About the Book
"A beautiful and inspiring guide inviting us to seek out the trees and let the healing happen, both for us and for our beleaguered ecosystems. Grab this book and head outside" -Florence Williams, author of The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative
Simply being present in the natural world - with all our senses fully alive - can have a remarkably healing effect. It can also awaken in us our latent but profound connection with all living things. This is "forest bathing", a practice inspired by the Japanese tradition of shinrin-yoku. It is a gentle, meditative approach to being with nature and an antidote to our nature-starved lives that can heal our relationship with the more-than-human world.
In Your Guide to Forest Bathing you'll discover a path--along with specific activities presented by Amos Clifford, one of the world's most experienced forest bathing experts--that you can use to begin a practice of your own. Whether you're in a forest or woodland, public park, or just your own backyard, this book will be your personal guide as you explore the natural world in a way you may have never thought possible.
About the Author :
M. Amos Clifford is the founder of the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy, an organisation leading the movement to integrate nature and forest therapies into health care, education and land management systems. He has been a student of Buddhist philosophy for over twenty years and is the founder of Sky Creek Dharma Center in Chico, CA.
Review :
A joyful and insightful invitation to reconnect with forests. Amos Clifford is an outstanding guide to deepening our relationships within the community of life. --David George Haskell, author of The Songs of Trees and Pulitzer finalist, The Forest Unseen, Professor, University of the South-- "Reviews"
In Your Guide to Forest Bathing, Amos Clifford asks: 'Remember watching clouds as a child, seeing the shapes of fantastic creatures appear and then morph slowly into something new? I wonder how many adults have in their minds that they will do this again, someday, when they are not too busy?' I hope you are not too busy to pick up this poetic and comprehensive book that invites you into the healing forest that Clifford knows so well, as a lifelong seeker and founder of the world's foremost organization training forest therapy guides. Take this invitation to revisit a world you may have abandoned as a child. -Melanie Choukas-Bradley, ANFT Certified Forest Therapy Guide and Author, The Joy of Forest Bathing, A Year in Rock Creek Park, and City of Trees-- "Reviews"
In this book, Amos weaves a precious tapestry of practical details, poetic imagining, and historical perspective on the practice of forest bathing. It's a delightful read that leaves you yearning for intimacy with nature. --Sylvie Rokab, award-winning filmmaker, Love Thy Nature-- "Reviews"
In this book, Amos Clifford offers a delightful introduction to the healing power of forests--and to the natural world that supports wellness in our stress-filled society. --Yoshifumi Miyazaki, Ph.D., Chiba University, Japan, Forest Medicine researcher, author of Shinrin Yoku: The Japanese Art of Forest Bathing-- "Reviews"
It helps to know that Nature is good for our mental and physical health! Clifford shares a detailed history of the practice of Forest Bathing and the health benefits of the practice. Our state has rich forest resources and this book inspires me to take a mindful walk in the Michigan woods. --Alyson Jones Turner, Source Booksellers-- "Reviews"
John Muir once said, 'between every two pine trees is a doorway leading to a new way of life.' Now Amos Clifford has given us a beautiful and inspiring guide inviting us to seek out the trees and let the healing happen, both for us and for our beleaguered ecosystems. Grab this book and head outside. --Florence Williams, author of The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative-- "Reviews"
M. Amos Clifford is a forest guide, psychotherapist, restorative justice worker, and longtime Zen meditation practitioner. His book is a beautiful exploration of forest bathing, a source of information on the medical and scientific evidence of its benefits, and a guide to all that's needed for a fulfilling forest-bathing practice. --Foreword Reviews, Kristine Morris, May/June 2018-- "Reviews"
Mature forests produce an enigma to modern medicine: an airborne biochemical nectar, the essence of the trees. To walk in this sea of chemistry, and take it in through your senses, is called forest bathing. The healing is immediate. For most people, the synergy sweeps the body, mind and soul back into a holistic unit. Even as a child, Amos Clifford carried this wisdom in his heart. Let the wisdom in his book permeate yours. --Diana Beresford-Kroeger, author of The Global Forest and star of the new documentary Call of the Forest-- "Reviews"
The scientific data confirming the mental, emotional, and biophysical benefits of forest bathing are most exciting and validating to me as an integrative physician. However, what makes this book rise to excellence is how Amos Clifford describes the experience of forest bathing so that your heart poetically engages. His writing magically unites us with the healing rhythms of nature to dissolve lingering issues and bring about profound peace of heart. --Philip Barr, MD, Duke Integrative Medicine-- "Reviews"
