Upcoming Walks
I will be focusing on private walks this spring and summer.
I’d be happy to work with you to create an experience for you and your family, a group of friends or work colleagues.
Below are some sample ideas:
Nature Mindfulness Walk
Settle in to a morning of slowly meandering through the woods and mosses. We will begin with basic forest bathing practices and some simple mindfulness practices. This walk will be a combination of silence, sharing and pauses for quiet contemplation, sketching or journaling. Walks tend to be 2-3 hours.
Forest Bathing Walk
We will intersperse silence and sharing as we use each of our senses to deepen our presence and connect with the woods around us. Walks typically range from 1-2 hours.
Past Walks:
North Cascades Institute field courses: September 2021 & June 2023
Whatcom Reads – Greenwood sessions: February 2022
Shifting Gears Wild Women Week: March 2023
Public walks: March & April 2023 & November 2023
Nourished by Nature Retreat: May 2023
Sign-up for email notices as new walks and events are added
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Schedule a Private Walk
Do you prefer to go alone or have a small group you’d like to join you on a forest walk? I am happy to craft personalized experiences.
Forest walks also offer powerful pauses & grounding for work teams. Let’s talk about crafting one for your next meeting or retreat.
What to Expect on a Forest Bathing Walk
Most walks are two hours and other than a few prompts, are spent mostly in silence.
We will focus on engaging our senses – one at a time (except taste) through a series of mindfulness activities.
Forest bathing walks are very slow, this is not a hike or exercise, it is about being present where we are vs reaching a destination.
Nature Mindfulness walks include more silence as well as time for meditation and journaling.
Because we are moving slowly, you will want to dress warmly enough to be comfortable sitting or standing for extended periods of time.
Flexible, yet waterproof footwear is ideal during the muddy season.
Please wear pants you are ok sitting or kneeling in.
I highly recommend leaving your phone at home – or at minimum silenced and on airplane mode.
Read Lauren Fritzen’s account of her first Forest Bathing walk:
Forest Bathing – A Different Way of Being in the Woods
A few of my favorite descriptions of Forest Bathing:
As we walk slowly through the forest, seeing, listening, smelling, tasting and touching, we bring our rhythms into step with nature. Shinrin-yoku is like a bridge. By opening our senses, it bridges the gap between us and the natural world… We may not travel very far on our forest walk but, in connecting us with nature, shinrin-yoku takes us all the way home to our true selves. ~Dr. Qing Li
Like mindfulness, forest bathing is about giving yourself the opportunity to focus on all of your senses so you can be fully present in the moment. ~The Little Book of Forest Bathing
Shinrin-yoku isn’t about getting from A to B, but savoring the moments and the stillness along the way. ~ Erin Niimi Longhurst
Begin with the intention of reconnecting to Nature… In the process you’ll relearn some of the basic tenets of being a human – like how to walk, how to breathe, how to open your heart, and how to be truly present. ~Julia Plevin
The art of forest bathing is the art of connecting with nature through our senses. All we have to do is accept the invitation. Mother Nature does the rest. ~Dr. Qing Li
Forest Bathing is the art of ‘not doing.’ We spend so much of our lives rushing around and being busy, often needlessly. One of the key factors facilitated by forest bathing is finding time to quiet your mind and relax. ~The Little Book of Forest Bathing