Forest Bathing

The benefits and what to expect from forest bathing

Read on for the benefits of slowing down and letting nature in.

The Benefits of Forest Therapy

Most of us know that nature is good for us and that spending time in nature makes us feel better, we know that from our own experience and there’s plenty of science to back those experiences up.

However, the positive effects get super-charged when we engage with nature in a slightly different way.   Going for a walk with the dog, riding a bike in the woods or having a picnic in the park can be great fun, but they can also end up being just another job to do, especially if we’re the ones in charge of organising, or a specific outcome is expected (getting our steps in etc.).

The super-charging comes when we slow down enough to let nature IN, rather than just being in nature in order to tick something off a list.  Slowing down can feel difficult for many of us – we live in a world of rush, rush, rush and  ‘got to get on with it’ but then our bodies and minds can suffer – we may end up feeling overwhelmed and exhausted and experiencing anxiety and/or depression. 

This is all backed up by over 40 years of scientific study. When we engage in forest therapy, we get to:

• Improve our physical wellbeing (blood pressure is reduced, heart rate goes down, our immune system improves)
• Improve our mental wellbeing (anxiety and depression are reduced and grief and PTSD can feel more manageable)
• Improve our creativity (disconnecting from multi-media and technology, spending time in an environment that doesn’t require us to keep switching our full attention from one thing to the other)
• Increase our resilience, especially if we make it a regular part of our lives.

Forest Therapy – What to Expect?

The sessions start with a short introduction as we make our way into the trees and that’s then followed by a series of ‘invitations’.  Invitations are our opportunity to connect to nature in a relaxed and easy way, using our senses.  You can’t get an invitation wrong and you don’t have to meet any specific goal.  You can interpret the invitations in any way you like.

There will be between 3 and 6 invitations (depending on the season) during our session and there’s always a hot/cold drink and a snack at the end if you fancy it. 

Most of the session is run in silence and there’s no pressure to perform in any way.  There are opportunities to reflect on your experiences but they’re certainly not compulsory and there’s no pressure to share.

Go to ‘Events‘ for details of our forest therapy sessions. Our monthly(ish) newsletter will have details of all new events as they’re confirmed.