About this Event
Reconnect with nature and with yourself
There are many barriers to women stopping us from enjoying peaceful time in nature. Can we ever truly turn off our brains when we are alone in the wild? Many women simply would not even venture into the woods alone.
Forest Therapy creates a safe place to explore your relationship with nature. You're alone, but you're not alone because I am always nearby. You can wander freely or if you prefer you can always stay within sight.
This is an invitation to slow down, embrace the quiet and become embodied with your senses while being held in nature. Let the Forest guide you back to your self.
My Forest Therapy sessions are carefully curated to help quieten your internal noise and allow you to mindfully engage with nature using only your senses. This doesn't just improve your mood and bring spiritual benefits. There is growing evidence of the health benefit of Forest Therapy, in particular lowering stress and improving immune function. There’s no hiking and you aren’t asked to name the trees and the birds, in fact nothing is asked of you, only your presence.
£1.00 from every booking is donated to the Scottish Wildlife Trust.
What to expect:
- Gentle invitations and guidance to help you explore nature using only your senses
- Clear explanations of what is happening throughout the session
- A slow, quiet, safe, relaxed atmosphere
- No pressure to talk or share experiences. No group work.
- Inclusive space
- Limited spaces to keep the group small and relaxed
What does a session involve?
Forest Therapy is invitational rather than instructional, but what does that mean? Simply that I will give you prompts of ways to engage with your surroundings but that you will be free to interpret these in whatever way comes naturally to you. The invitations allow your attention to be captivated by your surroundings in a way that encourages your thinking brain to calm. Invitations are intentionally simple but carefully chosen to keep your senses awake while your brain slips into rest and repair mode.
- Every session begins with a sensory invitation which is similar to a guided meditation. We will sit together and I’ll guide you to quietly turn on your senses, one by one, beginning to tune them into our surrounding environment.
- The following invitation is a “What’s in motion?” invitation where you explore your surroundings simply noticing anything around you that is moving.
- There are three further invitations. These will be adapted to the surroundings and will change based on weather and season but an example invitation is “move slowly from here and simply notice the movement of air outside you and within you. You may stay in motion or you might sit down, stand still, even lie down in a spot of your choosing. Use your senses to simply notice the movement of air”.
Each invitation lasts from 10-15 minutes and after them we return to the circle where there is an opportunity to share our experiences but there is no obligation to speak and I never put anyone on the spot. At the end of the session we come together to share tea made from locally foraged, seasonal, plants.
The location of the session is around a 15 minute walk from the bus stop on Craighouse Road, Morningside (gentle incline). I'll send exact details of the location when you make your booking.
If you are curious but feeling unsure please send me a message, I would love to chat.
I am a qualified guide with a Complementary Medicine Association accreditation. I have a certificate in outdoor first aid and I am fully insured.
Event venue & nearby stays
Easter Craiglockhart Hill, Easter Craiglockhart Hill, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
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