Forest Therapy Walk For Mindful Presence In Nature

Welcome to this Forest Therapy Walk,

A walk to connect with nature through mindful presence.

A Forest Therapy Walk is a slow sensory walk through a natural environment.

This can be a park.

It can be your favorite trail in nature.

It can even be your garden.

If the weather is bad,

You can even do this Forest Therapy Walk in your own home,

Close to a window,

Looking out onto maybe a tree,

Onto a park,

Onto some form of nature.

The only requirement for this walk is that you either have this recording downloaded to your device,

Or that you have a signal that you can stream this walk.

And if you are not disturbing anybody,

You can listen to this recording aloud,

Or just put in an earbud.

I recommend putting one earbud in,

So your other ear can hear the environment around you.

In this Forest Therapy Walk,

We are going to take the time to slow down,

To awaken our senses,

And to be present in nature,

Connecting with ourselves,

And connecting with nature through sensory invitations.

These invitations are simply that.

They are invitations.

There is no right or wrong way to engage in these invitations.

And I invite you to adapt or change these invitations in whatever way feels good to you.

Along our Forest Therapy Walk,

I will invite you to also share your experiences.

And you can share in whatever way feels comfortable to you.

That may be writing down your experiences on a piece of paper.

You might want to find a forest being and share with that forest being your experiences.

Or sharing with the whole community of beings where you are.

Whatever feels comfortable to you,

Whatever feels good to you in that moment,

All is welcome.

And if you just want to share with silence,

That is also fine.

As I said,

Everything is welcome.

Along the walk,

There will be long pauses in this recording where I do not say anything.

These pauses are intended so that you can wander out on your own and engage in the invitation that is offered.

While engaging in the invitation,

Just make sure that you are always connected to this audio in some way or another.

Whether that be through an earbud or whether the sound is turned up on your device and you just have your device in your pocket.

At the end of each invitation,

Each moment of silence,

I will call you back with the sound of a bell.

This bell will sound like this.

And one last thing before we get started.

Please,

Please make sure that you are always safe and that you are always aware of your surroundings.

Maybe just take a little moment now to just observe your surroundings and make a note of anything that might be a little hazardous.

Just so that you are aware of what is in your environment.

This first invitation is called Pleasures of Presence.

And to begin,

I would like to invite you to find a comfortable position.

Whether that be sitting down,

Lying down,

Or maybe standing.

Whatever feels most comfortable to you in this moment.

We will be here for approximately 10 minutes.

As you find that comfortable position,

Take a moment to look around at the place that you are in.

Noticing all of the beings that are in this place.

Maybe looking above you,

Looking in front of you,

Looking to your left,

Looking to your right.

Just taking a few moments to notice everything that is around you and in this place.

And if you feel comfortable,

I would like to invite you to gently close your eyes or gently rest your gaze in front of you.

And slowly begin to bring your attention to your breath.

Just observing the breath entering your body and gently observing your breath as it leaves your body.

There's no need to adjust your breathing.

Just simply take a few moments to notice your breath.

I wonder what it feels like to just breathe.

And slowly bringing your attention to the parts of your body that are in contact with the earth.

Noticing the sensations in your body that are in contact with the earth.

Noticing how it feels to touch the earth.

And slowly expanding your attention to the sensations in your face.

Noticing if there is maybe a breeze that touches your face.

Noticing the different sensations on your skin.

Maybe noticing your clothes in contact with your skin.

Just gently bringing your attention to all of the sensations on your skin and all of the sensations throughout your body.

Maybe bringing your hands now in front of you and forming a cup with your hands.

And filling this cup with the air of this place.

I wonder what it feels like to hold the air of this place in your hands.

Bringing your attention to the sounds of this place.

Beginning to notice all of the sounds that are in this place.

Maybe noticing the loudest sound that is in this place.

Maybe noticing the quietest sound that is in this place.

Noticing sounds that are further away from you.

Noticing sounds that are closer to you.

I wonder what this place sounds like.

I wonder if you can hear the silence between sounds.

I wonder if there is silence in this place.

Bringing your attention now to your nose.

And to all of the smells that are here in this place in this moment.

Maybe lifting your head a little higher.

Beginning to gently sniff the air.

Maybe sniffing the air as a dog would.

Maybe turning your head from one side to the other.

Just beginning to notice the smells of this place.

And now bringing your attention to our sense of taste.

Maybe beginning with your mouth.

Maybe beginning to explore the taste of your own mouth.

Maybe you can still taste your last meal lingering in your mouth.

Or maybe the taste that is always in your mouth.

