A Forest Therapy Walk: in poems and photos

The practicum to become a certified Forest Therapy Guide begins with an 8-day training intensive which I attended in September 2018. (You can read more about that week HERE and HERE.) On five of the days, we were given a guided Forest Therapy Walk in the surrounding woods and grasslands. These short haiku poems came flowing into my mind during one of those walks. Combined with photos, these poems give a glimpse into what you can expect when you go on a guided Forest Therapy Walk with me. (But don’t worry—no poetry is expected on the walk! Haha)

WELCOME!

Each walk begins with a brief introduction. I welcome participants and let them know what to expect. I share any potential challenges they should be aware of and tell them a little bit about the health benefits of using our senses to connect with Nature. As a guide, I do not give assignments or teach information about nature. Instead, I offer a series of “invitations” which give activity ideas for each participant to use in a way that feels best for them.

Gather in, welcome
Many words, introductions
Now … let’s get silent

Choosing the right words
Language of invitation
It’s art, not science

BEING PRESENT IN NATURE WITH OUR SENSES

We begin each walk by taking time to notice our surroundings, using one sense at a time. This helps us to focus on our present location, and begin to connect with Nature, quieting our brains that are so often in overdrive.

Get out of your head
Notice what is calling you
Drop in to heart-sense

Birds call, crickets sing,
Water burbles a rhythm
Music of nature

My feet, supported
My cheek caressed by light breeze
I am welcome here

WHAT’S in MOTION?

Each walk continues with physically slowing down. We choose to temporarily let go of our hectic schedules and looming to-do lists as we focus on what is around us as we wander. Any time our brains pull us back to daily stresses, we simply notice “What’s in Motion?” in the landscape around us as a way to continue our connection with Nature.

Still quiet waters
Nothing moving til fish…JUMPS!
Circles drift outwards

Light breezes flutter
Delicate flowers dancing
Hummingbird joins in

PARTNERSHIP INVITATIONS

Our Forest Therapy Walk continues with 2-4 additional invitations. For each walk, I choose these in partnership with the surrounding landscape, taking into consideration the season, the weather, and the participants on this walk. There are hundreds of invitations I could use during this part of the walk. The following are two examples from the training walk when I wrote these little poems.

BRIDGES: From Here to There

In much of life, we are faced with frequent choices of where to go and what to do next. Walking across a physical bridge can help us consider other moments in life where we are balancing two different positions, activities, decisions or needs. Often, neither side of the “bridge” is right or wrong, but it is beneficial to be mindful of such transitions.

Possibilities
From head to heart, here to there
Stay or move, your choice

Forest behind me
Man-made lake in front of me
Satoyama zone

Birds squawk, airplane drones
Quiet trees, mothers calling — Juxtaposition

“FOREST RECIPROCI-TREE”

At the simplest physical level, we live in reciprocity with trees on this earth. We breath out carbon dioxide and exchange it for the oxygen which is exhaled by trees. In this invitation, participants are invited to wander and notice any part of the landscape which they are drawn toward. Perhaps they will choose to simply relax and find peace in this place. Or perhaps they will find other ways to share with Nature around them.

Mighty forest tree
Big branch leans, reaching t’ward me
Pregnant with walnuts

I reach for the tree
Gently caressing the bark
Hand-shaped space for me

Red bird flits closer
With a flip and a flutter
Creative muse comes

We sit together.
Tree gives me words, songs to share
Reciproci-tree!

CIRCLES OF SHARING

Throughout our walk together, we occasionally stop and gather in a circle. Each participant is offered time to briefly share what they are noticing or to simply stand in silence for a moment before passing the “talking piece” to the next person. Most of the time, we finish a guided Forest Therapy Walk with a Tea Ceremony, to celebrate our time with Nature and share any last words with the forest and with each other. (One of the things I greatly appreciate about these guided walks is that no one is ever pressured or expected to talk. This is truly a time for everyone to interact with Nature and with each other in ways that feel most comfortable to them.)

