WHAT TO EXPECT
A Forest Bathing (Shinrin-yoku) guided walk is an opportunity to slow down, open your senses and your heart, and connect with nature in a way that is, most likely, much deeper than any other nature experience you’ve had before. A trained guide knows how to help you quiet your mind and engage in the natural world in such a way that moves you towards receiving the greatest benefits (the “medicine”) of the forest. We are not therapists… Nature is the therapist in this case! But a certified guide, such as myself, will assist you, through a series of well-crafted invitations, towards a greater sense of wellness and openness.
To help you understand a bit more, I’ve created a list of what Forest Bathing IS and is NOT:
Forest Bathing
IS NOT:
- a hike or strenuous exercise
- a long walk
- energy-depleting, draining
- goal-oriented
- an educational or naturalist walk
- a competition
- analytical
- weird and out-there
- totally serious
Forest Bathing
IS:
- relaxed, slow-paced, with opportunities to pause, sit, rest
- typically a short distance, maybe 1/4 to 1/2 mile total
- energy-enhancing, mood enhancing
- present-centered with no goal other than to be in the moment, and be open
- primarily a silent activity, with several opportunities to come together and share observations with others
- a collaborative experience with nature
- getting yourself out of your thinking mind, and instead opening up to your senses, your body, and even your heart
- a way of re-connecting with nature, of “remembering” how humans used to be, and are meant to be within the natural world.
- enjoyable, awakening, stirring, and sometimes even humorous!