Forest Therapy Walk
A guide leads the group very slowly through a park, garden or forest with a series of short sensory 'invitations': notice what is in motion, smell the ground, find a spot and stay with it. After each invitation people gather in a circle and share what they noticed if they want to. The walk usually covers less than a kilometre and ends with tea and a closing round.
Use to open a retreat or close an intense period of work, when the group is depleted and needs to recover attention before it can think well together.
Solves: Teams arrive at offsites exhausted and the first half day is lost to people still running on stress.
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Step 1: Gather in a circle, set the pace and explain that every invitation is optional (10 min).
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Step 2: First invitation: slow walk noticing what is in motion around you (15 min).
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Step 3: Sharing circle: who wants to say what they noticed? (10 min)
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Step 4: Two or three more sensory invitations, each followed by a short sharing circle (40-60 min).
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Step 5: Sit spot: each person sits alone with something that caught their attention (20 min).
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Step 6: Closing tea and a final round on what you are taking with you (15 min).
- Walk the route first and pick spots that are flat and easy to reach; most walks cover well under a kilometre.
- Say that people can adapt or skip any invitation; that permission is part of the method.
- Use certified guides or your own experience; do not forage tea plants you cannot identify with certainty.
- Winter version with insulated sit pads and a shorter sit spot.