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How to Make Yourself Unplug and Head Outside (Sonya Mohamed and Sebastian Slovin)

If you’re anything like me, you have trouble unplugging inside or outside. Even when I head outside I am typically toting my phone, snapping photos and getting sucked into various social media platforms. One time I was so busy texting that I almost walked into a moose.

My struggle is pretty normal, according to today’s guests. Unplugging is really, really hard. But Sebastian Slovin and Sonya Mohamed are unplugging experts, and on this episode they share not just the intel on why unplugging is so hard, but their best tips and tricks for making it happen inside and outside.

Some of the good stuff:

[2:24] Sebastian and Sonya’s favorite outdoor space

[3:29] How they became people who like to go outside

[6:31] Why they focus on unplugging

[8:53] Why screens have so much power over us

[13:18] Is all screen time terrible?

[16:58] What screen time balance looks like

[19:08] What’s the secret to learning to unplug?

[22:31] About their book

[24:36] How to unplug at home

[28:40] About our Unplugging Challenge

[32:46] Is unplugging outside better than unplugging inside?

[35:27] How to be plugged in outside and still not really plugged in.

[38:28] Sonya and Sebastian’s favorite and most essential outdoor gear

[42:34] Their favorite outdoor moment (seriously — it’s adorable)

Connect with this episode:

Join our Unplugging Challenge and unplug outside for seven days

Enter to win a copy of Sonya Mohamed and Sebastian Slovin’s book

Register for the Humans Outside newsletter to download a copy of the Unplugging Challenge tracker (if you’re already a newsletter subscriber watch for our latest newsletter)

Buy Sonya Mohamed’s and Sebastian Slovin’s book, Nature Unplugged: A Guide to Wellness in the Digital Age

Follow Nature Unplugged on Instagram

Follow Nature Unplugged on Facebook

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Outdoor Diary: Don’t Let Your Outdoor Habit Become Just a Habit

When your outdoor time becomes such a habit that it’s just something you naturally do every day, you might find a new problem. Instead of experiencing the wonder of heading into nature, now you just do it as something to get done. In this episode Amy talks about the problems that brings, what causes it for her and what she noticed when she took the time to be present.

Some of the good stuff:

[1:20] Amy’s new outdoor problem

[3:54] What happens when you head outside with intention

[4:44] Unplug with Humans Outside

[5:04] Another giveaway and a challenge!

[6:00] This week’s Outdoor Hero

Connect with this episode:

Subscribe to the newsletter to get the free unplugging challenge downloadable

Follow Humans Outside on Instagram

Follow Humans Outside on Facebook

Check out these cool Buffs (affiliate link)

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Here’s the Scoop on Dog Racing and the Iditarod from Identical Twin Mushers (Kristy and Anna Berington)

Nothing about Alaska captures the imagination quite like sled dog racing and mushing. Imagine bundling against sub-zero temperatures and then forward standing on a sled pulled by a team of dogs — and, for the long distance events, doing it for days on end. And while the races are only in the winter, keeping and caring for the dogs is a year-round thing. Dog racing is truly a lifestyle.

In this special episode of Humans Outside, two world-famous mushers and identical twin sisters, Kristy and Anna Berington, share with us not just everything you’ve ever wanted to know about mushing, but also a window into the special connection the sport creates with the outdoors.

Some of the good stuff:

[2:36] Kristy and Anna Berington’s favorite outdoor space

[6:40] What is dog racing?

[8:09] All about sled dogs

[10:12] Is mushing cruel to dogs?

[16:41] What do sled dogs eat?

[19:17] What is the iditarod?

[22:24] What are the costs of dog racing?”

[24:38] How dog racing connects them with nature

[30:15] About their relationship with the dogs

[33:14] Can you replicate the experience of dog racing in another way?

[35:58] How to have the same experience with nature

[37:03] Kristy and Anna’s favorite and most essential outdoor gear

[41:39] Their favorite outdoor moment

Connect with this episode:

Kristy and Anna Berington’s kennel, Seeing Double Sled Dog Racing

Follow Kristy and Anna on Instagram

Learn about the Iditarod race

Follow Humans Outside on Instagram

Follow Humans Outside on Facebook

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Outdoor Diary: Why I Decided to Jump Off a (Literal) Cliff

When was the last time you jumped off a cliff? In this Outdoor Diary Amy talks about why she decided to jump off a cliff, her vacation to Maui and an extremely long trip home to Alaska.
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Some of the good stuff:

Good stuff:
[:27] Amy’s vacation

[1:36] Travel woes

[3:10] The big leap

[5:00] This week’s giveaway!

[5:28] Where to find Humans Outside

Connect with this episode:

More about that black rock in Maui

Win the Klean Kanteen bottle

Follow Humans Outside on Instagram

Follow Humans Outside on Facebook

Subscribe, follow & review on

How Heading Outside Helps You Love Where You Live (Melody Warnick)

Like it or not, sometimes life means relocating to a new place. Moving to an entirely new area far from friends or family can be unsettling no matter who you are. And no matter how great it is there, it’s definitely going to be different from the place you left behind, complete with things that are easy to enjoy and facets that are hard to get used to. In short, change is hard no matter what.

