Nature is therapy

Amidst a Quebecois forest.

Over an absolutely gorgeous Fall long weekend, I attended a retreat for therapists. It was in the middle of a forest in Quebec, and it was transformational.

Part of the retreat was learning about ecotherapy, and how we are not just beings that can enter nature, but we are nature. The forest and its inhabitants can be known to us as ‘other-than-human’, a signifier that there is no true hierarchy to living things.

I attended the retreat to further my knowledge of what is commonly called ‘nature therapy‘ and how it can engage with my own way of working with clients, especially as I incorporate the forest in my Walk & Talk sessions. As the weekend progressed, I learned that, in the forest, those in my field aren’t therapists – the forest is the therapist. We are mere guides.

I like that. A lot.

Before our first workshops of the day, I would enter the lush surroundings and ‘forest bathe’ for two hours. Alone in the quiet, and watching the sun rise, spreading its golden light on the treetops, I was able to slow down my brain. I strode through the crunchiest of fallen leaves, listened to the babbling brook, was startled by ravens, and watched as leaves fell as if in slow motion from on high. These were some serious storybook settings. I didn’t want to leave.

I have returned to Toronto – a loud and bustling city – with a new resolve and new skills for tackling the busy or challenging parts of my brain. I woke in the wee hours of this morning, my thoughts ready to race around and create their own noise before my eyes wanted to open. So I allowed myself to drift back to the forest and the images I have stored about the trees. I remembered what some of my senses told me – how fresh the air was, how soft the ground was, how the light shone through the branches – and I was able to slow my mind and fall back asleep.

So as the season begins to shift, ask yourself how often you’re paying attention to the part of you that is nature. Just like the trees, we need light and warmth and nutrients and care. Feed yourself.