Half-Day Private deep Shinrin-yoku Experience (2026 Feb)

Returning to Life More Fully

A Half-Day Private Forest Therapy Session in Yakushima, Japan — Interwoven

Recently, a woman working in Vienna joined a private half-day forest therapy session (Shinrin-yoku) in Yakushima, Japan.

Before arriving, her assessment reflected what many modern professionals quietly carry:
persistent mental activity, physical tension, and a subtle exhaustion beneath competence.

Her intention was simple:
“I want to truly rest.”


When the Body Remembers Safety

During the session, we moved slowly through the forest — activating the senses through breath, sound, touch, and moments of stillness.

At one point, I gave her an invitation.
Then, she approached to a tree and stood beside it.
Hands resting on the bark, ear gently against the trunk, she listened and observed the forest.
– as if she is a part of the tree and seeing the forest through its eyes.

Later she wrote:
“I realized how natural it is to stand with strong roots — to have my own space while still feeling deeply connected to the world around me, in a healthy balance.”


Nothing external had changed.
But internally, her nervous system had shifted toward safety.

And from safety, reflection becomes possible.


A Spider’s Web — Rewriting an Old Imprint

In a previous somatic work, she had imagined herself surrounded by a spider’s web — tightly entangled, almost enclosing.

So when we encountered a spider’s web in the forest, the memory resurfaced.
Her body reacted before her mind did.

A brief contraction.
A tightening of breath.

But this time, she stayed.

Sunlight touched the delicate threads.
The web swayed gently in the breeze.

Instead of menace, she began to see intricacy.
Instead of entanglement, connection.

“It was beautiful to sense the net in a new way,” she later wrote.

The web became more than an object.
It became a mirror of pattern — of how old imprints can organize perception.

By remaining present, something subtle shifted.
The old association loosened.

The web was no longer a symbol of entrapment.
It revealed itself as something interwoven — each thread supporting the whole.

Within half a day, an old pattern began to reweave itself.


Standing with the Tree — Autonomy and Connection

During a blind walk deeper into the forest, I told her:
“You are welcomed here.”

Later she stood beside a tree, imagining seeing through its eyes.

She described feeling how natural it is to stand firmly rooted —
to have one’s own space,
and yet remain connected to the surrounding life.

This insight touched something essential:

It is natural to need space.
It is natural to belong.

The balance between autonomy and connection
felt no longer theoretical —
but embodied.


Returning to the Natural State

Beyond the symbolic shift of the web, she described something even more fundamental.

“For me it was extremely beautiful to sense the forest and sea so deeply in my body,” she wrote.

Through activating the senses, she felt reconnected to what she called her natural, “empty” state of self.

Not empty as in lacking —
but empty as in uncluttered.

From this place, her inner voice felt clearer.

She reflected that forest bathing can be especially supportive for people in difficult life situations,
as it reconnects them to this natural state.

She also noted that for creative individuals — artists, thinkers, makers —
this reconnection to the senses can nourish creative processes in unexpected ways.


From Control to Participation

Another insight emerged:
“I realized I don’t need to control everything.”

Before the session, her language centered on effort.
Afterward, it shifted toward trust.

Not resignation —
but participation.


Interwoven

At the end of the session, she created an artwork using natural materials from the forest floor.

At its center: a spider’s web.
Around it: leaves, small stones, fragments of branches.

She titled it:
“Interwoven.”

Not trapped.
Interwoven.

What once felt like entanglement
had become connection.

What once carried tension
had become structure.

It is worth noting that this depth unfolded within a half-day private forest therapy session.

At the end, she shared her wish to join a future immersion or retreat — not because something was missing, but because something meaningful had begun.

Assessment vs. Reflection — Observed Shifts

Across Cultures, the Body Responds First

Regardless of cultural background, the first shift consistently occurs in the body.

The body remembers before the mind understands.

And sometimes, within a few quiet hours in the forest,
what once felt tangled
can begin to feel interwoven.

Depth is not measured by duration.