Certified Nature & Forest Therapy Guide in ReVibe NYC’s “Forest Room”. Photo credit Johnny Fogg

When I arrived at the 5th floor space in busy mid-town Manhattan and opened the door to the “Forest Room”, I thought to myself, ‘Wow, this actually might work’.  I just drove in from Vermont where I conduct Forest Bathing Walks as a Certified Nature & Forest Therapy Guide in parks and well… actual forests.  This small room was to be my “forest” as part of ReVibe NYC’s launch and as I settled in, I found myself surrounded by familiar friends; soft moist moss, dark soil beneath my feet, trees, ferns, echoing sounds of birds, tree stumps for sitting on and the rich smell of the forest in the summertime.  But wait… I was in a room, it was definitely winter and we were in the middle of a major metropolis.  Our first guest was about to arrive to experience something none of us had ever tried before:  A guided Indoor Forest Bathing Experience.

Entering Into The Forest Room

I am experienced at guiding people on walks in the forest.  They are typically with groups of up to 15 people at a time and last 2-3 hours.  I thought, how could I replicate the experience I typically offer, but in this room? One major difference was that I would take in up to 4 people at a time for a 15 minute session.  This was a tiny room (relatively) and people couldn’t exactly wander down the trail and explore.  And this wasn’t exactly a “natural environment”. It was completely human made.  ‘But so was central park’, a voice of mine chimed in trying to find some sort of logic to all of this.  I soon realized that thinking and theorizing about the room and the experience I was about to offer wasn’t the point.  Forest Bathing is about the senses and this wasn’t going to be any different.  The guests started to come.  They took their shoes off, were offered a tea from a Japanese Tea Ceremony Master in the reception area and as I opened the door to the “outside”.

Settling in

People’s reaction as they entered the “forest room” was almost always one of awe and surprise.  Was this the same “awe” one gets in nature?  The same “awe“ that psychologists say can play an important role in enhancing health, happiness and social interactions?  I needed to stop thinking about all of this and simply start feeling and focus on my senses. 

After that first response, the next thing that typically occurred to them was the quality of the air.  The room had a humidifier that spilled out a light rolling fog from the corner and diffused essential oils of cypress and fir.  The plants had been breathing in the space for a couple days.  Next up for people’s process was ‘which stump to sit on’? A familiar question from my walks in the woods.  ‘Where ever feels right to you’, I responded.  In Forest Bathing, it’s all about following your intuition, feeling comfortable and relating spatially to the environment that you’re in.  After the guests sat, it seemed like they didn’t know what would happen next.  Many had a look of bewilderment.  Completely understandable.  What does one DO in a forest room, anyway?  I began to guide. 

Over the course of the next three days, I refined the guided experience and settled on what seemed to work best for the forest room.  People came from all backgrounds as you’d likely find in a city like New York.  The majority of them were New Yorkers, living day to day in a highly urbanized environment.  I could relate.  I lived in NYC for 14 years before moving back to Vermont.  I explained to them what Forest Bathing was, where it originated and that I would guide them on an experience that would resemble the ones I give in the forest.  I brought the same “tools” such the stone I use on my walks for people to hold as they speak, the flute I play call people back from their dive into their sensory experience and my trusty iron Japanese teapot.  I then offered my guests “invitations” or prompts to help people tune in to their environment.

Forest Room, Revibe NYC. Photo credit Johnny Fogg

The Invitations

My first invitation was for them to announce their name, to introduce themselves not only to the humans in the room but to the other living organisms that make up their environment.  I reminded them that the plants were alive implying that the room wasn’t one full of props but it was one of living organisms that were aware of our presence on some metaphysical level.  I didn’t want to get “heady” so I refrained from pontificating and focused on emotions and feelings.  I constantly remind myself of this.

I asked the guests to speak about what their relationship was to nature.  Like your relationship to another person, are you best friends? Estranged relatives? In love? Taking a break?  One after another I heard them describe their relationship to nature. Their answers ranged but had one common thread: I like nature. I used to spend a lot of time with nature (especially as a child). I want to be in nature more.’  I detected a slight resignation to the fact that it’s just so hard to break out of the city’s orbit to feel like you’re getting away enough to feel like you’re in nature. 

Nature found in Central Park, NYC

Other people who lived in the city spoke about the wonderful parks where they would get their nature fix.  Others who lived outside the city, spoke warmly and proudly of their backyard haven.  One man spoke of sitting in his backyard forest and being visited by his friendly deer who he left apples out for.  I also asked people to speak about an early childhood memory about nature- all were pleasant and full of childish wonder but one woman was reminded of her mother whom she recently lost.  Her mother, the woman explained, was in the forest room with us.  Nature can conjure, hold and honor our feelings and this room was no different.  The Forest Room absorbed and processed the deep feelings that were being expressed just like a forest does.