Tag: Healing Nature

In order to participate in this program, please email olivia@smithcenter.org.

We have limited spots available for the 8-week Strolls for Well-Being at Brookside Gardens program beginning in September. These spots are first-come-first-served. For more information about the program, please read below.

Strolls for Well-Being is an evidence based program that promotes emotional healing through focused time spent in nature. Drawing on psychological principles such as mindfulness as well as practices like shinrin-yoku (Japanese “forest bathing”), this eight-week program is a balm for anyone struggling with difficult questions, suffering from stress or trauma, or seeking greater peace and fulfillment.

Program:

Over the course of 8 weeks, participants:
1) Participate in a facilitated group meeting, where they receive an introduction to the program as well as the beautiful full-color, 110-page guided journal that will guide them on their emotional journey
(journals are available in English or Spanish);
2) Complete 12 walks individually in various areas of Brookside Gardens, with their journal and on their own schedule. Each stroll has its own theme, reflected in the journal with readings & writing prompts;
3) Meet again with their group at the middle and end of the program to share insights and learn about others’ experiences;
4) Finish the program with a sense of renewal and an appreciation for the healing power of nature!

Benefits:

Survey data using the PANAS and PGIS scales shows that participants in the Strolls for Well-Being at Brookside Gardens finish the program with:
• More positive emotions and fewer negative emotions than before
• Increased motivation to grow and change in their lives

Session Dates:

You may choose from three scheduling options for the group meetings at the beginning, middle, and end of the program. The sessions will be held at the Brookside Gardens Visitor Center (1800 Glenallan Avenue in Wheaton). Meetings will be facilitated in English, though guided journals are available in English or Spanish.

  • Saturdays | Sept 9, Oct 7, and Nov 4 10:00 – 11:30 am
  • OR Tuesdays | Sept 26, Oct 24, and Nov 14 11:00 am – 12:30 pm
  • OR Wednesdays | Sept 27, Oct 25, and Nov 15 11:00 am – 12:30 pm

This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, you must register here or by emailing carla@smithcenter.org

with Melanie Choukas-Bradley, Author, Naturalist and Certified Forest Bathing Guide

Rock Creek Park by Susan Austin Roth, A Year in Rock Creek Park

Do you have your own special place in nature where you can go for comfort, joy, and healing?

 

A place where you can breathe deeply, soak up the scents of the earth, flowers and trees and watch the clouds undisturbed?

 

Join us for an hour-long session on finding and enjoying your own wild home, whether it be your backyard, a neighborhood park or garden, or a front porch or balcony.

 

Studies from around the world have shown the mental and physical health benefits of spending time in nature—lower blood pressure, increased immunity to disease, quicker healing, improved mood and focus and better sleep among them. Melanie Choukas-Bradley will take you on a virtual journey through the beauty of our Washington, DC collective wild home as she guides you in establishing your own special place for health and well-being. She’ll also share some of the simple wisdom she learned on a forest bathing trip throughout Japan. Learn how a relationship with a special place can be as integral to your happiness as your relationships with loved ones.

About Melanie Choukas-Bradley, Author, Naturalist and Certified Forest Bathing Guide

Melanie outdoors, by Ana Ka’ahanui/Capital Nature

 

Melanie Choukas-Bradley is a Naturalist, Certified Forest Bathing Guide and award-winning Author of seven nature books including The Joy of Forest Bathing; Resilience—Connecting with Nature in a Time of Crisis and A Year in Rock Creek Park. She leads nature and forest bathing walks for Smithsonian Associates, the US Botanic Garden, the Audubon Naturalist Society, the Nature Conservancy, Politics & Prose bookstore and many other organizations. Melanie is on the Advisory Board of Capital Nature.