What is shinrin yoku?
Shinrin-yoku, aka forest bathing or (forest therapy as it is known in Australia) comes from Japan, where spending time in nature is seen as a gentle way to support wellbeing and inner balance. This elegant, mindful practice of slowing down and immersing yourself in the forest, helps you feel calm, grounded, and restored. Research now confirms what many have always known, time in nature is good for both body and mind.
Why Forest Bathing?
Modern urban life keeps us indoors, on screens, and under constant pressure, leaving many of us stressed, fatigued, and feeling disconnected.
Guided forest bathing , offers a gentle and natural way to restore balance by reducing stress, refocussing the mind, and boosting our immune system.
These experiences also help to rekindle our connection with nature, an essential part of feeling you belong and are not separate from nature.
You are nature.
Health Benefits
Forest Therapy offers powerful mental and physical health benefits. Scientific research has demonstrated, that a single Forest Therapy walk can immediately improve your body’s stress and wellness markers. These changes have a direct and positive impact on your overall well-being, helping you to fee balanced and revitalised.
Positive Effects on Health
Positive mood improvement in happiness levels, reduction in anxiety and depression levels (health.harvard.edu)
Improved cognition, attention and focus (mdpi.com, Dr Marc Berman)
Reduction in heart rate and blood pressure (pmc.ncbi.nlm.hih.gov/articles/PMC7310560)
Reduced cortisol levels indicating a reduction in our stress and hormone levels (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Improved immune function from exposure to phytoncides which possess anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, and anti-viral properties (Science Direct, Li et al 2009, & Li 2010
Why choose a Forest Therapy Guide?
A guide gently helps you slow down, shifting your attention from the busy chatter of the mind to the soothing rhythms of nature and your own body. With this support, you can relax, breathe, and just be in the present moment.
What to expect on a forest bathing walk?
The walk begins quietly and slowly, on a trail designed to align our biorhythms with the natural world. Along the way, you’ll be invited to engage in a blend of creative, physical, and sensory activities, all inspired by the landscape around us. These activities encourage us to be open, curious, and fully present
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Guided Forest Therapy offers a sense of freedom and safety, making it easier to relax and let go. As your Guide, I handle all the details so you can simply be present to savour the experience. It is a chance to truely disconnect from the rush of everyday life and reconnect with yourself and the world around you
Nature has always had the ability to heal us. Forest bathing simply gives us the space to let it.
Time spent immersed in the natural world can lift our mood, ease stress, restore our attention and renew our energy. But beyond the physical, there is something quieter at work, a settling of the spirit, a return to stillness.
We come back to our lives feeling more ourselves.
Your Guide
Hi, I’m Alex, a Certified Forest Therapy Guide offering Forest Bathing and nature connection walks in the beautiful Royal National Park on Dharawal Country, Sydney.
Through Shinrin-yoku (Forest Bathing), I guide people to slow down, use their senses, and reconnect with nature. These walks aren’t about distance, they’re about being present and soaking in the calm of the forest.
I have found that time spent in nature has a way of bringing us back to ourselves. In stressful or difficult times, I have found that nature grounds me, clears my mind, and reminds me what really matters, and I love helping others experience that too.
With Nature Being, we create welcoming, trauma informed forest bathing experiences that help relax, restore, and reconnect to yourself, others and the natural living world.
Qualifications
Bachelor of Art, Sociology
International Nature and Forest Therapy Alliance (INFTA) Certified Forest Therapy Guide
Nature Therapy Guide, Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney
Cert III Tourism Guide, Local Guide Royal National Park, Sydney
Licensed ECOPass Tour Operator
Certified Qigong Instructor
Certified Mental Health First Aid
Certified First Aid
Infection Control Training
