Mindfulness and Well-being Series
The Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation‘s Mindfulness and Well-being Series provides guests an opportunity to focus on being present in the moment through forest bathing, deepening your connection with nature and community and enjoying the many gifts nature has to offer.
“Forest bathing” is a walk in nature, during which your guide will share mindfulness practices and invitations designed to connect you more deeply to your inner landscapes as well as the world around you. Inspired by shinrin-yoku (literally ‘forest bath’), the Japanese art of immersing oneself in a forest environment, forest bathing walks invite guests to spend time in nature in a way that invites healing for us, as well as our fraught ecosystems and our community.
Dr. Mattie Decker, a certified Nature and Forest Therapy Guide with the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy (ANFT), will lead these courses in 2025. Mattie is also a mindfulness teacher, a Zen practitioner, an Episcopal oblate and a retired professor of education. She is also certified in wilderness medicine and first aid. Mattie says, “The forest is the therapist. The guide opens the doors.” As a guide, she assists us in opening the doors of the senses, to deepen our relationship with nature, which is our own true nature.
This series runs from July to August. Each session is limited to 20 or fewer participants, so they fill up quickly. Get details and purchase tickets below.
2025 Mindfulness and Well-being Series
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Also see: Experiences | Adult Field Courses | Daily Programs