About forest therapy
Photo above: Limestone cliffs rise above the Root River in Root River Park in Olmsted County, Minnesota. Photo at right: A bumble bee collects pollen from a goldenrod plant at Quarry Hill Nature Center in Rochester, Minnesota
What is forest therapy?
Forest therapy—also known as forest bathing, or shinrin-yoku in Japanese—is a guided, slow-paced experience that helps people reconnect with the natural world through their senses. Rooted in both science and our shared evolutionary history, forest therapy offers a gentle antidote to modern life’s speed, noise, and constant cognitive demand.
“Thus, from the war of nature, from famine and death, the most exalted object which we are capable of conceiving, namely, the production of the higher animals, directly follows. ... whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.” – Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species, 1859
Human beings did not evolve seated at desks staring at computer screens. The concrete-block office, the steel-and-plastic automobile, the treated-lumber-framed home—these are not our natural habitats.
We evolved among trees, grasses, flowing water, soil, stone, and countless other more-than-human beings. We are creatures of the forest, with nervous systems that developed in relationship with living landscapes. Our eyes are adapted for gazing at woods, grasslands, river valleys, and distant horizons—not fluorescent lighting and scrolling feeds.
Forest therapy provides a way to return—gently and intentionally—to the environments in which our bodies and minds learned how to regulate, restore, and connect.
What forest therapy is
Forest therapy is a guided experience that invites participants to slow down and engage their senses in a natural setting. Rather than focusing on distance, pace, or performance, forest therapy emphasizes presence, embodiment, and awareness.
A trained guide offers a series of gentle invitations designed to help participants shift out of analytical thinking and into sensory experience—listening, noticing, touching, breathing, and being.
What forest therapy is not
Forest therapy walks are not:
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Hikes or fitness activities
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Psychotherapy
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Nature education or naturalist-led walks
They are best described as a form of walking meditation, practiced in relationship with the living world.
What to expect on a guided walk
A typical forest therapy walk lasts about two hours and covers less than a mile over relatively even terrain. The experience generally includes:
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A brief orientation and settling-in period
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Slow, mindful movement through the landscape
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Several guided sensory invitations
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Optional opportunities to share observations
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A closing tea with light snacks
Participation is always invitational. You are encouraged to engage in ways that feel comfortable for you—including silence and opting out of any activity. Walks are relaxed, unhurried, and include opportunities to sit and rest.
The guide’s role is to hold a safe, welcoming container—offering structure while honoring each participant’s autonomy, comfort level, and lived experience.
Adaptability and accessibility
Forest therapy walks can be adapted to meet a wide range of needs and abilities. Pace, terrain, and invitations can be modified to support physical comfort, sensory sensitivity, emotional safety, and accessibility.
Training and professional standards
Guides trained by the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy complete an intensive certification program that includes approximately 200 hours of study and practice over six months, followed by an in-person training immersion. This program emphasizes safety, trauma-informed practice, ethics, and accessibility.
ANFT has trained more than 3,000 guides in over 65 countries, and its certification is regarded as the most comprehensive forest therapy guide training available worldwide.
Forest therapy does not promise outcomes—but many participants report feeling calmer, more grounded, more connected, and more at ease in their bodies after a walk. Research shows that spending time in nature affects our bodies in ways that facilitate these changes.
If you are curious about slowing down, reconnecting with your senses, and experiencing nature in a new way, a guided forest therapy walk may be a welcoming place to begin.