Forest Bathing and Wellness

Forest Bathing and Wellness Experience forest bathing with a certified forest therapy guide. One simple way to manage stress? Spending time in nature — or forest bathing.
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Forest bathing is time with a certified forest therapy guide in wooded or natural areas in order to strengthen your connection with nature by engaging in sensory mindful activities to experience relaxation and rejuvenation. Let me take you on journey that will calm your mind, get in tune with nature and relax. In 1982, the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries created the term

shinrin-yoku, which translates to “forest bathing” or “absorbing the forest atmosphere.” The practice encourages people to simply spend time in nature — no actual bathing required. It’s also very low impact, which means you don’t have to go for intense trail runs or hikes. The goal of forest bathing is to live in the present moment while immersing your senses in the sights and sounds of a natural setting. There’s a reason why the largest cities in the world have parks, trees, and pockets of nature woven throughout their busy streets. One study by the International Journal of Environmental Health Research found that spending time in an urban park can have a positive impact on a person’s sense of well-being. Aside from city parks, the more in-depth practice of forest bathing has been found to lower blood pressure, heart rate, and levels of harmful hormones — like cortisol, which your body produces when it’s stressed. This can help put you in a more calm and relaxed state. While the word “forest” is in the name of this practice, don’t worry — heading out to a heavily wooded area isn’t required. You could take a trip to a nearby park, your favorite local trail, or any natural setting. Just be sure to turn off or silence your phone or other devices. The key is to practice mindfulness. That means being present and fully in the moment. Once you’ve arrived at your destination, take a few deep breaths and center yourself. Focus on what your senses are taking in — whether it’s the scent of clean ocean air or a chorus of chirping birds. Book a private session and invite a few friends or not, reignite the connection with your partner with our couples experience, or join a group session. I also offer life coaching for your personal goals, relationship issues, or family concerns.

04/02/2026

Celebrate Earth Day at 6pm with a unique riverside experience at Confluence Park designed to help you slow down, de-stress, and reconnect with nature.

This guided forest bathing session, offered in partnership with the San Antonio River Foundation, takes place along the beautiful San Antonio River. Through simple, guided invitations, you’ll explore the sights, sounds, and textures of the natural world. In honor of Earth Day, this session emphasizes our connection to the land and water that sustain us. The river setting offers a dynamic and calming environment, reminding us of the importance of caring for our natural spaces.

This is also our first weekday evening offering, ending around dusk—one of the most peaceful and beautiful times to be outdoors, as the day transitions into night.

04/01/2026

Walking a ridgeline in Alaska, the ground is rarely flat.
Rock, roots, mud, and shifting slopes ask the body to stay present.

Uneven terrain gently challenges balance, activating small stabilizing muscles and encouraging the brain to coordinate movement, posture, and awareness. Instead of zoning out, the nervous system becomes quietly attentive.

In forest bathing, this kind of movement isn’t about speed or distance. It’s about relationship with the landscape beneath your feet.

Each step adjusts.
Each step listens.

03/30/2026

Lichens are among the first living communities to colonize bare rock.

Through slow chemical weathering, they release organic acids that help break down the mineral surface beneath them. Over time, fragments of rock mix with organic material from the lichens themselves, gradually forming the earliest layers of soil.

This quiet process can take decades, sometimes centuries but it is one of the ways landscapes begin to support more complex life. Mosses, plants, insects, and eventually entire ecosystems follow.

Where conditions are harsh, lichens begin the work.

They remind us that life doesn’t always start in comfort.
Sometimes it starts with persistence.

03/26/2026

Sometimes the nervous system just needs a different environment.

Natural settings tend to offer softer, more rhythmic sensory input than many built environments. The steady sound of waves, the repetition of movement, and the wide visual horizon can help the brain shift out of constant alert mode. Instead of shutting down, the body simply downshifts.

Researchers studying nature exposure and attention restoration have found that these environments allow the mind to recover from sensory overload while still remaining engaged.

The ocean doesn’t demand focus.
It holds it gently.

03/22/2026

Some places change the way you move through the world.

In the cloud forests of Colombia, everything happens quietly and slowly. Moss holds moisture from the night air, and tiny fungi rise from it like small signals that the forest is awake. Nothing rushes here. Growth unfolds in layers that are patient, observant, responsive.

Spending time in landscapes like this shifted the pace of my attention. It reminded me that listening is not just something we do with our ears, but with the whole body.

As I continue writing my lichen book, these forests keep shaping the story not just through the species I encounter, but through the way they teach patience, observation, and relationship with the living world.

03/17/2026

When we slow down in nature, something subtle shifts.

Interoception; our ability to sense internal body signals like breath, heartbeat, hunger, or tension improves when attention softens and becomes less fragmented. Studies suggest that time in natural settings can support parasympathetic activation and reduce cognitive overload, making it easier to feel what is happening inside the body.

In places like a Japanese garden, movement becomes intentional. Steps are quieter. Breathing deepens. The body begins to register itself again.

Body awareness is not something we force.
It returns when we create conditions of safety and slowness.

Nature doesn’t demand attention.

03/13/2026

Lichens are not just growing on bark-
they are recording time.

Because they absorb nutrients directly from the air rather than through roots, lichens are highly sensitive to humidity, temperature shifts, and air chemistry. Their growth forms, colors, and abundance can reflect long-term environmental conditions. In some regions, scientists even use lichen communities as bioindicators to track air quality and climate patterns over decades.

In the Colombian cloud forest, the bark becomes an archive.
Orange, teal, silver, pink, chartreuse — each species responding to moisture, light, and elevation in its own way.

03/12/2026

Two days exploring and primitive camping the wild beauty of Caprock Canyons State Park.

Gypsum glittering in red canyon walls, ancient caliche lifted from deep inside the earth, and a new lichen for my life list- Hoary cobblestone lichen.

Add bison, prairie dogs, and 60 mph winds… and it still felt like magic. Sometimes you just pull the face sock up and go meet the land anyway.

03/11/2026

In forest bathing, we don’t rush the body.
We allow it to return to its original rhythm.

This small caterpillar moves without urgency — not because it is slow, but because it is attuned. Bark becomes landscape. Texture becomes terrain. Every inch is experienced.

When we step into the forest without agenda, our nervous system softens. Research shows that slow, mindful time in nature can lower cortisol levels and support parasympathetic activation — the “rest and restore” state our bodies crave.

Gentle movement isn’t laziness.
It is regulation.
It is remembering.

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Washington D.C., DC

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Monday 9am - 6pm
Sunday 9am - 6pm

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+12024362223

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