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Forest

Guided Forest Therapy Walks

What is
Forest Therapy?

It’s an invitation

To slow down

To breathe

To remember

You are nature.

Forest therapy, or "forest bathing" (shinrin-yoku), is a research-backed, mindful practice of immersing oneself in nature to improve physical and mental health. It involves slow, sensory-oriented walks in wooded environments to lower stress, boost the immune system, and reduce blood pressure.

The Background

The idea behind the practice of Forest Bathing, or shinrin-yoku, originated in Japan in the 1980s, when experts noticed an alarming spike in illness as society spent more and more time indoors. To combat this 'time sickness', doctors began prescribing slow walks in natural environments.

It’s not hiking.

In fact, it’s not physical exercise at all. And it’s not a nature walk.

Instead, your guide will lead you in a series of invitations designed to help you tune in deeply to your senses.

“Nature is not a place to visit, it is home.”
— Gary Snyder, poet, essayist and activist

Experience Forest Therapy

  • Group Forest Bathing

    2.5 hour sessions for groups

    (minimum two people, maximum 10)

    $40 / person

  • Private Forest Bathing

    One-on-one walks are a great option for people looking for a deeper connection and a more personalized option.

    $65 / person

  • Public Forest Bathing

    Join me for a half day of Forest Therapy! Watch this website and/or our socials for public walks and bring your family or friends to try forest bathing in beautiful Muskoka.

    $35 / person

  • Zoom Forest Therapy

    While being outside is ideal, it can get really cold—and really hot!—here in Muskoka. I can bring Forest Therapy to your home via Zoom, 2 to 2.5 hour sessions) either indoors beside a window, near your plants, or outside in your backyard.

    (minimum of 5 participants - group size capped at 15)

    $40 / person

  • Events, Milestones, and Retreats

    Forest Therapy walks make a great addition to special events, meetings or retreats. I can come to your site and lead a walk (or two) for your event participants.

    Please fill out our booking form with your event details and I will contact you with package selections.

    Book Now

I thought the earth remembered me, she took me back so tenderly,

arranging her dark skirts, her pockets full of lichens and seeds.

I slept as never before, a stone on the riverbed, nothing between me and the white fire of the stars but my thoughts,

and they floated light as moths among the branches of the perfect trees.

All night I heard the small kingdoms breathing around me, the insects, and the birds who do their work in the darkness.

All night I rose and fell, as if in water, grappling with a luminous doom.

By morning I had vanished at least a dozen times into something better.

— Mary Oliver, Sleeping in the Forest

Benefits of
Forest Therapy

Every day, scientific data is revealing what we know intuitively: spending time in nature keeps us healthy.

A key element in this is the aromatic compounds released by trees, known as phytoncides. When we inhale these oils, our bodies respond in remarkable ways, including strengthening our immune response and reducing stress. Beyond the chemical effects, the full sensory experience of the forest—the dappled sunlight, the sound of rustling leaves, the earthy scents—contributes significantly to our mental clarity and contentment.

This holistic practice has been shown to improve attention, boost creativity, lift our mood, and renew our essential relationship with the natural world.

↓ decrease stress, blood pressure, heart rate

↓ relieve anxiety, anger, depression

↑ restore focus, increase energy, and attention span

↑ feelings of calm, peace, gratitude, and inter-connectedness

↑ critical thinking and decision making

↑ Natural killer cell activity (cancer and tumor fighting cells increase)

↑ creativity and intuition

↑ feelings of awe, wonder, and gratitude

↑ immune system

❀ deep relaxation and a sense of ease, and increases sleep

❀ healthier relationships with self, others and nature

❀ healthier aging

About Your Guide Kristy

I’m a certified ANFT (Association of Nature and Forest Therapy) Forest Bathing Guide, healing and reclaiming my wild self after decades surrounded by the concrete and chaos of urban living. I’d love to help you slow down, reduce the noise, explore your senses in the more-than-human world, and reclaim your own beautiful, wild self.

What People are Saying

  • “Meditation and yoga help, but nothing grounds me like a forest therapy walk. The calm of the woods reconnects me with myself in a way nothing else can.”

    — Sasha R., Oakville

  • “Kristy’s peaceful presence opened the door to something essential. The walk felt like a gentle conversation with the forest, leaving me refreshed and deeply at ease.”

    — Catherine J., Huntsville

  • “Thank you for guiding our Forest Therapy Walk. I cherished every moment and found myself reflecting on it throughout the night. The experience left me grateful and truly changed.”

    — Sharon G., Mississauga

  • “I’ve always enjoyed nature, but this was different. Slowing down and engaging my senses made time feel suspended. The guide’s support let me truly relax and just be.”

    — Darren M., Toronto

‘The forest is the therapist; the guide opens the doors’

— M. Amos Clifford, founder of the
Association of Nature and Forest Therapy
Guides and Programs (ANFT)

Embark on a journey
of awakening as you engage in this beautiful practice, designed to re-ignite awe, curiosity and wonder while healing our time-starved brains, bodies and souls.

“Nature does not hurry, yet
everything is accomplished.”
- Lao Tzu