Just take a few moments to explore the taste of your own mouth.

And maybe if you're feeling a little adventurous,

You can take a sip of the air of this place.

Taking a sip as if through a straw.

I wonder what this place tastes like.

And if you feel comfortable,

Maybe placing a hand now on your heart.

And just taking a few moments to sit with your heart.

Maybe feeling the beat of your own heart.

I wonder what it feels like to have your heart and your body today.

If there is any feeling of pleasure in your body,

Just noticing this pleasure in your body.

And sitting for a few moments with this feeling of pleasure.

In a moment,

I'm going to invite you to open your eyes.

But don't do this just yet.

When I invite you to open your eyes,

I would like to invite you to open your eyes very slowly.

And as you open your eyes,

Begin to take a look at the place that you are in.

Noticing all of the beings that are in this place.

And maybe consider that everything that you are seeing is also seeing you.

When you feel ready,

Begin to slowly open your eyes and look around once more at the place that you are in.

And now I would like to invite you to take one more full breath.

Breathing in slowly.

Breathing in deeply the air in this place.

And slowly breathing out.

Breathing your breath into this place.

Connecting to this place through your breath.

Welcome back.

For our first sharing,

I would like to invite you to share with one word what you are noticing.

And you can share this either by writing this word down on a piece of paper.

You can even write it in the ground if you are able to.

Or you can share this with a being that is close by to you.

Or share with a community of beings that you are in.

Just take the next few moments to share in one word what you are noticing.

For our next invitation,

I would like to invite you to slowly wander in the place that you are in.

Whether this is walking down the trail,

Whether it's walking around a garden,

Wherever you are,

Slowly begin to wander around the place where you are.

And slow can mean something different to everyone.

Try to find what slow means to you.

And this can simply be walking just a little bit slower than your usual pace.

It can also mean standing in one place.

And as you wander,

I would like to simply invite you to notice the movement of this place.

Begin to bring your attention to all of the movement that is around you.

These movements can be large movements.

They can be small movements.

They can be movements far from you.

They can be movements close to you.

Whatever movement calls your attention,

Whatever movement you notice in the place that you are in,

We will do this invitation for 10 minutes.

And I will call you back with the sound of the bell.

Welcome back.

For our next sharing,

I would like to invite you to share what you are noticing.

Maybe take a few minutes to write down what you are noticing.

Or in whatever way feels comfortable to you,

Share what you are noticing with a being or with the place that you are in.

Our next invitation is called The Shapes and Forms in Nature.

As you continue to wander,

I would like to invite you to bring your attention to the shapes and the forms that are around you in this place.

There are so many different shapes and forms in nature.

Some might be easier to notice than others.

Some we need to look for really carefully.

Take the next 10 minutes to wander out and explore all of the many shapes and forms that are in this place.

I will call you back in 10 minutes with the sound of the bell.

Welcome back.

For our next sharing,

I would like to invite you to share what you are noticing.

Maybe take a few minutes to write down what you are noticing.

Or in whatever way feels comfortable to you,

Share what you are noticing with a being or with the place that you are in.

For our last invitation,

I would like to invite you to find a being in the forest and to simply sit with this being.

This being can be a tree.

It can be a plant.

It can be a leaf.

It can be a mushroom.

Whatever you feel called to.

Find a way to sit with this being that feels comfortable to you and wonder what will unfold within and around you as you sit with this being.

I will call you back in 10 minutes with the sound of the bell.

Welcome back.

For our final sharing today,

I would like to invite you to either write down on a piece of paper or on the ground or share with a being,

Maybe the being that you just sat with,

Or share with the place that you are in.

Anything that you would like to share to feel complete today.

Just take the next few moments,

And I'll give you about two minutes,

To share anything to feel complete today.

To end this forest therapy walk,

I would like to invite you to make an offering of gratitude to nature.

An offering of gratitude to nature for this time that you have spent with nature.

Gratitude for everything that nature gives you.

Gratitude for anything that you feel is important in this moment to offer gratitude to.

And this offering of gratitude to nature can be done in whatever way feels comfortable to you.

You can maybe find a being and offer this being back to nature in whatever way feels good to you.

You can maybe take a moment of silence,

Offering that silence as your form of gratitude to nature.

Maybe singing a song as a form of gratitude.

Maybe sharing a snack that you have with you with nature.

Maybe sharing a cup of tea with nature.

Whatever feels good to you in this moment.

Take the next few minutes to offer your gratitude to nature.

And when you have done this,

When you have made your offering of gratitude to nature,

You can slowly make your way back home or where you came from.

Thank you for joining me on this forest therapy walk.