"The Forest is the therapist. The Guide opens the doors."

That's one of the central principles of the Association of Nature & Forest Therapy, where Andrea Prazmowski of Forest Therapy Ottawa was trained and certified.

A Forest Therapy Guide gently invites you to new levels of awareness and nature connection, introducing you to ways of relating to the more-than-human world, that you can then apply in daily life. The Guide knows how to step back and let the forest offer its medicine, giving you space for your own exploration and discovery.

By the end of the walk, many people arrive at a state of deep calm and discover healing that goes beyond the physical level. Even lifelong outdoor enthusiasts discover new layers to their experience.

The Guide follows a particular sequence on a walk, designed and refined to help participants shift from stress to relaxation; from habitual patterns to new possibilities; from living in their heads to being fully present in their bodies.

Ultimately, a Forest Therapy practice supports a shift from fragmented living and disconnection, to wholeness and belonging within the wider world of life.

Andrea Prazmowski, your Forest Therapy Ottawa Guide, is trained in Wilderness First Aid and has decades of experience on the trail and in the outdoors. She chooses a trail carefully, scouts it in advance of each walk, and takes safety precautions and adapts the walk to suit the participants' needs and abilities.