Forest Bathing at Clowes Wood, Solihull

Forest Bathing (aka Shinrin-Yoku) is a set of mindfulness practices and fun activities designed to calm the nervous system, awaken the senses, and bring us into meaningful relationship with the web of life.

You’ll be guided through a sequence of gentle activities which invite you to playfully explore each of your senses in turn, expanding your usual range of perception and slowing you right down to experience existence at the speed of a tree – what I call “Forest Time”. This shifts us into a different brainwave state – so often in this modern world, we’re locked into the “beta” wave state of constant action and planning and busy busy busy. Forest Bathing gets us into “alpha” state, associated with calm, creativity, intuition and “flow”. It has been scientifically proven to give rise to a range of health benefits such as reduced blood pressure, reduction in stress hormones, improved sleep, increases in anti-cancer proteins and reduced levels of anxiety, depression, anger and confusion too. With regular practice, the wonder, joy, curiosity and playfulness that Forest Bathing draws out of us can gradually start to infuse and enrich our everyday lives beyond the forest.

It can often be hard to step out of the busyness of 21st Century life and give time to nourishing ourselves and our relationships with our wild relatives. But when we give ourselves permission to slow down in this way, we receive such profound gifts of healing, aliveness and belonging that it develops its own momentum and before we know it we can’t imagine our lives without it. I’ve found that doing it in a group allows feelings of connection to develop much faster as we all share our experiences and learn from each other’s unique ways of seeing and being – as well as making it more fun!

I’m overjoyed to be working in collaboration with Warwickshire Wildlife Trust to offer these sessions at Clowes Wood Nature Reserve, one of the most beautiful and biodiverse woodlands in the Midlands. 10% of all ticket sales is donated to the Trust to help maintain the Woods for the benefit of wildlife and humans alike.

Please note that these sessions are not suitable for children or pets.

Accessibility information: There is a 15 minute scenic walk over uneven ground from the meeting point to the forest, and back again at the end. Once inside the forest there will be a little more walking at a slower pace, but the ground can be uneven, muddy, and in places a bit hilly. If you have any concerns about the level of physical activity involved please feel free to contact me on hello@healingearthways.co.uk.

A note on my sliding scale ticket pricing: I want to make Forest Bathing affordable to as many people as possible while being realistic about my own financial needs. To make this work sustainable I need to charge for it, but I also want to acknowledge that incomes vary widely and ensure as far as reasonably possible that cost isn’t a barrier to participation. I leave it up to each individual to honestly assess their range of affordability, no questions asked! To get the most ongoing benefit from Forest Bathing it’s recommended to participate in a long session like this at least once a month so if you enjoy it and want to come regularly, please feel free to pay what you can feel you can afford each month even if that varies.