Woodland Renewal
The forest holds stories, the earth offers stillness, and within that space, you find peace.
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Located in Lansing, MI
Welcome to the calming world of shinrin-yoku, also known as forest bathing!
This is a gentle, restorative practice that invites you to slow down, step into the forest’s embrace, and fully immerse yourself in its magic. Unlike hiking or exercise, forest bathing is a mindful, guided experience that encourages you to engage your senses—listening, touching, smelling, and deeply connecting with the natural world around you.
🌲 Welcome to Forest Bathing with Marie 🌿
I'm a Montessori guide, yoga practitioner and forest bathing facilitator based in Lansing, Michigan. I offer guided nature immersions that help you slow down, reconnect with your senses, and feel more grounded—in body, heart, and spirit.
The health benefits of forest bathing
The health benefits of forest bathing
Combining forest bathing, yoga, and awareness practices offers numerous health benefits, fostering physical, emotional, and mental well-being. Here's a list of key benefits:
Stress Reduction: Both forest bathing and yoga help activate the parasympathetic nervous system, promoting relaxation and reducing the body's stress response.
Improved Immune Function: Research shows that spending time in nature (forest bathing) can boost immune health by increasing the number of natural killer cells, which play a role in fighting infections and cancer.
Increased Mindfulness and Presence: Awareness practices integrated into forest bathing and yoga help enhance present-moment awareness, reducing anxiety and promoting emotional balance.
Enhanced Mental Clarity: The combination of mindful movement in yoga and mindful walking or stillness in the forest helps clear mental clutter, improving focus and clarity.
Emotional Regulation: Forest bathing and yoga foster emotional balance by engaging the mind and body in soothing, intentional movements and breathwork.
Improved Breathing and Lung Capacity: Yoga breathing techniques (pranayama) combined with the fresh air of the forest support deeper, more regulated breathing, improving oxygen intake and lung capacity.
Better Sleep Quality: Exposure to nature and physical activity from yoga can improve sleep by reducing cortisol levels, which are linked to stress and poor sleep patterns.
Increased Physical Flexibility and Strength: Yoga poses help improve flexibility and strength, while the calming effects of forest bathing provide a restorative counterpart, reducing muscle tension.
Improved Circulation: The gentle movement of yoga poses, along with the calmness of nature walks, promotes better blood circulation, contributing to overall cardiovascular health.
Heightened Connection with Nature: Forest bathing enhances the mind-body connection to nature, fostering a deeper sense of peace and well-being.
Better Mental Health: Regular practice of yoga and nature immersion has been linked to reductions in symptoms of depression, anxiety, and PTSD, promoting overall mental health.
Reduced Blood Pressure: The combination of slow, mindful yoga movements and the calming effect of nature exposure can help lower blood pressure over time.
Increased Creativity: The serene environment of the forest and the flow of yoga promote creativity and problem-solving by calming the mind and enhancing focus.
Strengthened Immune System: Forest bathing, with its natural healing properties, works synergistically with yoga to boost the immune system, making the body more resilient to illnesses.
Improved Balance and Coordination: Yoga poses, especially those involving balance, help enhance proprioception and coordination, which can be further supported by the natural terrain during forest walks.
2.5 hours Forest Bathing (with or w/out asana)
Single Session: $80 single person
Group Session (2-6 people): $50 per person
1 hour Forest Bathing (with or w/out asana)
Single Session: $50 single person
Group Session (2-6 people): $30 per person
⬅ Choose Your Journey ➡
⬅ Choose Your Journey ➡
2.5 Hour Forest Immersion w/wo asana
1.5 Hour Forest Immersion w/wo asana
Forest Bathing Session Overview
Forest Bathing Session Overview
Introduction (10-15 minutes)
Welcome and brief introduction to forest bathing (shinrin-yoku).
Discuss the intention for the session: being present, connecting with nature, and self-exploration.
Settling In (15-20 minutes)
Begin with a grounding exercise to help you relax and connect to the present moment.
Optional: A short guided meditation or mindfulness practice to center and tune into the senses.
