Nature is our Teacher,  it has always been so, and even if we forgive it, its call is strong, clear, intense and always available.

Through a more aware and complete relationship with the natural elements, we can learn to integrate parts of ourselves, perceive in a more serene way what usually causes us discomfort and be nourished by natural beauty and Life in its wholeness.

The proposed activities include doing experiences of Shinrin Yoku Japanese aesthetic principles – which means "to benefit from the atmosphere of the forest" – in deep sensory connection with the elements of nature. These are practices that allow us to experience Beauty of impermanence, reunification of opposites, imperfection, the right rhythm and the right moment, darkness, the invisible, stillness, essentiality, abstention, emptiness, the natural, what is missing, separation.

In Japan this discipline is part of a major branch of medical science and also the scientific studies have proven the efficacy of "Forest Bathing/Shinrin Yoku” for example to strengthen the immune system, to adjust blood pressure, heart rate and blood glucose levels, decrease in stress, improved sleep and mood and it favors both listening to oneself, empathy and resilience, it allows us to learn to dissolve attachments and fears, it's a help to prevent and to heal of state of depression and anxiety – See some scientific articles on the bottom of this page -

The adopted approach is integrated with Gestalt Counselling – attention to the interdependence of the person with its human and natural environment – focus on the Present, “here and now” – integration of experiences on an emotional, cognitive and physical level  – trust in the potential of the Human Being – feeling that we are co-creators of our life 

and with Imaginal Psychology – reopen the dialogue between psyché, the Individual and World Soul, and Love – listen to the call of one's Daimon, one's vocation – intensify awareness of Soulmaking, of imagining, including with Courage what for the rational mind is wrong/negative/to be excluded… so we can expand our perception of reality, in order to be more and more in harmony with ourselves, with others and with the surrounding environment.

Resia Valley A Reality that is Poetry  

My family and I discovered Resia Valley in 2022, and it was love at first sight. Resia Valley is a precious pearl - situated in the pre-Alps of Friuli Venezia Giulia, North-East of Italy - from the natural, cultural and social point of view.
The wood, the waters of the streams, the salamanders, the buzzards, the meadows, the orchards, immediately welcomed us in an embrace. Here it is "going back home“. Entering the valley is a bit like entering the world of Narnia, it recalls distant fairy tales. It's a secluded, humble valley, with a great sense of identity, so much that its language, Resiano, and its music and dances are handed down and experienced by children, youth, adults and the elderly with great joy and openness towards those who are curious to know and experience this corner of paradise with its traditions.
The valley is crossed byResia's stream with its crystal clear, fresh waters and with the soothing and energizing colors of the emerald with all its nuances. I often wonder how many stories have listened and how many events its waters and large boulders along the stream have experienced. Sometimes I go to the river and read him a book, I know he listens to me, it's like he's an old friend, and I often listen to what he has to say to me. The call to Resia also came through its woods: splendid beech woods and woods of black pine, mountain pine, dotted with heather, cyclamen, gentians.
In its sweet meadows, in spring and early summer it is a riot of spontaneous flowers pampered by many colorful, light and free butterflies and the tireless and precious bees.
If we look east, there is him, the Canin Mount, reassuring and majestic in its grandeur, surprising for the various colors it takes on during sunsets. It's nice to climb a little higher to see how it looks today, knowing that after a few hours we'll find it changed.
Looking south instead there is her, the Sleeping Beauty, distended on Musi mountains and in winter white dressed .
Precious in this land are also the sounds of the wind that blows through the fir trees, the stream and the waterfalls that echo in many places in the valley, the crickets and frogs that sometimes sing tirelessly, the buzzards that call our attention, the silence that gently lulls us by night and by day allows us a sweet break.
The welcome in the valley does not end here, on the contrary! Its inhabitants stand out for being heart people, some very reserved, others very sociable and available even towards "those who come from outside", curious and welcoming, many of them in love with their land. I love the joy they have in dancing all together the "resiana", a dance of ancient origins, playing the zitira and the bùnkula (violin and cello modified to make the ground similar to that of the bagpipe) a music almost hypnotic, which drags you into an infinite dance.
And then there are them, the wild animals which are free of living not only in the Giulie Prealps Natural Park, but throughout the valley: buzzards, cuckoos, deer, roe, foxes, salamanders are just some of the special beings that we can meet in this magical land and that give us with their presence not only wonder, but also relationship and capacity for integration.
But this will be clearer when you experience it here with us.

