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We are back in Adima’s lovely garden for our fourth and final visit (you can view part 1, part 2 and part 3 at these links). Today I am taking you through the lushest part of the garden, where we will follow a path under a pergola to say hallo to some glorious hydrangeas, then step down into a forest-like environment.
If you are familiar with my blog-site, you will have already discovered my sections on Shinrin-Yoku (or forest bathing). If you have already experienced time in nature through the practice of forest bathing, wonderful! If you haven’t…. this will be a virtual experience, but will give you an idea of what to do. A forest or other semi-wild environment is best, but a garden is also wonderful for this practice.
So take a deep breath, wiggle your toes a little to feel your feet and bring you more fully into your body, and let’s begin. Don’t forget to go slow, be present and give yourself the leisure to notice everything: every color, every texture, every scent, every movement and every stillness. That’s when the magic happens!
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I just love a leisurely stroll under a long pergola, don’t you? The stylist and photographer in me already tends to imagine a lovely table here all dressed up and ready for afternoon tea, or a picnic, maybe with some twinkle lights…. Or possibly just a simple tea ceremony, which is the way we Forest Therapy Guides close our Shinrin-Yoku sessions.
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Look left…. look right and… glorious hydrangeas! These are among my absolute favorite flower/bushes as they are so lush and satisfying. You don’t really see them in Hawai’i (there are other satisfying blooms there), and they are not ideal in sunny California, though you do find them occasionally in the shaded area of a well-tended garden, so I miss seeing them everywhere like in Italy or France or the UK.
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Now take it easy as we step down to another level and enter the lower forest. Can you feel the shift in energy? We call these subtle changes sensory thresholds. Let’s see how many you can perceive.
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Isn’t this just glorious? Let’s pause for a moment and breathe it all in.
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This concludes our meander, and I hope you have enjoyed it. If you have, do share it with others who might enjoy it, too. More of this and other gardens can be viewed by clicking on the widget below. And if you would like more help in experiencing your garden or nearby forests through the practice of Shinrin-Yoku and don’t know of a guide near you, you can find what we call Invitations at this page, along with an explanation of how they work. They are the perfect way of giving yourself a little time out in your busy day.
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