Get your team out of the office and into the forest.
 
Research, primarily conducted in Japan and South Korea, has proven the health benefits of spending time amongst the trees. Every study so far has demonstrated that forest bathing positively creates calming neuro-psychological effects through changes in the nervous system, reducing the stress hormone cortisol and boosting the immune system. Every study conducted so far has shown proven reductions in stress, anger, anxiety, depression and sleeplessness amongst participants. In fact after just 15 minutes of forest bathing blood pressure drops, stress levels are reduced and concentration and mental clarity improve.
 
Forest Bathing can be used in a number of ways to enhance training and leadership skills. If you are organising an off-site board meeting or away day and there is access to a forest, I can come to the location and take the session there. These can be used in so many ways, but a few examples I have been a part of include boosting customer and staff engagement in retail stores, as inspiration for the creative industries and by CEOs seeking a breathing space and by individual senior staff members as a powerful personal tool.
 
As a Forest Therapy Guide, I facilitate safe gentle walks, providing instructions — referred to as “invitations” — which are used as ways to open the senses. We spend so much time using our vision that the other senses often get forgotten and are under utilised. Each walk begins with establishing embodied contact with where you are. Next come a series of connective invitations, often improvised in the moment and adapted to the needs of your group. These may be followed by wander time and/or sit spot. The walks end with a ceremony of sharing tea made from foraged local plants.
 
Forest therapy walks are not hikes in the traditional sense. An entire walk is typically 2 to 4 hours in duration and often covers no more than a quarter mile distance. In that relatively short distance and time most people experience contact with nature in a much deeper way than they ever have prior to the session. People have a wide range of experiences, some of which they feel are significant, even profound. As a guide I am trained in the skills and perspectives needed to be a supportive witness of these experiences.
 
4-hours is the minimal time you should allow for this experience and it's ideally run for up to 8 people. It doesn’t matter if you are all from one team or spread amongst a few different departments. This is based on you coming to Surrey or Sussex in the forests I work in there. But if you're short on time, it's also possible to run a 2 hours taster session. If you'd like me to travel to woods/forest near you, that's also possible.
 
To enquire, please email me at justine@forestbathingmadeinbritain.com to dicuss your requirements.  Once I know a little more about what you're hoping to achieve I can give you an exact cost for the experience.