The Friends of the Fells is delighted to offer the restorative practice of Forest Bathing, known in Japan as “Shinrin-yoku”. The intention is to nurture our relationship with the natural world, and to decompress from the stress and overstimulation of our high-tech culture. The Forest Bathing program is designed to help you slow down and connect with nature in the beautiful and inspiring setting of the Middlesex Fells. It’s not a hike, and you don’t need a towel to participate. It is a very slow walk with stops along the way to rejuvenate your mind, body, and soul. Science has proven that there are many health benefits to this practice.
You will be led by our Certified Forest Therapy Guide, Lisa Mediano, who received her training through the Association of Forest and Nature Therapy Guides and Programs™. She will guide you from “moving” into “being” as you slowly engage your senses, cultivating mindful awareness of your surroundings, and allowing nature’s own beauty and rhythms to re-balance each of us.
Other resources:
- The un-hike: Forest bathing for beginners – Boston Globe
- Stopping by woods and breathing in deeply – Boston Globe
- Happiness Grows on Trees – Could a simple stroll through the woods give you a new lease on life? – Boston Magazine
- Death of a White Pine – Friends of the Fells blog post by Barbara Buls (DCR Regional Interpretive Coordinator)
The cost of these guided walks are $30 each, but only $15 for members. If you’re not yet a member, join here. To receive your member discount code, please email friends@fells.org or message our Facebook page.
These 2018 programs are geared towards ages 18 and up and are offered rain or shine. A variety of dates, times, and locations are available, including:
To register for specific dates in 2018, click on links below:
October: 5-Oct | 11-Oct | 16-Oct | 23-Oct | 30-Oct
November: 6-Nov | 10-Nov | 13-Nov | 20-Nov | 24-Nov
Find your free Fells maps here: https://www.friendsofthefells.org/maps/.
You may see the dates in list form, as well as register for other Fells programs, at the link below:
Lisa Mediano is a Certified Forest Therapy Guide with the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and Programs. She spends a lot of time in the woods, writing poetry and prose. With a background in literature and history, she is fascinated with the works of the Transcendentalists, Naturalists, and Aesthetics throughout history who have wisely recognized the physical mental and spiritual benefits of being in nature. Lisa calls it the “trinity of natural wellness.”