For hundreds of thousands of years, we humans lived our lives seamlessly integrated with nature. There was no separation between ‘nature’ and ‘us’. Our bodies and nervous systems evolved to live like this, and it’s my belief that intimate connection with nature is a fundamental human need.

Life and magic pulses through nature, and through us (for we are nature too). Think of the feeling you have after a day at the beach, in the woods, in a garden, or walking the hills. What you feel is your inherent nature and your birthright. Yet recent years have seen us forget our true nature, and fall more and more into the illusion that we are separate. We are attached to screens and bombarded by information from across the globe. We hear the sounds of traffic and machinery more than birds, and we touch plastic and man-made goods more than plants and earth.

In my own healing journey, after years of not being able to leave my bedroom, nature connection was extremely powerful in bringing me back to myself. When I saw blades of grass, a leaf, a tree, for the first time in years, I was filled with joy and wonder at the beauty of creation, and I remembered my own power as part of that creation. I made a commitment to share the healing power and beauty of nature with others, and I decided to train in nature connection and forest therapy.

Forest therapy has its origins in the Japanese shinrin yoku or forest bathing, where participants drink in the natural environment through the senses and bathe in the energies of the forest. The benefits for mental and physical health are well-studied. In forest therapy, it is nature who is the therapist: I am simply a guide or facilitator, to help you bridge the gap and reconnect. At the end of a session you can expect to feel more present, more alive, more like yourself.

I offer in-person nature connection and forest therapy sessions in the border marches area of England and Wales, around the Powys-Shropshire-Herefordshire borders. I offer both group and 1:1 sessions. I also run occasional events and retreats. To hear about these, sign up for my mailing list, here.

I’m available to offer nature connection sessions at your event, project, retreat, or festival. To enquire, please send an email to [email protected]