Why Forest Therapy?
Forest Therapy and Shinrin-yoku
In the 1980s, Japan introduced Shinrin-yoku - Forest Bathing, as a national health practice in response to the rising stress levels and illness of the urban population. Supported by a scientific approach, Shinrin-yoku showed that simply immersing in the forest could reduce stress, restore well-being, and renew our connection with nature, countering the disconnection caused by urban life.
Shinrin-yoku, or translated - Forest Bathing, is deeply rooted in traditional Japanese culture, where harmony with nature has long been a path to wellness and spiritual balance. Embraced as a healing practice, shinrin-yoku reflects Japan’s reverence for the natural world, drawing on centuries old beliefs that nature holds restorative powers for the mind, body, and soul. It’s a gentle, mindful way to reconnect with the essence of the forest, promoting health and tranquility through the simple act of immersing oneself in nature.
Forest Bathing is more than a walk in the woods - it’s a sensory immersion into nature and place. Imagine the many shades of green, the soft earth beneath your feet, birdsong carried on a breeze, and the grounding scent of moss and soil. Each moment draws you deeper into connection and relationship, rekindling peace, clarity, and a quiet sense of wonder often lost in the rush of daily life.
Shinrin-yoku demonstrates what science now confirms: nature directly benefits both mind and body. Biologist Edward O. Wilson’s biophilia theory explains why - humans carry an innate bond with nature, shaped by millions of years of evolution.
Why Forest Therapy?
Our modern urban life keeps us indoors, glued to screens, and moving less. Combined with isolation and constant city pressures, this lifestyle heightens stress and steadily drains our attention, leaving us mentally fatigued.
Chronic stress and fatigue can fuel serious health problems, from heart disease to depression. Shinrin-yoku or Forest Therapy as it is known in Australia, offers a natural antidote, where time in nature restores calm, reduces stress, and leaves us feeling refreshed and revitalised.
Whether its Forest Bathing, Forest Therapy, Nature Connection, Nature Bathing, these therapeutic experiences help to rekindle the ancient bond we hold with nature. This guided Forest Therapy experience helps to strengthen our connection and relationship with nature and forms the basis of our wellbeing.
Health Benefits
Forest Therapy offers powerful mental and physical health benefits. What 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
Anxiety and depression levels are lowered
Positive mood improvement in happiness levels
Improved cognition, attention and focus
Reduction in heart rate and blood pressure
Reduced cortisol levels indicating a reduction in our
stress hormone levels
improved immune function
Exposure to phytoncides which possess anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, anti-microbial and anti-viral properties
Why choose a Forest Therapy Guide?
A Forest Therapy 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 move in harmony with the world around you.
The walk begins quietly and slowly, on a carefully chosen 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
Forest Therapy demonstrates nature’s ability to heal and rejuvenate us. It can lift our mood, ease our stresses, restore attention and vitality. By immersing ourselves in nature we nurture our mind, body, and spirit, returning to our lives with renewed energy and a deep sense of peace.
Your Guide
Alex is a certified Forest Therapy Guide who believes that nature and wellbeing go hand in hand. Her love for the outdoors and her passion for helping others, inspired her to guide people back to nature, to slow down, breathe deeply, and reconnect.
Living on the edge of the Royal National Park, Alex draws daily inspiration from its trees, trails, and quiet beauty. Her guided walks offer others the same sense of calm and connection that she’s found in nature, a gentle reminder of how good it feels to come home to the natural 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
Licensed ECOPass Tour Operator
Certified Qigong Instructor
Certified Mental Health First Aid
Certified First Aid
Infection Control Training