Nature shares with me
We gather to share heart-sense
Eternal circle

Tiny cup of warmth
The forest enters into me
Tea ceremony

One last word to share
With Forest and companions
The walk is complete

(photos of man with hand on heart and of me by tree were take by Annabel O’Neill)

Outside–Inside: Getting Started with Forest Therapy

On the inside, each of us may be weary, overwhelmed, or stressed out. On the outside, Nature goes on like it always does: changing, moving, cycling through the seasons but feeling like a constant, reliable presence in the world. We need to move the outside perspective inside. Throughout history, humans have found relaxation and calm when they connect with Nature. This is the premise behind Forest Therapy: nature itself provides therapeutic healing and wholeness for humans.

In the practice of Forest Therapy Guiding, clients learn how to make personal connections with the natural world. By doing this, they access the health benefits of woods and flowing water, including gaining more energy, feeling relaxed, and regaining a calm balance for daily living. The guide (that will be me!) facilitates this process by offering “invitations” for clients to interact and connect with Nature.

“At the heart of every invitation is a simple encouragement to play.” –Amos Clifford

Forest Therapy focuses on experiencing nature and noticing what is found in the non-human world. Guides take individuals or small groups of clients outdoors for sessions that often last 1-2 hours but cover less than one mile of walking trails. This is ideal…but sometimes we need mini-refreshers in our everyday lives. The rest of this blog post offers simple connection steps that can be used any place where one can interact with nature—even in our yards or in busy city parks.

ENTRANCE:

Going through a doorway into a new place, gets us ready to experience what we find there.  In a similar way, it helps us to more quickly connect with the non-human world if we take time to acknowledge a similar threshold.

1—Start with “Presence.” As you step outside, close your eyes and take five slow, deep breaths. Then stand quietly for a few moments. What do you feel around you? What nature sounds can you hear? What do you smell? Open your eyes, and look carefully at the natural world. As we interact and connect with the non-human world, we focus on being present rather than on doing.

2—Set Aside Distractions. Silence your cell phone. Find a small rock. Hold it in your hand. Imagine giving the rock your worries, stresses, and hectic to-do lists to be held until you come back. Set the rock back down. You can choose to pick up these things again at the end of your nature time, if you still want them.

3—Move Slowly. Notice what natural things are in motion around you. If your thoughts wander or if you find yourself walking fast, STOP! Take a few slow, deep breaths. While standing still, focus again on what natural things are in motion. Resume moving slowly.

INVITATIONS:

All invitations in Forest Therapy are based on one of these two focuses: physical senses or emotional senses. In an in-person session, specific applications of these invitations are offered, carefully tailored for the individual clients and the actual location where the guided walk occurs. These examples give you general ways to interact and connect with Nature.

1—Focus on the Outside World. As you walk, notice the sensory experiences: temperature, texture, motion, sound, smells, taste, sights. Pay attention to details such as individual trees, tiny plants, critters, moving water. Stop regularly to notice how you would complete this sentence: “Outside I see…..”

2—Acknowledge the Inside World. As you interact with different aspects of Nature, notice the sensual experiences. What emotional responses are you experiencing? Possibly joy, delight or playfulness. Sometimes sadness or anger. There are no “right” or “wrong” responses to the non-human world. Just like we do for the outside world, stop regularly to focus on how you would complete this sentence: “Inside I feel…”

COMPLETION:

At the end of your time in nature, whether you spent 10 minutes or 2 hours, it is helpful to acknowledge crossing a threshold back to daily life. Repeat the first rituals: close your eyes and take slow, deep breaths. Remind yourself of the outside and the inside ways you experienced Nature. Choose one thought or feeling to take with you. If you feel a need to carry your distractions and worries again, retrieve them from the rock where you left them. (Perhaps you will feel enough calm to let the rock hold those stresses for a while longer…)

If you are interested in learning more about Forest Therapy, read more on my website HERE. Consider signing up for email notification each time I publish a new blog post—which will be about the many different ways my daughter and I connect with nature. (Right side bar on computer, scroll to bottom of page on mobile phone.)

May you take some of the peaceful presence of Nature back with you into your daily life!