Forest Therapy Walk
Saturday, Sept. 23rd, 2023
9-11 am
Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve
21085 The Woods Rd., Leesburg, VA 20176
Description: Forest Therapy Walk – This is not a hike.
Please join us for a different kind of outdoor event in which we slow down and tune into our senses in the forest as a way to connect more deeply to ourselves, our bodies and nature. Slowing down in nature often allows us to experience what is both within and around us in more meaningful ways.
The Association of Nature and Forest Therapy developed Forest Therapy from the origins of Forest Bathing (Shinrin-Yoku) – the result of Japanese research in the 80’s that discovered that spending time in the forest was a preventative practice for the serious diseases that their culture was experiencing due to an accelerated tech economy. ANFT expanded Forest Therapy’s inter-relational experience with nature.
In our practice, through a series of invitations each participant will be guided to bring a mindful awareness and attention to how they move through and interact with the natural environment as well as become aware of how they co-exist with and are related to all that we come in contact with. Invitations are not exercises or activities that you have to perform. There is no right or wrong way. Forest Therapy is a gentle, relational practice with yourself, others, and the “More Than Human World” in which the “Forest is the therapist and the guide opens the doors”.
$20.00 payment and registration required ahead @ www.babarsky.com
Please meet at the visitor center at 8:45 am. We will walk a short distance from there. There is a 10 person limit to this workshop, so register soon.
Bring: Water, snacks, bug spray, sunblock, good walking shoes, appropriate clothing.
Debra Babarsky, MA, LPC
540-338-0620 Cell: 703-615-6805 for workshop day.