Forest Therapy for BIPOC

Service Description

Free session only for BIPOC, who can also come to any other public forest therapy session for 50% off. Part of SHINE: Sponsoring Healing in Nature for the Economically Marginalized. This sponsorship program purposefully seeks to address inequity created through historic and current government laws including land ownership, trade agreements, and health insurance. We acknowledge that we are on land of the Kanza and other indigenous people, and that much our national capital has been built on the backs of enslaved and immigrant people. SHINE offers free healing sessions for folks who work hard in our community- without whom no one would have a high quality of life. This program aims to create easier nature session access for those who deserve it and want it. This form of intentional connection with the prairie and woods is powerful medicine. We begin with a 15 minute guided meditation that shifts our state of awareness. The invitations that follow are prompts to help us explore interbeing (interconnection and shared oneness of life). They are slow and sensory, and there is no right or wrong. We receive healing insights through mindfulness and bodyfulness. We end with tea that I've locally harvested. There are several opportunities to process and be known through Listening circles (sitting or standing). We don't usually walk more than 1/2 mile. “Forest Therapy is a research-based framework for supporting healing and wellness through immersion in forests and other natural environments. Forest Therapy is inspired by the Japanese practice of Shinrin-Yoku, ‘forest bathing.’ Studies have demonstrated a wide array of health benefits... We build on those benefits and look beyond, to what happens when people remember that we are a part of nature, not separate from it, and are related to all other beings in fundamental ways." ~Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Health Benefits Intentional time in nature, especially with a trained guide, can: ~regulate blood pressure, lower cortisol, and lower stress. ~increase immunity (from increased NK cells and improved mood). ~show higher scores on Quality of Life measurements. ~decrease reports of Chronic Widespread Pain. ~alleviate anxiety and depression symptoms. ~improve confidence and self-esteem. ~reduce symptoms associated with ADHD, trauma, psychosis, addiction. ~increase sense of gratitude and generosity. ~increase patience, life satisfaction and motivation. ~and more.