CORPORATE AND GROUP
Bespoke Forest Bathing+ Sessions
Fun wellbeing team building programmes with proven positive mental and physical benefits.
Our exciting sessions support the mental and physical health of individuals, to make them stronger as a team.
Based in Science
“The good news is that even a small amount of time in nature can have an impact on our health. A two-hour forest bathe will help you to unplug from technology and slow down. It will bring you into the present moment to de-stress and relax you. When you connect to nature through all five of your senses, you begin to draw on the vast array of benefits the natural world provides.”
Dr Qing Li, ‘Shinrin-yoku, The Art and Science of Forest-Bathing’.
Specific health benefits – there are now significant number of studies from Japan, the UK and elsewhere, that prove that forest bathing can have numerous health benefits:
- Reduce blood pressure
- Lower stress
- Improve cardiovascular and metabolic health
- Desired weight loss
- Lower blood-sugar levels
- Lift depression
- Increase anti-cancer protein production
- Improve pain thresholds
- Improve energy
- Boost the immune system with an increase in the count of the body’s natural killer (NK) cells”
Improved Affect and Cognition – Studies have specifically compared walking in natural and urban environments. Those who to a nature walk experienced decreased anxiety, rumination (worrying) and cognitive benefits such as increased memory performance.
Restored Attentional Capacity – Trials have shown that exposure to restorative environments enables recovery from mental fatigue, enabling them to improve cognitive performance.
The UK’s first research paper into the health benefits of Forest Bathing+ (TFBI’s own brand of forest bathing) was been published in 2021. The paper reports there were improvements in positive emotions, mood disturbance, rumination, nature connection and compassion and 57% of participants showed an increase in heart rate variability.
69% of those working from home were finding it more stressful and reporting signs of burnout due to the pandemic. MIND*
Most key workforce studies in the UK and internationally report that through the pandemic employees are experiencing increased anxiety and changes in mood. Trauma symptoms, including PTSD are also being reported widely with those working in frontline healthcare and other key worker roles. In addition, many are coping with the effects of ‘long Covid’.
This comes at a high personal cost but also impacts detrimentally on motivation, performance and absenteeism, which is a significant concern for organisations.
It is now expected that there will be a wider mental health crisis following in the wake of the pandemic, which will affect every employer.
What can employers do?
Look out for signs of anxiety and stress:
- Changes in mood
- Anxious thinking
- Reporting sleeping difficulties
- Difficulty concentrating
- Performance or attendance issues
- Changes in appearance
- Acting out of character for example, withdrawn, defensive or argumentative
Asked employees how they are in a compassionate, non-judgemental way, ideally in a one to one setting; this really isn’t the time to rely on an annual employee questionnaire.
Adopt strategies to support employees who are experiencing mental health difficulties, including stress and anxiety.
Act now to put in place robust preventative solutions to lessen the potential impact mental ill health will have.
We will design a package tailored to supporting your organisation, whether that's a one-off session or regular, ongoing support.
What does your organisation need?
Enhance Senior Management Performance Programme
- Intensive day or bespoke programme
- Improve cognitive thinking, decision making, memory etc.
- Improve ability to handle pressure
- Enhanced empathy and relationships
In-house Forest Bathing+ and Meditation Guide Training
- Have your own in-house guide/s
- Cost-effective for large companies
- Employee up-skilling opportunity
- Run sessions for clients, partners etc.
- Add-on to existing service offering
Team and Group Focussed Forest Bathing+ Packages
- Preventative wellbeing programme
- Target specific employees experiencing stress, anxiety etc
- Improve team performance
- Strengthen team relationships
Whatever programme you choose it will have mindfulness and /or Forest Bathing+ at it’s core, but we can tailor programmes to include complimentary activities and therapies, including:
- Sound therapy (gong baths)
- Yoga
- Mindful movement
- Foraging
We can provide one-to-one or group sessions and provide online as well as in-person mindfulness. If there is something you are particularly interested in which we have not mentioned please ask!
Photo credits: Unsplash
Our bespoke team and group sessions are specially designed for organisations looking for an inclusive way of strengthening team relationships and supporting individual wellbeing.
Many traditional team building activities are based around competitive physical and mental challenges. This does not always support those who are naturally more reserved, have a disability or are already experiencing stress and anxiety, and it can exacerbate existing tensions within organisations.
Forest Bathing+ group sessions work in a totally different way; it allows participants equal space to be together as a group and deepen their understanding of each other through shared experience. The whole group can connect in a meaningful way, building empathy and strengthening relationships.
Forest Bathing+ has scientifically proven benefits, moving participants out of their sympathetic (fight/flight) to parasympathetic (rest and repair) nervous states, allowing them to relax. This has been proven to reduce feelings of stress and anxiety, and enhance physical well being on many levels. It can enhance cognitive ability which can lead to improved mental clarity and decision making. We do this through a sequence of invitations in which participants connect with nature in a profound, mindful way, thereby experiencing what it means to be totally in the present. It can be challenging for confident, goal driven team members to slow down and connect in this way, yet the process can build confidence in quieter team members. Everyone is equal in the eyes of nature.