Forest Bathing: Reconnecting with Ourselves and the Natural World

Who: Kirsten Snow is a certified nature and forest therapy guide and a founder of Blue Stone Journeys. Kirsten leads private and public walks for groups throughout New England and will be partnering with Live Nordic on an upcoming walk in March 2020

Current Gig: Certified Nature and Forest Therapy Guide and Founder of Blue Stone Journeys

Location: How fortunate for me – outdoors – all over the world. And if participants aren’t able to join me outdoors, I can bring nature to them!

Favorite way to relax: It’s actually pretty simple, I love sitting on my deck, listening to music watching the marsh change as the water and sky move or if I want to be a bit more active; taking a walk on the beach, in the forest, snowshoeing in the fields. Creating art and cooking also get me to that place of serenity.

@bluestonejourneys

LN: What inspired you to become a nature and forest therapy guide?

KS: There sure is a personal story! Believe it or not, I was pretty close to purchasing a women’s
European clothing store, when I got “the call” from Mother Nature. I’d first heard of forest bathing
several years ago at a retreat I attended and then for a couple of years, the subject kept “popping up” in
magazines I was reading or on NPR. The morning after the 2016 election, I knew the world as we knew
it was going to get a bit crazy, and I knew I’d need to use all the tools in my toolbox to stay centered.
There was a little voice in my head that told me I should share some of these tools. I did not know what
that meant, until a year later, when I experienced forest bathing for the first time. As I laid down on a
lush green mound of moss, I was brought back to my childhood and a place that was special to me. It
was at that moment that I knew how I could help others … and help the planet at the same time.

“It was at that moment that I knew how I could help others… and help the planet at the same time.”

LN: How can the modern-day lifestyle benefit from nature and forest therapy?

KS: We live in a world that moves at record speed, we spend less time outdoors, and more on our
devices. Loneliness, anxiety, and stress are all at record levels. We have lost our connection to nature
and the way it grounds us. Many see nature as “something else”, rather than realizing we are all
connected. Being in nature brings us back to what is authentic, that which is real – helping us to re-
connect with ourselves and the natural world.

“Many see nature as ‘something else’, rather than realizing we are all connected. Being in nature brings us back to what is authentic, that which is real.”

LN: What are the most significant and scientifically proven health benefits of forest bathing?

KS: Studies done around the world have proven that spending time in nature is good for our health and
well-being. The Japanese have studied the benefits of phytoncides, a chemical the trees produce –
lowering our blood pressure, reducing our heart rate, and increasing production of NK cells which help
fight cancer.

“The Japanese have studied the benefits of phytoncides, a chemical the trees produce – lowering our blood pressure, reducing our heart rate, and increasing production of NK cells which help fight cancer.”