All in-person walks are on hold until Covid-19 guidelines are relaxed and we can gather in small groups again. In the meantime, please join me for Forest Therapy From a Distance.
Yes we're being told to keep our distance, but Nature invites us to come closer.
See the Public Walks page for details.
Yes we're being told to keep our distance, but Nature invites us to come closer.
See the Public Walks page for details.
Time among the trees with a Forest Therapy Guide
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"In a too-busy world, 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.
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.
BenefitsScientific research shows that slowing down in nature reduces stress levels and blood pressure and boosts our immune systems. It improves energy and 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 and survival of both. 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. Like a yoga instructor, a Forest Therapy Guide invites you to deeper levels of awareness and open-ness to the gifts of nature. The Guide offers a specific sequence of invitations, designed to help participants 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 Forest Therapy walk is 1.5 to 3 hrs long. It's not a workout. We move slowly and pause often. The guide leads a series of "invitations" to help you quiet 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 back to the group. We end with snacks and tea made from tea plants harvested along the trail.
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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.”