Nature: The Timeless Healer
If you pick up a book of poetry, read through religious texts, browse an art museum, or listen to a song, you’ll find that throughout time — in every culture and in every religion — there has always been a connection to nature.
Jesus went to the Wilderness. Buddha sat beneath the Bodhi Tree. Ganga was personified in the Ganges River. Galileo studied the stars.
For thousands of years, humans have gone to nature for survival and for healing, but with today’s fast-paced lifestyle and our dependence on technology, our relationship with Mother Earth has been severed.
We have forgotten how to connect. We have forgotten how to show reciprocity. We have forgotten that humans and nature are intrinsically tied together.
Explore Sanctuary’s goal is to help others re-connect to themselves and to the natural world by offering guided nature and forest therapy walks and curated nature therapy retreats.
What is Nature and Forest Therapy?
Nature and Forest Therapy is a presence and mindfulness practice, inspired by the Japanese practice of Shin-rin Yoku, and is backed by scientific research that supports healing and wellness by immersion in forests or other natural environments. The term was coined in 1982 by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan and was introduced into Japanese clinical fields as they became highly aware of the increase in disease and cancer as a result of the tech-boom during the 1980s.
Studies show that time spent in nature has many health benefits including boosted immune function, increased ability to focus, improved mood and sleep, increased energy levels, improved cardiovascular and respiratory health, reduced stress, anxiety, and depression.
During a nature or forest therapy walk, participants are guided through a series of sensory invitations intended to help establish a connection to the present, to the body, and to the natural world. There are no strict guidelines and participants have the freedom to let their body, mind, and spirit guide them in whatever it is they need in the moment. Your experience will be unique and different each time you practice.
This practice is especially beneficial for those who suffer with chronic illness and mental health challenges, but is also incredibly helpful for those wanting to find peace, connection, and restoration in their daily lives.
Each in-person walk is gentle and slow and covers up to a mile and a half on a designated trail. The walk will last roughly three hours. Explore Sanctuary also offers 60-Minute One-on-One walks as well as guided virtual sessions.
FAQs.
Q. Do I have to hike far?
A. No, you’ll only be hiking up to a mile or so and these walks are meant for every person no matter what kind of shape you’re in physically. Walks are not about physical exertion, but more about slowly engaging with the natural environment around you.
Q. I have a physical disability. Am I able to participate?
A. Yes! Everyone can experience these walks and an appropriate trail or space can be used to fit your needs. Just let us know how best to accommodate you!
Q. Do these walks encourage a specific faith or religion?
A. No, these walks are religious neutral. They’re meant only to connect you to your body, your senses, and your natural surroundings. If you want to bring your faith into the experience, you are welcome to do so. All faiths are welcome to participate.
Q. Where did you get your training to become a guide?
A. I became certified through the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and Programs.
Q. Do you have any book recommendations on the human-nature connection or the benefits of being in nature?
A. Books I’ve enjoyed are: The Nature Fix, The Hidden Life of Trees, Forest Bathing, Ecotherapy: Healing with Nature in Mind, Your Guide to Forest Bathing.
“Action on behalf of life transforms. Because the relationship between self and the world is reciprocal, it is not a question of first getting enlightened or saved and then acting. As we work to heal the earth, the earth heals us.”
—Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teaching of Plants
“When I am among the trees, especially the willows and the honey locust, equally the beech, the oaks and the pines, they give off such hints of gladness. I would almost say that they save me, and daily. I am so distant from the hope of myself, in which I have goodness, and discernment, and never hurry through the world but walk slowly, and bow often. Around me the trees stir in their leaves and call out, “Stay awhile.” The light flows from their branches. And they call again, “It's simple,” they say, “and you too have come into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled with light, and to shine.”
— Mary Oliver, When I’m Among the Trees
“We don’t experience natural environments enough to realize how restored they can make us feel, nor are we aware that studies also show they make us healthier, more creative, more empathetic and more apt to engage with the world and with each other. Nature, it turns out, is good for civilization.”
― Florence Williams, The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative