Forest Therapy

Nature doesn’t judge us, she welcomes us home.

Being in Nature, and for me, particularly in forests, helps us find calm and shed the stress of everyday life. I spend as much time outside, in forests, mountains, near water as I can and I love welcoming people into those places with me as they too find the calm they so need in their lives. It really is therapy for the soul.

When we find this calm, new ideas come to us. They find their way where before they were repelled, scared into the bushes by our crazy whirring hard drives. When we quieten our minds, these ideas emerge from deep within us, from our own inner wisdom, just when we need them most, just when we wondered if we’d ever fathom a way forward.

Deepening our relationship with Nature helps us deepen our relationship with ourselves, it helps us find that different way and live truly to who we are.

I guide people - one on one or groups - and corporate or other teams on Forest Therapy walks, half or full day walks and a few times a year, on Big Walks, where we take off for a multi-day immersion in the forest’s sensory ecstasy. I’ve shared some more information below, but if you’d like to know more, click on button below to visit the Events page or simply write to me at scott@adifferentway.life.

The forest is waiting for you…

What is Forest Therapy

Forest Therapy is a practice that supports health and wellness through guided immersion in forests and other environments to promote the well-being of both people and the land. It is inspired by Shinrin-yoku, the Japanese practice of “Forest Bathing.” In Forest Bathing, people spend time in forested areas to enhance health, wellness, and happiness.

In Forest Therapy, people are guided through a clearly defined sequence of invitations to slow down, allow the senses to open, and experience the environment to deepen the reciprocal relationship between participants and the forest. This supports the wholeness and well-being of both. These Slow Walks in the Forest are typically one- to two-kilometers long and fit for all ages and physical conditions. Invitations are open-ended. There is no expectation for what participants should experience or receive. Rather, participants spend time in silence, listening and feeling with a quiet and accepting presence. They become reconnected with their senses and their innate creative potential is tapped, which allows the imagination to awaken.

Why Forest Therapy?

Forest Therapy promotes:

• The improvement of human health. People are more stressed, anxious, and depressed and have more chronic health conditions. Forest Therapy provides a pathway for people to remember how to immerse themselves in nature to rest from all that consumes them in their daily lives.

• A greater sense of connectedness. Jacques Cousteau once said, “People protect what they love.” A heartfelt, embodied relationship with nature naturally leads to a love of nature and recognition that we are nature.

• A greater sense of compassion. Somatic work with the Earth and our bodies provides participants the opportunity to remember the nature of relationship and the way we are all connected. The sense of connectedness leads toward compassion and away from apathy, greed, and selfishness. This deeper compassion supports the kind of relational values that will support new solutions for the health of people and the planet.

What Distinguishes the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy?

With more than 800 trained guides, 15 trainers and 30 mentors in over 55 countries, the ANFT envisions mobilizing the world’s largest referral network to medical and healthcare systems along with alternative and complementary healing modalities. A robust body of research demonstrates what we have always intuitively known: time in nature is good for us. The ANFT’s role is to develop a solidly grounded practice that supports the well-being of people and, by connecting them with nature, inspire people to become advocates for healing our relationships with the More Than Human World.

What is the background philosophy of the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy?

The Association, founded in 2012 by M. Amos Clifford, combines elements of Shinrin-yoku with Clifford’s four decades of experience in wilderness guiding, Zen meditation, psychotherapy, educational consulting, and nature connection. Together with a team of collaborators from different backgrounds, Clifford continues to evolve ANFT’s cutting edge approach to forest therapy.

Useful Links to Research 

1. A website:

Immerse Yourself in a Forest for Better Health, New York Department of Conservation:

https://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/90720.html  

2. A book:

The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative, by Florence Williams (see the Resources section in the back of the book for a list of other recommended reading)

3. Published research:

Shinrin-yoku (Forest bathing) and Nature Therapy: A State-of-the-Art Review, Margaret M. Hansen,* Reo Jones and Kirsten Tocchini. Academic Editors Yoshifumi Miyazaki, Hiromitsu Kobayashi, Sin-Ae Park, and Chorong Song: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5580555/

Reflections from past Big Walks

 BIG WALK 2019

Big walk 2018

A Letter from Alban 

Hi Scott,

Let me share with you a few paragraphs with what I took away so far. I will keep sharing. Do feel free to use bits and pieces on your website or Social media and correct the grammar mistakes ;)

First of all, it took me courage to give #bigwalk2019 a go. Of course, I was unsure how my body would react to such a long and repeated effort despite an acceptable physical condition as I run 2-3 times a week, sail, play tennis. However, my biggest worry was rather mental. I was anxious about being with myself during hours and hours and have no escape from it during days. 

It was worrying but exciting at the same time. As a general manager, my days are pretty packed with calls, meetings, emails, travels and as a father and a husband the mornings, evenings and weekends are also very busy. 

My experience turned out to be amazing. I learned how to slow down time. Thanks to your guidance we took time to pause, stop, observe, enjoy the beautiful nature from landscapes, forests and trees to insects, flowers or mushrooms. We also all got to listen more to others and to ourselves. The fact that the walk lasts several days is very important as you get to exchange with other walkers over a much longer period than usual and the output of ours discussions got much richer.

 That said, if I had to choose one word to summarise what this experience was about, connection is what #bigwalk2019 theme was!

Connection to the nature to start with. Taking proper time to stop, look, listen, smell, admire and ultimately realise that we are part of nature is absolutely magical. After a few days of walk, I was really feeling at home in the forests and my senses were getting stronger and stronger. An amazing memory was the 2nd day walk through the forest when it was raining and mist was giving a very special feeling of the forest as if we were walking as in "the Hobbit". It unlocked my mind and my senses for the rest of the walk as I felt part of the nature and not an outsider anymore from that point.

Connection to your own feelings. These long hours of walk offer you the opportunity to listen to yourself and go deep. It can be scary but in the end, it is much needed in this often superficial money-driven world that can easily distract from what really matters. The beauty of the walk is that you can walk alone when you need to do and together with anyone when you want to.

Connection with new amazing people. I am so lucky to have connected with wonderful people and have had time to discover them through quality time and shared experiences.

Interestingly, #bigwalk2019 allowed me to disconnect too: disconnect from "assumed" or own-defined limits, disconnect from daily distractions from work, social media and all the noise we are bombarded... When walking 6, 7 or 10 hours a day, I realised that my body was doing it automatically after a few hours allowing my mind to go anywhere. #letitgo. In the end, it felt like an "easy" way to meditate!

Another dimension I found very interesting is around strength. The 4th stage in particular was physically challenging but we made it. We would never have managed it the first day I believe, or with a lot more pain, frustration or even anger. We did it as a group of friends as a team, encouraging each other, naturally. That day created links, friendship between each other that I think will stay forever.

On a more personal level, my key takeaway is to be more patient and give more time when it is needed to what really matters. For many reasons, I tend to rush and go fast, looking to achieve a lot and perform at my maximum potential all the time sometimes at the expense at what really matters. I learned to think deeper, use my heart more instead of SWOTs ;) to articulate my thoughts or priorities, personal and professional.

To conclude, I would like to thank you for your empathy, listening and coaching skills and especially for your big heart. I think you reminded me of what the famous French writer and aviator Saint-Exupéry wrote in Le Petit Prince. "On ne voit bien qu'avec le coeur, l'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux" (We can only see well through the heart, the essential is invisible for the eyes)

Alban Mayne