Many people feel spiritually connected at the beach. The beach is something of a magical place for many, getting people in touch with nature on a level they can seldom find elsewhere. There are a number of reasons that they beach gets people into a spiritual frame of mind. The beach offers us beautiful natural scenery, a sacred place where the land we dwell on meets the water we cannot inhabit, and a perspective on our place in the world that helps us understand eternity. It is no wonder that we go to the edge of the ocean to search our souls and clear our minds.

The scenery at the beach is naturally beautiful. Everything in front of us is immense at the beach. The sky is expansive and stretches before us over head. The water seemingly goes no forever. The sky and the water meet on the horizon which is an infinite amount of space away from us. The waves crash, the salty wind blows and the gulls cry out. Anyone who has been to the beach knows these familiar sights and sounds and feels something move in their spirit when they associate them with the beach.

There is something spiritual about standing on the edge of a continent and gazing out over the ocean. It is a place where two major elements meet and separate from one another, and the energy is vibrant. This coming together of land and water in such a dramatic way give us a sense of our size as compared to the world. This is humbling and puts many things into perspective for people, who are conscience, observant beings.

The horizon, that is so many miles from where we stand at the beach may as well be an infinite amount of space away from us. It disappears to the human eye around the curvature of the world. We humans have very little sense for eternity, but beholding the end of land and the beginning of ocean represents eternity to us in a way that we can vaguely comprehend.

The natural elements at the beach are what make it a memorable place. People return again and again to the beach for solace and peace of mind. There is something about the beach that captures our imaginations and stills our thoughts. There is no other place that bring together the same magical combination of natural elements.

The ocean itself is of particular fascination to people who love the beach. Only at the beach can one stand on the edge of a continent and look out onto an infinite body of water and contemplate it. The ocean captivates us with its vast mysteriousness and being close to it serves as a reminder to us of how small we are.

The air at the beach is very memorable to everyone who has experienced it. It is thick with salt and moisture coming off the water, being carried by the ever present wind. The smell of the ocean is unlike anything else. Not everyone likes it because it is a very organic, earthy smell. Some even describe it as sour because of the moist vegetation and wildlife that it comes with. However, many love nothing more than a salty ocean breeze hitting their face.

The land that makes up the beach is also a very memorable part of it. The landscape is often hilly and sloping, leading down to the water. The slope gives way to sand – the part of the earth that has been tilled by salt water for millenniums. The sand of the beach is a favorite spot for people to perch on. People bring chairs, towels, blankets, umbrellas, picnics and books to the beach for days of enjoyment.

Apart from these elements, there are other features of the beach that people recall when they think on what they love about the beach. The wildlife is one of them. Gulls, fish and even oceanic mammals can be observed in their element at the beach. The vegetation is another. Plants grow in the hills near the beach that do not grow anywhere else and are very recognizable. Even the civilization on the beach – the cottages, shops, lighthouses and restaurants – are one of a kind.

There are many exercises one can do at the beach. The beach makes for an ideal space to work out in. There is plenty of room to move around, the temperature is usually agreeable and the scenery is therapeutic. Even the sand offers resistance to feet that tread on it, enhancing exercise. The variety of exercises one can do on the beach are vast. One can engage in high energy workouts like jogging or speed walking, one can exercise in place or one can do gentle exercises like yoga and stretching on the beach.

Jogging or speed walking on the beach is invaluable exercise. It can serve as a commute for some people who can get to where they need to go by way of a beach, or it can double as a therapeutic nature walk with exercise benefits. Moving up and down a beach is an excellent workout for the body’s muscles and cardiovascular system. There is an incredible amount of space to traverse along a beach which ensures a long, healthy work out. The sand’s give makes travel by foot more challenging, which allows for a more intense work out.

If traveling by foot does not interest a person for a workout, they can do a variety of exercises in place on the beach, such as calisthenics and aerobics. The sand’s give still makes for an excellent surface to work out on to tone muscles and strengthen a person at their core. One can do variations of push ups, sit ups, lunges, planks and jogging in place on the beach in order to stay healthy.

And lastly, if intense workouts are not a person’s style, they should engage in yoga and stretching on the beach. One could not hope for a better environment for stretching and yoga than the beach. The environment is peaceful and serene to help a person relax and calm their mind. With their concentration sharp, they can hold a variety of poses that stretch their muscles and refresh their bodies, giving them additional energy and clarity.