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aBOUT

In nature’s embrace

senses fully engaged

restorative peace.

Where did nature therapy begin?

99.99% of human evolution happened under the sky and trees, so you could say it’s as old as our species.

Then came the 0.01% of human progress lived in manufactured structures, under artificial lights, surrounded by audio, visual and cognitive distractions . . . We may be more physically comfortable – and endlessly entertained – but our natural awareness and the scope of our sensory world has shrivelled.

Our big human brains have taken over the planet with technologies that serve all our desires, but our physical bodies haven’t changed much in millennia. They still remember the pleasures of their first home.

Being immersed in nature can heal our relationship to the world and to ourselves. It improves our overall wellbeing as we enjoy the treasures of our senses, perception and curiosity.

The evolution of ‘forest bathing’

In the 1980s, when Japan’s economic boom resulted in a highly stressed out workforce, Japanese scientists discovered people who spent time in nature were healthier.

They began researching the impact of nature on stress levels and health. Shin-rin Yoku – the art and science of forest bathing – was born.

Shin-rin Yoku is ‘bathing in the atmosphere of the forest.’ The practice is prescribed by doctors, hospitals and psychotherapists and Japan’s governments have created dozens of dedicated forest preserves to provide everyone with the physical, mental and emotional benefits of walking in nature.

Our nature therapy walks were inspired by, but are not the same, as Shin-rin Yoku. We share the goal of improving physical and mental wellbeing. We aim to go deeper into building, or improving, special relationships between people and places, between humans and the more-than-human world.

Why do I need a guide?

You don’t!

Go outside, take off your shoes, find some green or gold or blue place and be for a while.

That’s perfectly wonderful.

But here’s a few words in support of guides.

In a guided walk, a trained facilitator suggests new ways to open your awareness.

It’s still you doing you, but in an expanded and perhaps surprising way.

Your relationship with nature is unique.

A guide helps you explore it further, and maybe find new perspectives.

Time spent in any good relationship is rewarding and restorative – plus it can be a whole lot of fun.

What are the benefits?

Here’s a short version of benefits backed by scientific data:

Physical

A positive boost for your:

• immune system
• cardiovascular system
• respiratory system

A reduction in:

• stress
• inflammation
• blood pressure

Mental

Reduces the severity of:

• depression
• anxiety
• negative moods

Boosts:

• creativity
• memory
• positive moods

Emotional

Deepens:

• sense of connection
• emotions overall – joy, sadness, gratitude, grief
• capacity for awe

For more benefits on nature therapy, please visit our blog.

About your Guide.

Wendy Guest is a guide with the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and Programs (ANFT.earth) and leads walks around Sydney’s Northern Beaches and elsewhere.

With a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Sydney, and certifications in hatha yoga, yin yoga and meditation teaching, she also teaches writing-and-yoga workshops. 

After careers in journalism, PR and politics in Australia, and a decade in Chicago as Corporate Education Manager for a leading online education software company, Wendy’s current goal is more grounded: to help deepen the relationship between people and the earth that sustains us, for the benefit of both. 

The Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and Programs (ANFT.earth) trains professional guides around the world, drawing on the latest medical research, new developments in the field of nature connection, and ancient traditions.

The ANFT style of nature therapy walks is “a practice of developing a deepening relationship of reciprocity, in which the forest and the practitioner find a way to work together that supports the wholeness and wellness of each.”

ANFT was founded by Amos Clifford. Through his work and the contributions of many other guides, ANFT has become the most widely used framework for forest therapy in the world.

www.anft.earth

ANFT

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