importantly:
Let nature remind you of who you already are.
🔗 Want to go deeper?
I offer 1:1 sessions to help you reconnect with your purpose and design personalized body-mind-soul rituals based on Ayurveda.
✨ Ready to discover your inner alignment?
Mamta Rana - Ayurveda Psychotherapist , Coach & Art Therapy Practitioner
