Shinrin Yoku for Grief

Grief can change everything. It can be difficult to find space in everyday life to acknowledge what you are feeling, particularly when the world around you seems to carry on as normal.

This six-week Shinrin Yoku programme offers a quiet space to pause, breathe and spend time in nature while making room for whatever your grief may bring.

Across six weekly two-hour sessions, we’ll slowly explore the woodland together through a series of guided invitations. These might encourage you to notice your surroundings, reflect on your feelings, explore memories, connect with your senses or simply spend some time being rather than doing.

There is no right way to grieve, and there is no expectation that you will feel a particular way or reach a particular outcome. The invitations are there for you to engage with in whatever way feels appropriate. You can choose to reflect privately, or share your thoughts and experiences with others if you wish.

Because this is a six-week programme, we’ll have more time than in a one-off Shinrin Yoku session. We can spend longer with each invitation, allowing experiences to unfold naturally rather than rushing from one activity to the next. Over the six weeks, the group will also have the opportunity to become familiar with one another and develop a sense of connection and mutual support.

Shinrin Yoku, or forest bathing, originated in Japan and involves spending unhurried time in nature while engaging our senses and paying attention to the present moment.

Research into Shinrin Yoku and time spent in natural environments has found associations with reduced stress and anxiety, changes in heart rate and blood pressure, and improvements in mood and wellbeing. Nature can also provide a setting away from everyday routines where there is space to pause and notice what is happening within us.

This programme isn't about using nature to make grief disappear. Instead, the woodland becomes a place where you can spend some time with your grief - whatever that looks like for you.

Each session will last approximately two hours and will include:

• A slow, mindful walk through woodland
• Guided sensory and mindfulness invitations
• Time for quiet reflection
• Opportunities to explore thoughts, feelings and memories
• The option to share with the group, without any pressure to do so
• Time to simply sit, notice and be in nature

The content will develop across the six weeks and will be responsive to the season, the woodland and the needs of the group.

Places will be limited to 12 people so that the group remains small and welcoming.

You don't have to talk about your loss if you don't want to. You can listen, remain quiet or simply engage with the activities privately. Equally, if sharing feels helpful, there will be space to do so.

The group is intended to offer companionship rather than advice. We won't try to tell each other how to grieve or suggest that there is a particular path grief should follow.

This programme is for adults who are grieving the death of someone, or the loss of something, important to them.

You do not need to be at a particular stage of grief or to have been bereaved for a particular length of time. Grief is individual, and this programme recognises that there is no timetable for it.

You don't need any previous experience of Shinrin Yoku, mindfulness or meditation.

📅 Six weekly sessions

• Thursday 1st October 2026
• Thursday 8th October 2026
• Thursday 15th October 2026
• Thursday 22nd Ocotber 2026
• Thursday 29th October 2026
• Thursday 5th November 2026

⏱️ Each session: 2 hours from 2 to 4pm

👥 Maximum group size: 12

🌳 Location: Woodland in South East London

🥾 Pace: Slow and gentle

You will need to be comfortable walking slowly through woodland for approximately two hours, with regular pauses and opportunities to sit. Please contact me before booking if you have mobility or accessibility requirements so that we can discuss whether adaptations are possible.

This is a bereavement-focused Shinrin Yoku programme, not a counselling or therapy group. I am not a counsellor or therapist, and the sessions are not intended to replace professional bereavement or mental health support where that is needed.

The programme provides guided time in nature, opportunities for reflection and the possibility of connection with others who are also experiencing grief.

The six sessions form one programme and must be booked together. It isn't possible to book individual sessions.

For every five places booked, I offer a free place to someone referred through social prescribing. This helps make the benefits of spending time in nature accessible to people who might not otherwise be able to afford a session.

If you have a prescription for Forest Bathing from a Greenwich or Bexley borough GP please contact me directly to be added to the waiting list.

Cruse is the UK's leading charity dedicated to helping adults, children and young people navigate the painful experience of grief.

For each paying participant that signs-up to this six-week programme I will donate £15 to Cruse in support of the good work that they do.

By booking a session with Katie Smith, you confirm that:

You agree to the full Terms & Conditions (available on request and summarised below)

• You take part at your own risk and are responsible for your own wellbeing
• You will follow guidance given during the session
• You will come appropriately dressed and prepared for the outdoors
• You will inform me in advance of any relevant health conditions or access needs (7 days where possible)
• You understand the 48-hour cancellation policy

These sessions are designed to be supportive, relaxed, and enjoyable—thank you for helping create a safe and welcoming space for everyone. By booking and/or attending, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agree to these Terms & Conditions and Disclaimer.

Event venue & nearby stays

Shooters Hill, Shooters Hill, London, United Kingdom

Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.

Get the app →