Treespeed; forest bathing with Highland Quietlife

Season 2 of our Forest Bathing podcast kicks off with the most perfect of forest fairies; Leigha Horton of Minnesota based Nature and Forest Therapy company, Silvae Spiritus.

The beauty of this girls company name sums her up; Silvae Spiritus is Latin and translates to "the breathing of the forest" - pure beauty in words. During this podcast she talks the 'whys' and 'how's' of Forest Bathing, with a slightly odd diversion to tortoises, before we get it back on track and focus again!

"It felt like the universe hit a giant tuning fork and my heart vibrated in response."

Leigha is a qualified Nature and Forest Therapy guide just like myself (Cath) and Moose, as trainer and mentor, she has been there since day one of our training. She was the perfect person to call upon to kick of season 2.

You can find Silvae Spiritus and Leigha and Travis at https://silvaespiritus.com/ 

Cath and Highland Quietlife can be found on https://www.facebook.com/highlandquietlife and emailed on [email protected] 

With the end of our training to be Nature and Forest Therapy Guides in sight, its time to round-up our experiences and look to the future!

Highland Quietlife https://www.facebook.com/highlandquietlife

A 'solo walk' can be such a powerful event and it's deeply personal. Sunset to sunrise or sunrise to sunset, your choice; walking on your own; no communication with other people or screens, just you and the 'more than human world'.

My first Solo Walk was an important finale to my intensive training week in LA, six months later my next walk was from sunset to sunrise and it felt like a suitable tribute to my practicum training and becoming a Nature and Forest Therapy Guide. 

Here, Moose and I discuss our own experiences, Coyote visitations and even get gate crashed by a bat (...or not!)

Highland Quietlife https://www.facebook.com/highlandquietlife

Invitations are how we, as Forest Therapy guides create opportunities for you to connect with your senses and the forest around you. “The guide is not there to speak for the Forest. The guide is there to create space for the forest to speak.” (ANFT)

When we guide a Forest Bathing experience, we follow a specific sequence over the time we are together, part of this includes invitations. Invitations are not exercises or activities, there is no pass or fail and they are open to interpretation. They should be simple, non-prescriptive and involve the senses. The guide will keep track of the time and after maybe 15 – 20 minutes call the group back to a sharing circle where participants will then be asked to share simply and leanly, ‘what are you noticing?’....

Highland Quietlife https://www.facebook.com/highlandquietlife

The wonders of liminality..... from the Latin word līmen, meaning "a threshold". That glorious space between the 'tamed world' of mobile phones and general busyness and the 'untamed world' of unpressured, non-restrained relaxation.

Example - twilight serves as a liminal time, between day and night—where one is 'in the twilight zone, in a liminal nether region of the night'.

Liminality as defined by the ANFT, refers to a state of being that participants may find themselves experiencing during a Forest Therapy walk. The state of being is often characterised by a soft somatic awareness, a sense of timelessness, an active imagination, and a curious open heartedness.

Liminal Journey – refers to an experience where one shifts into and then later out of a state of liminality through the physical and metaphorical crossing of thresholds. A Forest Therapy walk is an example of a liminal journey.

People are sometimes surprised by the amount of scientific research behind Shinrin Yoku or 'Forest Bathing'. Back in the 80's (I'm sure there is a song there somewhere), Japan transitioned to a heavily tech-based economy. At the same time a rise in autoimmune disease and cancers was noticed and so a number of research projects were instigated, one of these asked a simple question about what happens when we spend more time in nature? During this shorter podcast Cath and Moose discuss more about the science, phytoncides, fractal patterns and the power of colours.

Association of Nature and Forest Therapy - The Science https://www.natureandforesttherapy.org/about/science

The colour green https://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/color-green.html

The colour blue https://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/color-blue.html

“Green is restful to the eye. Studies show that a green environment can reduce fatigue.” Laird, donal A. “Fatigue: Public Enemy Number One: What It Is and How to Fight It.” The American Journal of Nursing (Sep 1933) 33.9 pp 835-41

“Green and Blue are the most relaxing colors as they are in the middle of the color spectrum and therefore cause the least amount of subconscious strain on your eyes. Hence, sitting out in a large green field on a cloudless day is one of the most relaxing things you can do for your mind.”

Fractal patterns in nature https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/fractal-patterns-nature-and-art-are-aesthetically-pleasing-and-stress-reducing-180962738/

https://innerself.com/content/living/leisure-and-creativity/15263-why-fractal-patterns-in-nature-and-art-are-stress-reducing.html

Highland Quietlife https://www.facebook.com/highlandquietlife

Our journey to become ANFT qualified Nature and Forest Therapy Guides, started in LA 2020 at the country arboretum. This was far more than a course where you hope the day cuts early, and you can snooze at the back of class! It was an intense week of learning and quite honestly.... therapy! This intensive week sets us up for 6 months of training to become qualified and an unexpected journey of nature connection.

Contact Cath Wright on [email protected]

Facebook www.facebook.com/highlandquietlife

Instagram www.instagram.com/highland.quietlife

LA County Arboretum and Botanic Garden https://www.arboretum.org

ANFT https://www.natureandforesttherapy.org 

 Cath, the Moose and why do we want to guide Forest Therapy?

At the turn of 2020, we started individual journeys of training and personal development... what actually came along was laughter, tears, self-healing and an awesome friendship. With one of us (me) in the Scottish Highlands and the other some 7,000 miles away in British Columbia, we have walked alongside each other in our forests and on our trails, as we've trained to become Forest Therapy Guides with the ANFT. Words may sometimes get lost in translations from British to Canadian and we many head off topic and meander back eventually, but we've a shared understanding of the healing power of nature; those big old Granny trees and the beauty of early morning light as it slices through the forest. 

In our first podcast we discuss just how we heard about Forest Therapy, why we wanted to become guides and just what is the 'it' we talk about.

Contact Cath Wright on [email protected]

Facebook www.facebook.com/highalndquietlife

Instagram www.instagram.com/highland.quietlife

Forest Therapy, also known as “Shinrin-yoku” refers to the practice of spending time in nature for the purpose of enhancing health, wellness, and happiness. The aim of this short video is to give you a taster of what to expect in a typical session. For more information on Forest Therapy sessions with Highland Quietlife please email [email protected]

Join me for Shinrin-Yoku or Forest Bathing in the Adirondack Mountains, Lake George, US Mindfulness Serenity Sober living