Forest Therapy – A gift of intention

by Angel Cannon-Crothers – 

“I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order.”  -John Burroughs

It was an unseasonably warm autumn day, the air golden and infused with the scent of pine. This was a perfect day to experience a new way of being in the woods. A group of 10 had gathered at RMSC’s Cumming Nature Center to experience a Forest Therapy session with certified Finger Lakes Forest Therapy Guides, Deb Denome and Theresa Benoit Keyes.

There is plenty of evidence to back up the benefits of spending time in nature. Study after study has shown that being in the natural world — be it a city park or a wilderness area — has measurable, positive effects on the mind and body. Despite the evidence, people of all ages suffer from a lack of hours outdoors. In this age of Nature Deficit Disorder, finding ways to consciously tune in to nature’s holistic healing benefits and smooth our frayed cords, is essential.

I am fortunate. I am not one who lacks time with nature. I teach in the out-of-doors at least once a week, if not more, and I hike in the woods most every morning. My life-long career as an environmental educator has connected me to the natural world in many more ways and yet, Forest Therapy offered me a new way of being in the woods.

Our guides began the program having us reflect on our own first encounters with nature, and trees in particular. They reminded us that this was a leisurely walk in the forest and we would be using our senses to “take it all in.” We were not there to identify bird calls and wildflowers, we had not come for physical exercise – although all of these ways of being in the woods are also beneficial. No, we had come for something different. Forest Therapy has its own intention.

Forest Therapy developed from a Japanese practice known as shinrin yoku which means, essentially, “forest bathing.” It is a practice much like, yoga, meditation prayer, or even a workout. It is a time for breathing in clean air. It is about being fully present with yourself and the natural world, allowing a restorative relationship to reemerge.

Our guides offered us “invitations” to participate in. These invitations were quiet activities we did alone in sensory layers, linking us to the forest like the web of mycelium running beneath our feet, with liminal reflections on where we were now in place and time. Nature awareness invitations opened into opportunities to delve into personal areas of healing each of us might need. At the close of each activity we were invited to share our thoughts or experiences with the rest of the group, a process I found expanded and deepened the experiences.

I took great joy in the fact that so many of the invitations simply built a sense of wonder and gratitude for not only the trees, but also the flowing water of the creek, the living soil, herbaceous plants and other beings who share this world with us. The Association of Nature and Forestry Guides and Programs embraces that Forest Therapy is about healing for people as well as the natural areas being utilized for such purposes. The healing is mutual and symbiotic.

Most of the activities were traditional to me, but the intentions were unique. I found none of the invitations overbearing in their message or too “out there” to not be accessible to a variety of people. We were gifted with moments to commune with nature as well as to bathe in peace. For me, Forest Therapy was an opportunity to be led, to have time to simply be exploratory, mindful and in the moment. I loved listening to others in the group who attended for a variety of personal reasons, and observing how everyone got something so unique out of each invitation. Forest Therapy sessions typically end with a tea ceremony made from fragrant woodland leaves or evergreens. I found my event also ended with a refreshed spirit, a relaxed mind, and renewed feelings of wellness. As one participant said so plainly, “I think the world would be a better place if everyone practiced this.”

What a gift to go into the forest with such intention.