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Under the April 3rd Ontario guidelines, all in-person walks are on hold. I'm happy to be offering remotely-guided walks through Zoom. Please check for updates on the walk listings.
Looking forward to walking with you, even when we can't be together! - Andrea Free spots for Front line Healthcare Providers: Along with Forest Therapy Guides around the world, I'm offering free spots on my walks to help front line workers with the stress of the pandemic and to thank you. Sign up with me directly or check this website to choose any guide for a remotely-guided walk, at a time that suits you. |
Time among the trees with a Nature & Forest Therapy Guide helps you cope with what life sends your way,
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"A Forest Therapy walk is perfect to calm you, centre you, re-calibrate how you live life.
It is a joyful and easy approach to mindfulness, which has always eluded me because
my mind is always too busy to be mindful."
- Diane, Ottawa, ON. A repeat participant with Forest Therapy Ottawa.
BenefitsNature & Forest Therapy is an evidence-based practice. Studies show that slowing down in nature reduces stress levels and blood pressure and boosts our immune systems. It improves mental health and enhances brain power and creativity. Indigenous peoples have long taught that a strong bond between humans and the more-than-human world is essential for the health of all. Modern science is now catching up with this ancient wisdom.
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Why go with a Guide?
The forest is the therapist, the guide opens the doors. A Forest Therapy Guide gently offers a path to the present moment and to deeper levels of attentiveness to the gifts of nature. A specific sequence of invitations helps us shift from our chronically stressed state of coping with the demands of modern life, to a place of calm awareness. There, we can make meaning of our lives and new insights and healing can arise.
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What to ExpectA walk is 1.5 to 3 hrs long. It's not a workout. We move slowly and pause often. The guide offers "invitations" to help you rest your mind, slow down, and awaken your senses to each moment unfolding around and within you. Participants branch out for short explorations, solo or in pairs, and then circle up and have an opportunity to share stories. We end with snacks and tea made with plants from the trail we've been walking.
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I have been a nature enthusiast for a very long time, but after one walk with Andrea I learned how to deepen the experience
into something that shifts my centre of gravity from my head to my body. I’m more present now. I use all my senses.
I stop a lot more, just to pay attention to the miraculous life that pulses all around if you give yourself time to tune in.
- Gabrielle, Toronto, ON
"Some part of each of us - regardless of where we're from or where we live -
seems to carry a deep yearning
for a more meaningful connection with nature.”