FOREST BATHING EXPLORERS - NOT JUST A WALK IN THE PARK!
The recurring theme for us at Harmony In Nature during the last month or so has been exploring new potential locations for forest bathing sessions.
Our usual ones in the Surrey Hills are no longer available to us mid-week, so we've been looking for 'pastures new'. We also wanted a location in London, as many of our friends and contacts live in that area. The images show Cannon Hill Common, London SW20.
We know that plenty of you, particularly those with flexible schedules, or children to drop/collect from school, or, like us, simply prefer visiting these lovely places in quieter times, often actually prefer mid-week.
So, what do we look for in a forest bathing location?
1. A good proportion of the route is under tree canopy, and won't disturb wildlife such as ground-nesting birds.
2. If at all possible, a more enclosed area for our 'treelaxation', where we can lie/sit or simply be, and connect with the energy of trees, during a more meditative practice towards the end.
3. A large, impressive 'mother tree', for our introductory talk about what is going on between nature and humans to make us feel better, as well as what is going in between trees!
4. When we check for our risk assessment, not find a number of broken dangling tree branches which could come down in a wind! We don't run sessions if over 30mph, so that mitigates some risk. Not all sites regularly do checks, so we may need to 
flag up work needed for safety.
5. Some sort of parking nearby, or being reasonably accessible by public transport, or only a short taxi ride from a station.
6. A responsive management organisation which is keen to have this wonderful wellbeing activity on their land, and doesn't charge an unfeasibly large sum of money!
7. Nice-to-haves (and unconnected!), but not always available:
a natural water source, toilets
So you can see that a considerable amount of time goes into finding the right spots, and not all are suitable, or the charge needs us to sell high numbers of tickets.
We also recognise that there are many lovely places without much tree canopy, and we could still use these, advertised as a 'mindfulness in nature' experience.
As in life, it's all about balancing the pros and the cons, to enable us to create what we hope is a wonderfully renewing and therapeutic experience.
New venue additions
As a result of many days out in woodland, which is always a win, this month of August sees the launch of two new locations:
Cannon Hill Common, London SW20, Thursday 12th August
Horsell Common, Woking, GU21 Friday 13th August
For the superstitious, you may like to know that Tuesday 13th is the unlucky day in Spain, so don't let the date combination put you off!
Our link below, takes you to more information on these individual events, as well as our usual monthly weekend ones in the Surrey Hills AONB. We are packing in the walks in four locations between the 8th and 15th August.
For full list of venues dates and timings, use this link to find out more and book
If you would like to be informed of our monthly forest bathing events, please sign up for the Harmony In Nature forest bathing list here: https://harmonyhealing.co.uk/newsletter-sign-up just ticking the box for forest bathing (unless the other options appeal) or email and we'll add you on.
We hope to see you in a forest soon!
Jo and Katie
harmonyinnature.uk
Harmony In Nature is run by Katie Robinson & Joanna Bristow-Watkins; both experienced & insured Forest Bathing+ Guides licensed by The Forest Bathing Institute. Operating mainly in Woodland around the Surrey Hills and London SW20, they offer 2-3 hour public & private sessions. Read more about Forest Bathing with Harmony in Nature or listen to their Brooklands Radio Forest Bathing podcast interview with Jill Bennett (8½ mins).
Established in June 2021, the Harmony in Nature web information is currently hosted on Joanna's wider harmonyhealing.co.uk website
