The forest gazes back at usHelping others reconnect to nature7The power of its nature revealed my own self to me, laying her bare before my own eyes. Already then, I recognized the healing potential of this island. In the same way that I needed the power of the forest at that stage in my life, I knew that others did as well. I felt inspired to help people redefine their relationship to nature, to Mother Earth. That was the first seed of KaleidoForest.In this “modern” world, so many of us are overly reliant on our thinking minds. Even if we do seek to reconnect with nature, many of us are so out of touch with it that nature can almost feel too foreign, too alien. I realized that I could create a program with a clear logic, and a clear methodology, to help guide people back to the healing embrace of nature.My first step was to get certified as a Forest Guide and Forest Therapist by the Forest Therapy Society of Japan. Not only is Japan the birthplace of forest therapy, but the benefits of regular contact with the forest (cortisol reduction, boosts to immunity, etc) have also been confirmed by scientific research. However, I was yet to meet a systematic method for undertaking Forest Therapy Guide work.That’s when I discovered the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy (ANFT) programs. I thought, ‘This is it! This is what I’ve been looking for’. At that point, forest therapy in Japan operated under the straightforward premise that nature simply has a healing influence on humans, and is thus intrinsically beneficial for health. ANFT, on the I moved to Yakushima in 2020. For several years before then, I would often find myself on Yakushima, participating in yoga workshops and organizing wellness retreats with my friends and colleagues.The first time I came to this island, I was mesmerized by the forest. I could feel it in the very cells of my body… Something about this place called to me. I already knew it was special. I felt connected to the whole Earth here; the power of the land was palpable. The depths of the forest were always only a few steps away; its energy simply envelops this island.At that time, my children were still very young: two and four. And I was at a crossroads—I’d recently left my career in international development, and was looking for a new path through the world. Yakushima, then, provided me with a turning point.“ We are connected to the forest in a grand current of life”
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