But what if heading outside could help you learn to love the place you live? Melody Warnick is an expert in place attachment, or what makes humans feel connected to specific locations, and she shares with us exactly why heading into nature connects you to the place you’re calling “home.”

Some of the good stuff:

[1:57] Melody Warnick’s favorite outdoor space

[3:21] What is “place attachment?”
[7:51] How she feels about her newish home now

[14:04] Act as if …

[18:29] How going outside helped her like where she lived

[23:51] Does it matter if you’re moving?

[32:27] Was the way the outdoors built a connection to people surprising?

[43:12] How you can increase place attachment by going outside

[48:37] Melody’s favorite and most essential gear

[51:17] Melody’s favorite outdoor moment

Connect with this episode:

Visit Melody Warnick’s website

Read Melody Warnick’s book, This Is Where You Belong: Finding Home Wherever You Are (affiliate link)

Follow Melody Warnick on Instagram

Follow Melody Warnick on Facebook

Follow Melody Warnick on Twitter

Connect with Melody Warnick on LinedIn

Melody’s favorite outdoor gear: a water bottle (with ice water) and the Libby library app

Melody’s most essential outdoor gear: sunglasses and trail GPS

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Outdoor Diary: Why I’m OK Eating My Words

Ever have that moment where you make some sort of broad statement about not doing something, only to have to take it back later? Yeah, that happens to Amy a lot — especially when it comes to doing stuff outside. And here’s why she’s OK with taking it back and eating her words every single time.

Some of the good stuff:

[:26] Amy’s persistent habit

[1:00] That one time Amy went skiing

[4:40] How Amy uses this habit as inspiration

[5:36] Humans Outside’s first birthday giveaways!

[6:23] Next week’s Outdoor Diary

Connect with this episode:

Connect with:
The Bushatz family on Living Alaska (no that’s not their actual house)

Get in on this Cairn box giveaway

Check out Cairn as a gift — it’s not too late!! (sponsored)

The 2021 Humans Outside Get-Out Gear Guide

Follow Humans Outside on Instagram

Subscribe, follow & review on

Does Taking on Really Big Challenges Outside Help Mental Health? (Sonja Weick)

Sonja Weick likes to do hard things. That’s how she ended up competing in Eco Challenge: Fiji and being featured on the Amazon Prime show about what’s billed as the world’s toughest endurance race. But all is not always sunshine and big wins in Sonja land — something the reality program showed viewers worldwide. In this episode Sonja Weick talks about her journey into the outdoors, how it has impacted her mental health and how doing hard things outside – no matter what they are – can change you.

Some of the good stuff:

[2:32] Sonja Weick’s favorite outdoor space
[4:31] How Sonja became a person who likes to go outside
[7:33] Sonja tells us about Eco Challenge
[16:33] Why doing hard things outside is important to Sonja
[17:55] The differences between Eco Challenge and Ironman
[24:21] What outdoor users and athletes have to think about when they take on hard things
[28:00] Sonja talks about her panic attack during Eco
[35:26] How she got through it
[41:55] How outdoor life impacts her mental health
[43:55] Do endurance activities outside have a bigger impact on mental health than other types of activities?
[49:17] Sonja’s tips for using endurance sport outside for mental health
[53:25] Sonja’s favorite and most essential outdoor gear
[57:30] Sonja’s favorite outdoor moment

Connect with this episode:

Visit Eden Law to learn how to protect your business (sponsor)

Follow Sonja Weick on Instagram

Watch Eco Challenge on Amazon Prime

Learn about Team Iron Cowboy

Listen to Sonja’s podcast, goSonja

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Outdoor Diary: Giveaways, a Winter Gear Guide and Our Birthday Party

Join Amy as she reflects on the FIRST BIRTHDAY of the Humans Outside Podcast! It has been a wild ride and we are so thankful for you, our listeners! Make sure to listen to get the details on some birthday giveaways coming this month!

Some of the good stuff:

[:26] One whole year

[1:09] 2021 Winter Get-Out Guide

[1:48] Giveaways!

[6:02] Amy’s favorite winter gear

[8:10] Where to find Humans Outside

Connect with this episode:

Learn more about the Noxgear 39g

Enter our Noxgear 39g giveaway (Jan. 30 through Feb. 4)

Learn more about Cairn boxes

Enter our Cairn box giveaway (Feb. 5 through 11)

Learn more about Klean Kanteen TKwide 32 oz.

Enter our Klean Kanteen giveaway (Feb. 12 through Feb. 18)

Read the 2021 Winter Get-Out Gear Guide

Follow Humans Outside on Facebook

Follow Humans Outside on Instagram

Subscribe, follow & review on

How Walking Therapy Connects Us With Nature and Ourselves (Carmen Rendell)

Carmen Rendell has learned a lot about life pivots — and she’s let spending time in nature both adventuring and just being show her the way. Now the owner of Soul Hub, Carmen is also a walking therapist, guiding her clients to growth. So what is walking therapy and how can you practice it for yourself? Carmen tells us how.