Studies have shown that spending time in nature can improve mental and physical health. Ken Ouendag experienced the healing power of nature firsthand and wants to help others through his work as a certified forest therapy guide.
鈥淚鈥檝e always believed there鈥檚 so much good in spending time in nature and so often I鈥檝e kind of questioned why. I know there鈥檚 research to back it up but I think there鈥檚 so much more sort of unexplained for me. I don鈥檛 think I reflected on it so much until my dad passed away all within 10 weeks when he found out he had cancer,鈥� Ouendag says.
He remembers thanking his father for introducing him to nature during the final weeks of his dad鈥檚 life.鈥滺e always took me on hikes and we went camping together. His response to me was, 鈥榳ithout nature there鈥檚 nothing.鈥� That will always stick with me.鈥�
In October Ouendag competed a program in California with the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides & Programs. The program was founded in 2012 by M. Amos Clifford and combines the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku or 鈥渇orest bathing鈥� with wilderness guiding.
The program allowed him to combine his work as a recreational therapy assistant with his sea kayaking and outdoor educator program experience to become the first certified forest therapy guide in the Lower Mainland.
Ouendag is running a five-week therapy walk series through Lighthouse Park and Stanley Park. Walks typically last two and a half to three hours. 鈥淚t sounds like quite a lot of time, but I mean for myself and last year all the people coming out that was a common comment that came up at the end, saying how quickly that time disappears.鈥�
He says walks help people practice mindfulness through sensory awareness facilitated by various activities. 鈥淭he first one we tend to do is called 鈥榳hat鈥檚 in motion?鈥� It鈥檚 inviting you to walk very slowly and to take note of what鈥檚 in motion around you. When people do start slowing down they start noticing cobwebs that are blowing in the breeze or a salmonberry bush where the leaves are blowing slightly.鈥�
Another exercise is called a 鈥渟it spot,鈥� which involves finding a space and sitting there for 15 to 20 minutes. 鈥淚鈥檝e definitely seen people dealing with grief when they鈥檙e encouraged to sit with themselves and feel supported by the nature around them. Things do come up and they may or may not share a little bit about that. On the other side somebody else comes back and they鈥檝e had a very playful experience.鈥�
He says the sit spot is similar to the corpse pose in a yoga session and is followed by a tea ceremony.
Ouendag鈥檚 five-week therapy walk series is offered through the 麻豆传媒映画and West 麻豆传媒映画Leisure Guide. Walks for both parks start in mid-May or mid-July. More details are available .
