🌿 Coming Home to Ourselves Through Nature: Why Forest Therapy is the Medicine We Need Now

🌿 Coming Home to Ourselves Through Nature: Why Forest Therapy is the Medicine We Need Now

By Wendy Figone | Somatic Ecotherapy

“Science asks us to learn about nature. Traditional knowledge asks us to learn from nature.”— Robin Wall Kimmerer

In our fast-paced, productivity-obsessed culture, we rarely pause long enough to truly learn from nature. We observe it from afar, study it, document it—but seldom do we enter into relationship with it. And yet, this is exactly what the land has been inviting us to do for generations.

To learn from nature, we must first slow down and become present. This is the essence of forest therapy.

The Modern Epidemic of Speed and Stress

Today, 7 out of 10 people are stuck in fight-or-flight, fueled by a cultural narrative that glorifies overwork and disconnection. Chronic stress—particularly the kind linked to tech overload and digital fatigue—keeps us in a survival loop where we can’t even notice how to be helpful to ourselves, let alone to those around us.

When we’re stuck in this reactive state, we miss the subtleties. We stop noticing the way the light filters through leaves, the scent of damp earth, or the softness in a friend’s eyes.

Rewiring Through Presence

On a three-hour forest therapy walk, we begin to return to our senses. We learn to notice again—not just the world around us, but the nature within us. We remember that we are part of this glorious, living ecosystem.

The simple act of noticing is a powerful kind of medicine. It opens the door to awe and wonder in everyday life. It also rekindles our compassion. As we feel more connected to the land, we begin to notice the humanness in others—and spontaneous acts of kindness often follow.

This is not just poetic. It’s biological. When we relax, our parasympathetic nervous system engages. Our brain chemistry shifts. We become more receptive, creative, and relational. In short: we become more human.

Forest Therapy: Ancient Wisdom, Modern Science

Indigenous cultures have known for millennia what science is only beginning to validate: that nature heals. Forest therapy—also known as shinrin-yoku or "forest bathing"—has been integrated into public healthcare in countries like Japan, South Korea, and Germany.

Meanwhile, our culture has replaced these simple, natural medicines with synthetic fixes—quick hits that further disconnect us from our inner rhythm and the Earth itself.

But we can return.

As an ANFT-trained Forest Therapy Guide, I offer simple ways to reconnect—practices that slow us down and help us remember what we’ve always known: that we belong to the Earth, and the Earth belongs to us.

Chaminade: A Trailblazer in Eco-Wellness

I’m proud to be guiding walks at Chaminade Resort & Spa in Santa Cruz, home to one of the first certified Forest Therapy Trails in the Bay Area. Chaminade is at the forefront of the eco-wellness movement, blending somatic stress relief with the healing power of forest therapy. This trail isn’t just a path through the woods—it’s a place to release stress from the body, reconnect to your senses, and experience nature as medicine.

To learn more or schedule a retreat or private walk, visit www.somaticecotherapy.com and set up a time through my calendar.

Retreat as an Act of Reverence

This is why I offer retreats that combine forest therapy, self-myofascial release, and digital detox. These experiences aren’t just about stress relief—they are about remembering who we are. When we treat the tech-induced tension stored in our bodies, reset our dopamine patterns, and immerse ourselves in the wild, we come back into harmony with ourselves—and the land we belong to.

So I invite you:

• Take a weekend off.

• Bring your team.

• Come as you are.

Care deeply for yourself. Reconnect with the natural world. Learn the kind of knowing that can’t be found in a book or a scroll—the kind that lives in the trees, the silence, the breath between thoughts.

And maybe—just maybe—this is how we start the real grassroots conservation movement: by helping people fall in love with the Earth again.

Because people protect what they love.