N A T U R A L | M I N D F U L N E S S | G U I D E & F O R E S T | B A T H I N G

I’m thrilled to say that last month in October 2022 saw me receive two certificates for completion of two separate courses that I have been studying around the field of woodlands and forests and nature.

I had to do a series of guided walks remotely and assignment work alongside practicing a variety of what we call in ‘Forest Bathing’ as invitations where we explore different aspects of nature on sensory levels. Documenting our observations and feedback.

Why Nature?

I’ve practically grown up with boots on my feet. As a young girl we would take summer vacations in an old family wooden cabin near the sea. The pigeons would coo in the morning and the wind would rustle their leaves at night. I’d take an outdoor shower and watch the hydrangea flowers bloom and blossom.

In my tweenie years I’d often be spending weekends with my family hiking across the wild landscape of Dartmoor with my own rucksack usually carrying the tent pegs and smaller supplies as we always camped overnight.

We then moved out to a small village on the edge of the moors and my nature journey continued both visiting the coast as well as the moors. So nature is kind of in my blood. Now I live in a an ever growing urban sprawl with access to limited outdoor spaces but each one is a precious haven to walk, observe and be in throughout the seasons. An escape, a sanctuary to retreat to when life gets overwhelmimg. I also have a keen passionate interest in photography and began setting up ‘Mindful Photography Walks’ but sadly the pandemic hit and that faltered the group from growing.

So when I began to see more books on Forest Bathing it sparked an interest to explore how I could incorporate this into my Holistic Therapy Business, so that others could reap the benefits of walking with a guide in nature.

I’ve learnt about the mycorrhizal network that runs beneath our feet in woodlands where the trees communicate with each other via an intricate fungal network aptly called the ‘Wood Wide Web’ ! How trees suffer stress and elite signals to each other. How they nourish and nurture all the different species around them with the mother tree sometimes reducing her intake to allow saplings and ill trees to receive more strength from nutrients. But aside form the fascinating science of trees I wanted to create a walk that will aid people with their mental health as well as their physical wellbeing.

In the past my love of seeing how this can happen was from my days volunteering with ‘Oxfordshire Mind’ as a walk for wellbeing leader where we would take groups on various routes around Oxford to help them with their mental health issues. Seeing how they could be someone wiothout a label or judgement in nature was humbling and rewarding. I still recall those days fondly but due to my business growing have since had to cease volunteering but hope to return again one day soon.

Being in nature with a guide is quite different to doing a ramble or a walk with a friend or family. It allows you to be guided in how to recognise your stress, anxiety or health levels at the start and how walking throughout the seasons can open you to experiencing a different sensory level that can help you focus in the now, reduce blood pressure and promote a sense of calmness.

My aim is to look at starting these walks in Spring next year but am open to volunteers who may like to come on a few trial walks with me to give me feedback. So please do message me if you are interested in participating. you would need to be local to South Oxfordshire or West Berkshire as I aim to do walks near these places.