What is Forest Therapy?
Reduces Stress
Hormones
Improves
Sleep
Lowers Blood
Pressure
Boosts Immune
Function
Reduces
Inflammation
Improves Mental Wellbeing
Rooted in the Japanese tradition of shinrin-yoku ('forest bathing') forest therapy is a research-backed practice of slowing down and immersing yourself in nature. It's not hiking or exercise; it's presence. And studies show it reduces stress hormones, lowers blood pressure, strengthens immune function, and more.
But there's an art to it — certified guides use proven techniques to help you drop into a depth of connection that's hard to find on a solo walk.
What's in a session?
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Meet your group and guide at the trailhead.​
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Settle in with a brief introduction to forest bathing and what the forest has to offer your senses.
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​Open with a grounding meditation — breathe, arrive, and let the forest start doing its work.​​
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Take a small, slow journey through the woods and receive a series of invitations that will help you open your senses and connect with the forest in new ways.
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Close with a cup of herbal tea and a sharing circle — a quiet moment to reflect on your experience before returning to the world.
Sessions last about 2 hours and cover less than a mile of forest. We offer both introductory and ongoing sessions.
Join a Session
The Unhurried Forest
An Introduction to Forest Therapy
A natural starting point — a guided two-hour immersion for those new to forest therapy. Moving slowly through the woods, you'll be offered a series of invitations to deepen your attention — to sound, texture, light, and breath. Groups are kept intentionally small so that the forest, and the silence, can do their work. Tea and a closing sharing circle are included.
$75
Forest Bathing Circle
An Ongoing Practice
A natural next step —a recurring forest bathing walk for those who have already tasted the practice with us and are ready to make it part of their lives. Arriving already attuned, this circle moves with greater ease into the quiet. Each walk is complete in itself — come regularly as an ongoing practice, or drop in whenever the season allows.
$45
Sessions typically take place in Jefferson Memorial Forest, Kentucky's largest municipal urban forest. This remarkable place encompasses over 6,500 acres of forest, making it one of the largest urban forests in the United States.
Three Practices With The Same Root
Eastern Medicine, forest therapy, and nature-based Qigong each emerged from the same ancient understanding — that human beings are not separate from the natural world, and that returning to it is itself a form of healing. Acupuncture helps the body remember its own natural ease. Forest therapy re-establishes a felt connection to the living world around us. Qigong uses breath and movement to bring us back into harmony with the rhythms of nature within and without.
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Hillary and Jonathan Day have spent over a decade as Eastern Medicine physicians and acupuncturists, and nearly two decades studying and practicing Qigong. As certified forest therapy guides, they bring all three traditions into their work — not as separate offerings, but as different doors into the same room.