Join us at Strouds Run State Park for a nature based experience of Forest Bathing, seasonal insight, meditation, movement and walking.

This Free, 90 minute Mindful Outdoor Hike will be an easeful walk along the Hickory and Trace trails, up to Finger Rock. Family friendly, no hiking experience necessary. We will be walking through the woods and up a 1/4 mile hill. Total walk distance is 1 mile. The Hickory Trailhead is the first parking lot on your right as you enter the park from Athens/Strouds Run Road.

We will incorporate gentle movements and breath to warm and center ourselves, before beginning. During the walk, you will be invited to "forest bathe", which is the Japanese practice of Shinrin Yoku - opening sensory awareness to the forest or natural area that surrounds you. We will also learn to cultivate a "sit spot" and practice open awareness meditation. The goal of this walk is not really to have a goal, but to just be immersed in the natural surroundings. We will only walk a short distance, with pauses and times to sit and reflect.

This event is organized by Athens IRL, a community-led group of kids, parents, teachers, and health care professionals dedicated to improving childhood well-being through finding balance between real life and screen life.  Our goal is to build a stronger, healthier community by delaying smartphones/social media and reducing screens together while creating more real life, in person experiences for our kids.

Email AthensInRealLIfe@gmail.com to learn more about this event or our group. 

Benefits of this experience include

• Stress reduction through connection with nature,

• Re-awakening our senses to the world around us,

• A break from technology-centered lifestyles, and

• Increased sense of our place in the world.

Elements of a mindful outdoor hike include:

• Forest bathing - taking in, with all of our senses, the forest atmosphere

• Biophilia - remembering to focus on life and lifelike processes

• Species re-connection - breaking through isolation from the natural world

• Refuge - finding peace and refuge in the natural world

NOTE: A Mindful Outdoor Walk is not a continuous hike, trying to get to somewhere specific. Nor is it a strenuous hike for exercise. It is more of an easy saunter. We walk a bit, we stop, we walk more, we stop, we sit down for time (on the ground, a rock, a fallen log). The guide gives invitations for the participants to consider, which brings them into a deeper presence in their natural surroundings. We do not try to identify species or name things – it is not a naturalist lead educational walk. We do steep ourselves in the beauty and appreciate the species surrounding us. We also walk without technology or taking pictures – we leave cell phones and cameras at home or in the car. This is a chance to have a tech break.