06/24/2024
It’s been a little over 2 weeks since I returned from a 4 day retreat and workshop at the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health. I won’t say “life got in the way” of me writing this. Instead, life–my family–came first. Life *is* the way. And there’s also so much to share, where do I begin?
🌲I’ll start with what drew me to those 4 days at Kripalu; it was the workshop titled The Council of Water and Trees, led by the two most influential people in the forest therapy/forest bathing world. These two men are the celebrities (or “rock stars” as a friend calls them) of the field. M. Amos Clifford founded the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy programs back in 2012, and Micah Mortali founded the School of Mindful Outdoor Leadership in 2018. I’ve studied through both programs, and read their books: “Your Guide to Forest Bathing” by Amos and “Rewilding” by Micah. Meeting them and spending 4 days under their tutelage was a pretty big deal, to say the least!
🩵New friends were made, be they instructors, fellow guides, and those who want to deepen their connection to the natural world. That was our common bond. Where we lived, how old we were, where we are in life, where we are coming from, or where we are going, none of it mattered. We connected to each other simply through the mutual desire to cultivate and strengthen our individual relationships with the more-than-human world.
💞Leaving that group of people, and a place where no one looks at you funny if you hug a tree, it’s hard to describe the feeling of being held by an old orchard tree, and the connection I felt with that tree. How do I explain how those wide and low trunks, so easy to climb into and rest, reminded me of those who hold me most closely, and make me feel safe? Describing how I used my imaginal sense (in a very playful way), and piece of string, to converse with a mushroom might not be something that everyone will understand–and that’s totally OK.
🌟The experience left me reflective of a lot of things, most importantly, how important it is to carve out time for more reflection, introspection, community, and solitude. It’s self care. Self -care, with a smidge of growth that will hopefully flow into my guiding practice. I’ll wrap this up with a few of my favorite pics from those days!
