Saturday, June 8 · 10:30am - 1:30pm PDT
Location: Muddy Hollow Trailhead
Tickets: $50-60
Forest Bathing is inspired by the Japanese practice of Shinrin-Yoku, which can be loosely translated to “taking in the medicine of the forest”.
This practice was established in the 1980s in Japan as a direct response to declining health in the population. The healing energies of the natural world have been known for centuries. Forest bathing is a simple yet powerful way for us to remember, and tap into these healing powers that are readily available to all of us.
The positive impact of spending time in nature has been studied worldwide for decades. Research shows that people who practice Forest Bathing experience relief from anxiety and depression, a deeper sense of mental relaxation, better sleep, and an increased feeling of gratitude and overall sense of well-being. Forest Bathing also lowers blood pressure and heart rate, elevates NK cancer-fighting cells in the body, and it strengthens the immune system.
During this Forest Bathing walk, I will offer a set of carefully crafted invitations to encourage slowing down and experiencing the more-than-human world in a variety of possible new ways and through our senses. We will be covering less than a mile of distance and we will mostly be in silence. There will be brief periods of sharing and a tea ceremony towards the end with time for reflection and discussion.
Joey Heusler is a certified Nature and Forest Therapy Guide with the Association for Nature and Forest Therapy guides and programs (ANFT). Her passion is bringing people of all ages into a place of stillness, where a connection with the natural world can be made from that deeper place. Joey guides Forest Bathing walks in Marin County and beyond. Joey is also a lover of all things in and of the ocean. She has been volunteering at The Point Reyes as a Winter Wildlife docent for well over a decade. This is where she fell in love with whales, observing the gray whales from the lighthouse platform on their annual migration between Alaska and Baja. Joey became a Naturalist with the American Cetacean Society in 2015. Each year she organizes and guides a kayaking adventure in Baja to observe blue whales in the Sea of Cortez and gray whales and their calves in their breeding lagoons.
For more information visit Joey’s website, Explore in Nature at https://www.exploreinnature.com/
For any questions, please email us at fieldinstitute@ptreyes.org.