Immersive Experience (45-60 minutes)
Walk slowly and mindfully through the forest, allowing yourself to notice sights, sounds, smells, and sensations.
I’ll guide you with invitations to connect more deeply with nature, whether through breathing exercises, sensory awareness, or quiet reflection.
Asana poses can be incorporated at any point, depending on your needs—whether you feel like stretching in a particular way or simply need to pause and ground yourself. We add what we need and let go of what we don't.
Free Exploration & Reflection (15-20 minutes)
A bit of time to explore the space on your own or with others in the group, perhaps journaling or sitting in silence.
Optional: If you're open to it, I may guide a short meditation or body scan to deepen the experience.
Closing Circle (10-15 minutes)
Gather together to reflect, share experiences, or simply sit in quiet presence.
Closing tea ceremony
This session is all about flexibility and allowing space for your own journey. If at any point you feel like connecting more deeply through movement, breathing, or guided reflection, we can incorporate that. If you prefer more space for quiet exploration, that’s honored too. The flow is always responsive to the person or group and the energy of the moment. I patiently wait for you to express where you feel you need guidance, and through observation and tuning in, I offer gentle suggestions when needed.
Nature is Calling Your Workspace. Answer It!
Nature is Calling Your Workspace. Answer It!
Are you ready to unlock the power of nature? Forest therapy can transform your environment, boost creativity, reduce stress, and foster deeper connections. Whether you’re looking to improve communication, enhance focus, or simply create a healthier work culture, learning more about forest therapy is a great place to start. Dive into the benefits today and discover how nature can help you and your team thrive. Follow the link to explore more about forest therapy and how it can benefit your group.
Give the Gift of Nature's Therapy
Give the Gift of Nature's Therapy
Email any questions you have to: marie@woodland-renewal.com
An easy way to pay, just click on the woodland fairy:
I'd love to hear about your forest experience. Click the tab above to fill out the Post Forest Therapy survey—it’s a perfect way to share your reflections, and I’m looking forward to hearing about the moments that resonated with you.
Sensory Exercises to include in your practice
- Expanded Focus Exercise
Purpose: Heighten awareness of the entire sensory field by softly shifting your attention across sights, sounds, smells, touch, and even the sensation of air moving around you. Imagine tuning into the "background hum" of your environment. - Micro-Sensation Scanning
Purpose: Cultivate sensitivity to the subtle—like the brush of fabric on your skin or the warmth of sunlight. Slowly scan through your body, pausing at areas where sensations are faint but present. - Sound Weaving
Purpose: Interconnect auditory experiences with spatial awareness. Focus on layers of sound (near, far, loud, quiet) and visualize them weaving into the fabric of your space. - Scent Mapping
Purpose: Build a sensory map of your surroundings by identifying, isolating, and "locating" scents. Let the smells guide your awareness of your environment's geography. - Proprioceptive Play
Purpose: Refine body-in-space awareness. Engage in playful movements—shifting weight, balancing, or stretching—to explore how your body relates to its surroundings. - Visual Precision Practice
Purpose: Deepen awareness of visual details by observing light, shadow, texture, and color variations. Allow your eyes to move deliberately, noting subtle differences. - Vagus Nerve Stimulation
Purpose: Pair sensory awareness with calm through breathwork, humming, or gentle neck stretches. Activate relaxation while tuning into sensations around you. - Synesthetic Exploration
Purpose: Blend sensory modalities for a multidimensional experience. Imagine how a sound might "feel" or how a scent might "look," expanding sensory creativity. - Dynamic Grounding Walk
Purpose: Combine movement and sensory awareness by walking slowly and attentively. Notice the feel of the ground, shifting pressure, and the rhythm of your steps. - Echo Touch
Purpose: Balance awareness between internal sensations (like heartbeat or breath) and external sensations (like the texture of objects). Feel both simultaneously for holistic presence.
Peer reviewed articles:
Peer reviewed articles:
Marie Crutcher, M.Ed.
Montessori Educator | SEL Facilitator | RYT 500 | Forest Therapy Guide
Email: marie@woodland-renewal.com
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