Today I had the opportunity to learn a little more about Forest Bathing from Jesse Remer, Doula and certified Forest Therapy Guide with the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy.
Forest Therapy, also known as “Shinrin-Yoku,” refers to the practice of spending time in forested areas for the purpose of enhancing health, wellness, and happiness.
Jesse is the founder of Forest Therapy PDX and Mother Tree International in Portland, Oregon – and a true visionary in the health field. She brings together her skills as a forest therapy guide, doula, trainer, education, speaker, writer, change agent and advocate to support women’s health.
Her first encounters with nature were as a child forest bathing in the deep Redwood Forests of Northern California. Her connection to nature grew while working as a doula and healing her own Postpartum Anxiety. She lives on a 5-acre farm on the banks of Powell Butte Nature Park with her kids, a mini donkey, pigs, chickens, ducks, a sheep dog and forest friends.
In addition to hosting forest bathing to individuals looking to get closer to nature, she also hosts forest bathing excursions for corporations looking to get their employees out from behind desks and reconnect them to nature and the world around them.
I encourage you to take a moment to better understand the health and wellness benefits of forest bathing.
Enjoy this (4.15) video about her work with Providence Health Leadership Institute, and this Providence Health Leadership podcast (21:51) about Jesse’s transformative work – where she speaks about the connection between birth, nature and creation.
Interested in learning more? Visit: https://www.foresttherapypdx.net/ to schedule walks, learn the 5 elements of forest therapy, better understand how nature changes our brains, and how trees talk to each other.
