 by Anne Markham Bailey
We drop into a narrow canyon in a gap between storms. The narrow creek rushes beside us and off the bluff, water aloft and falling into the larger creek below. The hemlocks begin to fill the mid-story as we descend. We move more quickly than is typical on a Forest Bathing immersion because we want to reach the rock shelter before the next line of weather arrives. Still, we move into silence after our initial introductions and safety protocols at the top of the trail. The forest begins to take us in as we begin to open. We are hosting four military veterans on this immersive Forest Bathing session, a beta session for a new program for military veterans that we are launching and seeking to fund. For over two years I have collaborated with Janice Barrett, the Bankhead Outreach and Education Coordinator at Wild Alabama on a monthly day-long Forest Bathing program in the Bankhead National Forest. In heat and in cold, we guide participants into deep connection with what is now being termed the more-than-human world rather than nature. The term nature implies a separation between humans and everything else (air/water/rocks/trees), when in actuality, none such separation exists. We move into the senses through guided prompts, and participants most often feel the reality of our connectedness. This process yields impressive evidence-based benefits for physical, mental, spiritual, and social well-being. In addition to the military veterans on this blustery day, we are hosting Sheila Holifield, Regional Public Relations Specialist for the Southern District of the US Forest Service. Sheila is writing an article on the launch of our new Forest Bathing program Forest Bathing For Veteran Wellness. Wild Alabama has applied for an NEEF grant to fund the new program. (Sadly, we did not get the grant.) The Forest Service launched a new initiative that focuses on how nature connects us, and our program is a good fit for an article. Our program is different from the wilderness programs for veterans. We developed a protocol for persons with disabilities as well as for those who can hike the relatively short distance into the steep narrow canyon. The program does not require out-of-state travel, and is workable as a day trip. We begin the program by noticing the feeling of breathing, a crucial relationship in our lives that we typically ignore. This is an opportunity to notice how much we are isolated in our thoughts, even though we are made for connection. We are only connected with all of being regardless of our beliefs or ideas. When we breathe, we engage with the living air so that we might live. We can explore this relationship by noticing the details of our experience. What does it feel like to be a body breathing? Does anything shift when a person becomes aware of the air as a fundamental ally? The sky darkens and the birds are silent. The storms breaks as we settle into our bodies. Torrents of water stream through the tulip poplars, oaks and hemlocks. The creek gushes, The waterfall roars. Together in the rock shelter, we notice the lightening and thunder beyond the veil of rain. We move through the program protocols, coming into a sharing circle after each invitation to notice with the senses, exploring an expansive relationship with the forest - the trees, the water, the stone, and the sky. Several participants voice the power of the dramatic flow of water. All express gratitude for the experience of the storms from within the rock shelter. Eventually we make our way back up the trail after the storms have passed, after our final sharing circle. A week later Janice and I facilitate a follow-up session with the veterans on Zoom to gather feedback. The veterans want more. They want to offer the program to more veterans. They want to do more Forest Bathing. They felt the power of our fundamental connection as beings. They feel the support of planetary forces such as gravity, water, and air. They resonate with the trees, and the soil. I take notes. In the summer of 2023, I made a promise to a young veteran. His name is Joel Cruz, and he participated in a Wild Alabama Forest Bathing program with Janice and me. He felt the healing power of the Forest Bathing practice, and he wanted more veterans to be able to experience the benefits. I decided then that I would find a way to start a program and to find funding for the Forest Bathing For Veteran Wellness program. Six months later, we were setting up the first exploratory program through a VFW in Birmingham, and Joel was helping with the process. We know that this program will grow so that we can reach more veterans. If you have any connections to funding sources or wish to support this effort to bring healing and well-being to veterans, please reach out to me! [email protected] -Want to learn more about Forest Bathing? https://www.annemarkhambailey.com/forestbathingfaqs -Want to learn more about Forest Bathing with Wild Alabama? https://www.wildal.org/forest-bathing.html Want to donate to the work of Wild Alabama? Donate now. Comments are closed.
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