What is Forest Therapy?

What is Forest Therapy?

Forest Therapy is a guided sequence typically practiced with a group of people gathered outside in a natural environment for a few hours. The experience combines rest and wandering, interspersed with facilitated group gatherings and solo time. All the prompts, invitations, ways of sharing and participating are optional and wide open to interpretation. Unlike hiking or and other kinds of outdoor recreation, the emphasis is on slowing down and resting with no set destination. Unlike birding or plant/species identification or other kinds of naturalist educational programs, forest therapy is about simply being in the experience of being alive. It is a chance to unplug, slow down and awaken the senses without needing to “do” anything.

The Lineage

Forest therapy is inspired by forest bathing along with various other practices and lineages of guides worldwide. The term forest bathing is the literal English translation of the Japanese term Shinrin-Yoku. This term was coined in the early 1980’s when Japan responded to a national health crisis resulting in a spike in stress related illness related to a technology boom that brought an increase in screen time and a decrease in time outside. The idea is to soak up the forest atmosphere, breathing in the terpenes and watching the fractal patterns of light and shades of green.

There are several approaches and ways that forest therapy is defined and offered throughout the world. Toadstool Walks guides relational forest therapy. It is therapeutic in nature but it is not group therapy. I am not a therapist or a healer. I am a mentor and a guide. I facilitate light touch sharing and accompany others on these guided journeys taking an anecdotal and reciprocal approach..

The Research

From increased cerebral blood flow to stronger immune defenses, forest bathing is part of a global effort to tend to the stressful conditions of living in modern industrialized civilization. A plethora of studies have been done measuring the impacts of natural environments on human health showing that by simply spending time outside, humans have experienced. You can find a list of research studies HERE.

In this podcast I talk about Belonging as a key health impact of forest therapy:

The Land

Human relationship to the land is incredibly deep as the land is where we all come from and where we are all tethered yet the tapestry our ancestors weave tells a very complex story of many creatures, Indigenous ways of knowing, colonialism, exploitation, sacred relationships and mystery. The land is constantly changing and has many teachings to offer to those who are willing to bear witness.

I live and guide on the ancestral homelands of the Pawtucket and the Massachusett Tribes, fed by Jamaica Pond ground springs that flow into the Muddy River. All of my walks begin with acknowledging the land and all the many beings who have and continue to tend them.

A portion of all Toadstool Walks proceeds is donated as a regular ongoing monthly contribution to the following organizations:

• North American Indian Center of Boston

• The Massachusett Tribe at Ponkapoag

• The Boston Alliance of LGBTQ+ Youth (BAGLY)

• The Rest Rail

Why go with a guide?

Seeking guidance and healing in the natural world has been practiced by most cultures throughout history throughout the world. In our current world of high speed information overload, the invitation to unplug and explore freely without needing to keep track of time is a radical offering. While you obviously don’t need a guide to have meaningful and purposeful immersive encounters in nature, many find the experience of being guided to be deeply supportive and sometimes even transformational. Guides create and hold a container to share and bear witness with others in a facilitated way. This is huge in our modern world. On a personal level, I regularly seek guidance as my life has been hugely impacted in important ways with the support of my guides, mentors, teachers and witnesses.