Forest Therapy is an elixir for modern times

New podcast is coming out this week - a preview

May 02, 2024

So, how do we bring stability into our lives?

I’m excited to bring this conversation to my podcast later this week with a new friend, Heidi, a recently certified forest bathing guide with the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy.

What is Forest Bathing?

In the 1980s, the Japanese government introduced shinrin-yoku (forest bathing) as part of a national public health initiative to address the rise in anxiety and other health conditions among the citizenry. Fast-forward and this practice has sprouted roots across the globe. It combines ancient wisdom with modern science, offering a holistic approach to improving well-being.

Adding different modalities to your meditation or spiritual practice can inspire new ways of thinking and provide added health benefits. For example, walking meditation on a forest trail in silence can create a deep presence in the world around you. It can certainly enhance your mental, physical, and emotional well-being positively.

In this upcoming episode, we will explore the benefits and experiences of forest bathing. This episode is perfect timing with May because it is Mental Health Awareness Month.

Realms of possibilities in the forest - Healing and Joy

Maybe Heidi can explain the other realms I experienced while journeying in the forest in 2018. While many people use plant medicine or psychedelics to experience different realms of nature, I believe that the circumstances, with proper set and setting, can be as powerful without the use of substances.

When I was taken on a journey with a shaman in the forest of San Francisco, I had visions and entered a scene of beauty and wonderment. The hummingbirds and crows came to play, and I saw bright neon colors on Hanuman’s face, which was happily floating in the sky. I found my particular Native American chief, which led me to the purifying waters of the waterfall where old ties of relationships no longer serving me were cut.

I’m curious how Heidi can bring us into the realm of curiosity, certainty, and safety while exploring the vastness of the world around us. After all, poets and writers have described nature as a spiritual connection for centuries. I think they were onto something, and it could be what we need today. It can bring us to our interconnected inherent selves where our life force through the breath is acknowledged, co-creating, giving, and receiving life.

What is ReWilding?

Helping students reclaim their innate sense of joy is a fundamental part of the rewilding process. Preconceived notions prevent us from being vulnerable enough to fully enjoy the kind of play that filled our lives as children. By encouraging playful fitness endeavors, such as nature-based parkour, rewilding students have fun while developing functional strength and agility.
Rewilding isn’t a return to childhood or to a new sense of wildness; it’s a reckoning of human nature with physical nature. It teaches us to stop controlling, stop fearing.
By getting in touch with our wild hearts, by discovering what sparks our joy and passions as well as our fears and frustrations, we can make choices that nourish every part of our lives.
—Heidi Wachter

This is a new form of meditation I have to learn more about and I’m excited to bring it to you in a conversation. Watch this space for the conversation coming out next week.

You can find more info on Heidi’s website.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month

I think the interview about ReWilding and Forest Bathing are a great beginning to this month.

This week, I’m highlighting United Parents, an organization that is working to help whole families achieve wellness and advocates for change.

Last year, I held space in a meditation session for over 200 parents during Mental Health Advocacy Day in the state’s capital of Sacramento. Together, we advocated for bill SB509 to pass to address the growing mental health crisis among California’s youth by implementing mental health education and training in schools. Parents came from all over the state to participate thanks to United Parents, a non-profit organization that educates teachers and parents who have foster and biological children going through mental health challenges.

Testimonial:

Shelley provided a beautifully guided meditation for our families, friends and colleagues at our Annual Advocacy Day at the Capitol. The meditation helped ease some of the anxiety many of us felt as we prepared to meet with our district representatives. My mind completely opened to the calmness she guided us through. I wept (as I'm sure others did too). It was almost like a cleansing of negative thoughts allowing my mind to make room for the positive experience ahead. - Melissa

This year, United Parents is working again to get a few more bills passed at the state’s capital. What I love about this organization is working hard with parents to hold them in the highest regard as partners in their child’s care at all levels. They provide education and resources to support the whole family at the K-12 grade levels.

While I have witnessed many parents, especially mothers, being gaslit when helping their children and working with healthcare teams, this organization is a welcomed sigh of relief.

You can check out United Parents website for services and how you might get involved.

Meditation as a Resource for Mental Wellness

I am here to hold space for you.

What does holding space mean?

I am willing to walk alongside you on your journey on this path of life without judgment, without any airs of inadequacy, without trying to fix anything, or without impacting any outcome.

When we hold space for other people, we open our hearts, offer unconditional support, and let go of judgment and control.

We can meditate together on Zoom at a mutually agreeable time. One free session for every paid subscription.