Slow down in the mountains

When the mountain pasture provides therapy for stressed holidaymakers

Get up on the mountain to slow down – and feel everyday stress fade away. Rediscovering peace and calm is a breeze on the mountain, because up here, time is not important. No appointments need to be kept and there’s no television. You eat when the stomach growls, and the sun tells you when it’s time to call it a day.

Holidays usually relieve everyday stress. The mountain, however, has no daily sources of stress such as road noise, crowds, ringing phones and wireless networks, and this means that the soul can finally exhale and the mind comes to rest. Here, when you have time alone, you can finally reconnect with yourself in the calm of listening to silence. The mountain pastures are tried and tested as a place for peace and relaxation both in summer and in winter. You don’t have to do anything unless you want to: rest, enjoy, daydream and let your gaze drift into the vastness of the mountain panorama.

Therapeutic mountain pastures

Remote mountain pasture areas are perfect for burnout prevention. Nature contributes to energy and strength, and the focus turns inward. The mountain pastures in SalzburgerLand are quiet places – perfect to reflect and find inner calm. Here, the senses open your awareness to the rhythm of nature. Krimmler Tauernhaus in the Krimmler Achental valley is one of these oases of calm. Mountain hut keeper Friedl Geisler frequently hosts stressed-out travellers in the history-laden hut who find their inner balance in the seclusion of Achental. He knows that “life in our fast-paced society takes its toll. Too much stress and occupational overloading lead to physical and mental exhaustion. The step back to a full life requires relaxation and letting go. With half speed ahead, adequate sleep and exercise, with calm and the power of the mountains, guests on the mountain pasture find their inner peace and strength again.”

Healing activity on the mountain pasture

A current study by the Salzburg University Hospital confirms the positive effects of walking and hiking on health: regular hiking improves self-esteem, quality of sleep and appetite, and reduces depression. Mountain yoga is a special form of relaxation. Indian yoga teaching promises relaxation, inner balance and flexibility. During mountain yoga, such as in Grossarltal valley, in Gastein or on the Schmitten in Zell am See, the asanas are practised amidst fragrant meadows and the altitude infuses the experience with a special quality. But even yodelling is relaxing because the juxtaposition of sound syllables in alternating head and chest voice creates a liberating vibration that centres the soul.

Simplicity can be stunning

Experiencing the virtuoso staging of the “festival of nature” on the mountain pasture with all the senses is soothing for the soul. It doesn’t take much – a nice, quiet place with magnificent views is enough to experience the impressive spectacle of a sunrise. To feel the first rays touch the skin, see how life and colour comes alive or the snow begins to sparkle, to smell the warm earth exude its fragrance in summer, to hear the insects and birds start their day and the wind blow a gentle breeze through the trees. The sunset on the mountain brings peace and quiet to the fauna and flora, silence sets in and the last spectacular play of colours in the clouds signals the viewer: the curtain falls on nature’s stage for today.