Forest Bathing

Deep Nature Connection, aka Forest Bathing (shinrin-yoku), is a Japanese wellness practice and an opportunity to slow down, notice what is here, and create spaciousness. This allows for a deepening of our inner and outer awareness. Much can unfold if given the chance. A deeper personal experience of interconnection with Nature, or the ‘more-than-human-world’, frequently happens.

In a customizable session, between 1-2 hours, I will guide groups with invitational options into easy mindful movement, mindful breathing, centering, directed awareness, and other experiential practices while we engage with our bodies and fellow inhabitants of Earth.

Commune with Nature and remember your home. This practice helps reduce eco-anxiety and eco-grief.

Physiological benefits of a regular forest bathing practice include: reduced stress hormones, lowered blood pressure, boosted immunity, greater rest from sleep, reduced attention fatigue, and boosted pro-social behavior. Other benefits have been described as: a profound sense of awe and connection to the living Earth and her creatures, a sense of deep peace and settling of the nervous system, and profound gratitude. Every session is unique.

Gentle Yoga and Yoga Nidra

Many research studies have found a consistent yoga practice to reduce PTSD symptoms. This is especially true when the style of yoga is invitational, gives choice, promotes self-compassion and curiosity, and fosters building a healthy self-image, while being conducted in a space of felt safety. This can further be therapeutic when intentionally fostering community.

I specialize in leading yoga classes which promote curiosity, self-determination, inner listening, self-compassion, and honoring our own experience and wisdom. My classes lean toward gentle and slow mindful movement, paired with regulation practices and mindful breathing, and ending with either easy Restore poses or guided rest (Yoga Nidra). Everything is customizable, guided in a safe and optional way.

Yoga Nidra can be thought of as non-sleep deep rest. Easily accessible to all, sitting or lying in a comfortable position, participants are guided through layered relaxation prompts which promote the body’s natural healing capacity through the deepest forms of rest and rejuvenation. Nidra has been shown in clinical studies to reduce symptoms of some sleep disorders, such as insomnia, with consistent practice.

The benefits of yoga are many. As a 5000-year-old wellness practice which integrates mind-body-heart-spirit, yoga can help repair interroceptive and proprioceptive awareness which lays the groundwork for rebuilding a positive relationship with one’s body. This then increases capacity for inner listening to one’s feelings and sensations, leading to greater resourcing in the healing journey.