Costs of Forest Bathing sessions with Imaginal approach and Gestalt Counseling
Minimum 2 hours for individual and couple sessions.
For group sessions, minimum 3 hours.
The duration of the sessions : individual and couple is proposed by the customer; for groups by the organizer or there are pre-established groups from the group that requests it.

PROMOTIONAL PRICES JUNE-SEPTEMBER 2023

Group participation from 4 to 10 people:
3 hours of practice: €35 per person for pre-established groups of at least 6 people and booking at least one week in advance; €50 per person for bookings less than a week before and for groups of 3, 4 or 5 people.  

Participation in Couple:
2 hours of practice: €75 per person for booking at least one week in advance; €90 per person for booking less than a week before. 

Individual Participation:
2 hours of practice: €75 per person for booking at least one week in advance; €90 per person for booking less than a week before.

Sessions are held by appointment: mob. +39 329 4927443. For information write to info@umanamente.eu

Things to bring:
– comfortable clothing suitable for the weather forecast (including k-way, hat and shoes suitable for walking in the woods);
– yoga type mat, or cushion or plaid to sit on the ground;
– backpack with water bottle;
– notebook and pen;
– anti-tick and sunscreen.

SOME SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF FOREST BATHING - IMMERSION IN THE WOODS

– Effect of forest bathing trips on human immune function (2010)       – Effect of forest therapy on the human psycho-neuro-endocrino-immune network (2011)

– Effects of forest therapy on depressive symptoms among adults: A systematic review (2017) - IN ITALIAN

– Effects of Shinrin-Yoku (Forest Bathing) and Nature Therapy on Mental Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (2020) IN ITALIAN

– Forest experience and psychological health benefits: the state of the art and future prospects in Korea (2010) IN ITALIAN

– Forest and Wellbeing: Bridging Medical and Forest Research for Effective Forest-Based Initiatives (2020)       – Forest bathing: a narrative review of the effects on health for outdoor and environmental education use in Canada (2020)       – Forest bathing enhances human natural killer activity and expression of anti-cancer proteins (2007)       – Identification and characterization of a novel anti-inflammatory lipid isolated from Mycobacterium vaccae, a soil-derived bacterium with immunoregulatory and stress resilience properties (2019)       – Physiological Effects of Nature Therapy: A Review of the Research in Japan (2016)       – Shinrin-yoku (forest-air bathing and walking) effectively decreases blood glucose levels in diabetic patients (1998)

– Spending at least 120?minutes a week in nature is associated with good health and wellbeing (2019)       – The physiological effects of Shinrin-yoku (taking in the forest atmosphere or forest bathing): evidence from field experiments in 24 forests across Japan (2010)       – The health benefits of the great outdoors: A systematic review and meta-analysis of greenspace exposure and health outcomes (2018)

– A comparative study of the physiological and psychological effects of forest bathing (Shinrin-yoku) on people of working age with and without depressive tendencies (2019) IN ITALIAN

– Visiting a forest, but not a city, increases human natural killer activity and expression of anti-cancer proteins (2008)

FOREST THERAPY GUIDE
Dr. Elisabetta Marsonet
Doctor of Clinical and Dynamic Psychology
Doctor in Psychological Sciences and Techniques for Personal and Community Services
Enrolled in Section 15 B Order of Psychologists of Friuli V.G.
Health Promotion Activities
Master in Gestalt Counselling, Forest Therapy Guide with Imaginal approach

For info and booking: Tel. 329 4927443 E-mail: info@umanamente.eu