Welcome New Trainee
The ANFT Way of Forest Therapy
Your journey to becoming a forest therapy guide will begin soon. We look forward to meeting you and guiding you through the evolution of becoming a certified forest therapy guide. In preparation for your training, here are some resources that can support your journey and forms at the end to complete and bring with you to your training.
ANFT has developed a specific approach to forest therapy that is widely emulated around the world. As of the end of 2019, we have trained over 790 guides who are working in 48 different countries on six continents. In every cultural context, the ANFT framework for forest therapy is providing the right combination of foundational structure and open-ended creativity for the practice to take root. Guides learn the ANFT framework and the theory, philosophy, and skills to teach the practice effectively. Just as importantly, they learn a core set of principles and values. A few of these are:
- There is a specific intention to connect with nature in a healing way. This requires mindfully moving through the landscape in ways that cultivate presence, opening all the senses, and actively communicating with the land.
- It is not something to rush through. Shinrin-Yoku walks are not undertaken with the primary goal of physical exercise. We prefer to avoid the term “hiking” because of its implications of physical exertion. As taught by the Association, Shinrin-Yoku walks are typically a mile or less and range in duration from two to four hours.
- Healing interactions require giving generously of our attention. We encourage becoming fully present through an evolving series of invitations given by guides, who have learned to listen deeply to the forest and often co-create these invitations in the moment, working in partnership with the forest and what it offers. Each invitation is crafted to help participants slow down and open our senses, giving the forest access to our emotional, physical, psychological, and spiritual being. As we do this we begin to perceive more deeply the nuances of the constant stream of communications rampant in any natural setting. We learn to let the land and its messages penetrate into our minds and hearts more deeply.
- Forest Therapy is best seen as a practice, not a one-time event. Developing a meaningful relationship with nature occurs over time, and is deepened by returning again and again throughout the natural cycles of the seasons. Like yoga, meditation, prayer, working out, and many other worthy endeavors, shinrin-yoku is a practice. And because it is a practice, it is best to learn it from a qualified guide.
- Forest Therapy is not an extractive process, where we treat forests as a “resource” from which we extract well being for humans. Instead, it is a deeply relational practice, characterized by a sense of loving and tender connection. This connection leads naturally to an ethic of tenderness and reciprocity. Forest therapy is about creating relationships between humans and the more-than-human world, in which the relationship itself becomes a field of healing and a source of joyful well-being.
Besides being a deeply healing practice, Forest Therapy is also an emerging community of friends and activists who are making a global impact. As we learn to love the forests, we become more engaged in working for their well-being. We’re grateful you are joining us!
Forest Therapy Press & Research
Books by Forest Therapy Guides
