New offering. Eco-therapy on the homestead
I’m now offering eco-therapy and forest bathing sessions (Japanese shinrin-yoku = making contact with, taking in the atmosphere of the forest, and connecting with your inner divinity) right here on my homestead, Lavender Hill Farm, in Black Mountain, North Carolina.
For millennia, forests have provided us with all the essentials we need to survive. Oxygen to breathe and clean water to drink. They shape the topography of the land, dam rivers, provide us with food, clothing, and materials to build shelters, tools. Trees and their bark, flowers, mushrooms and a thousand different plants provide materials to make tinctures, salves, and other medicinals to cure our bodies and soothe our minds, spirits, and souls.
In 2004, researchers discovered the link between forest “medicine” and human health and how trees can help us achieve better health and happiness. When we relax by going for a forest bath, we experience a Central Nervous System reset. The Sympathetic Nervous System (responsible for the fight/flight/freeze/fawn reactions to varying levels of stress followed by an increase in cortisol levels) begins to calm down. The Parasympathetic Nervous System (rest and digest) comes online as indicated by a suppression of the fight or flight system, lowered stress levels of cortisol and adrenaline, drop in blood pressure, slower pulse rate, stress reduction, improved quality of sleep, and elevated mood. Regular, monthly, forest-bathing strengthens the immune system and increases NK cell activity. Natural Killer cells are a type of white blood cells, so named because they attack and kill unwanted cells due to infection, virus, or tumor cells. People with higher NK activity show lower incidence of diseases, such as cancer.
Trees release phytoncides that protect them from bacteria, insects, harmful fungi, and also provide a pathway between trees so that they can communicate with each other. Trees also provide essential oils and aromatherapy that stimulate pleasant mood and reduce stress for all of us humans!
Whether you live locally in Buncombe County, or several hours away, come walk and talk with me for clinical therapy, eco-therapy, forest-bathing, or life coaching sessions right here on my homestead in the woods, while clearing your mind and elevating your mood!
Schedule a clinical therapy or life coaching session and join me for an eco-therapy or forest-bathing therapy session, right here, on my homestead.
Overnight accommodations, meals, snacks, and a tea ceremony are included with all full day sessions at Lavender Hill Farm. Feel free to contact me for eco-therapy rates on half day and full day sessions.