Soft Pine Wellness

Soft Pine Wellness would like to acknowledge that all it's activities are in Mi’kma’ki , the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People. This territory is covered by the “Treaties of Peace and Friendship” which Mi’kmaq and Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) People first signed with the British Crown in 1725. The treaties did not deal with surrender of lands and resources but in fact recognized Mi’kmaq and Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) title and established the rules for what was to be an ongoing relationship between nations.

Welcome!

Soft Pine Wellness strives to provide holistic and inclusive opportunities for meaningful experiences in nature. This work is trauma informed and based on heavily researched concepts that time in nature can improve mental and physical health, support personal growth and nurture joy and contentment. When we slow down to experience each individual moment in nature, we can access our own nature separate from our roles and stories. Who knows what may be revealed!

Grounded outside Wolfville, Nova Scotia, ongoing outdoor activities are offered from Halifax to the Annapolis Valley and beyond, in parks, trails and backyards. Honouring and inviting nature, forest bathing walks, therapeutic recreation activities and mindfulness meditations can be guided in person or virtually (when applicable). These offerings are scheduled openly for the public and booked privately.

Themes of Soft Pine Wellness & it's work

Nature-based Wellness

On this homepage, you will find information on Soft Pine Wellness' offerings and what nature therapy, forest bathing and nature-based wellness is all about. I hope you find it useful and please feel free to connect with questions, thoughts or ideas.

Please see the About page which shares the roots of Soft Pine Wellness and it's creator, Wil Brunner. After many years finding meaning and creating change in ecological and counseling fields, Wil now desires to connect the support and inspiration of nature to the health and wellbeing of local people.

The Activities page features the currently scheduled community forest bathing wellness walks. Upcoming months will be posted and include forest bathing walks which are open to all, at varying times and locations.

Free Virtual Sessions

The Canadian Mental Health Association NS Division has created the Thrive Learning Centre to offer free, virtual workshops and courses to offer mental health skills and resources. After a successful session on May 12 with participants as far away as New Zealand (!!), I am hosting another free session on August 11th from 7-8:30pm! Register here to join us for another remotely shared experience.

Free virtual Instagram forest bathing & mindfulness meditations are occasionally offered through the 'Live' feature on the app on Monday nights from 8-9pm Atlantic. One would need to 'follow' the Soft Pine Wellness page to see these sessions posted and participate. The meditations aim to foster a steady and calm inner self using our senses and imagination. Being outside isn't required, and if indoors, having a houseplant and view through a window is helpful to invite the peacefulness of nature.

Human (+) Nature: Nurturing our Relationship

Unfortunately, our busy, modern world can often create different pressure and stress. These and others has brought mental health concerns to the forefront for many people, communities and governments. Climate change, another one of our culture's dilemmas, could be understood as the result of our fractured relationship with nature through excessive resource use, pollution, etc.

Everywhere across the world, people have begun to see the natural world as a way of restoring and maintaining a healthy, fulfilling life. The Japanese practice shinrin-yoku, Norwegians have friluftsliv, and indigenous cultures worldwide have been embedded in and honour the natural world. Permaculture, sprouted in the USA, Japan and Australia, connects people and the land sustainably through food systems.

In Canada, health care systems have begun programs to prescribe nature as a form of healing! This could eventually evolve into funded forest bathing and nature therapy activities. **UPDATE: this program has just been expanded to Nova Scotia and the rest of the maritime provinces!

Feelings of goodness from time in nature is something that we know inertly. We have memories of running through forests or swimming in the local watering hole, summer trips to farmers markets for fresh fruit or vacations near and far. These simple but beautiful times were us in intimate relationship with nature.

Connecting to Nature Through Sight and Sound (headphones recommended!)
What movement catches your attention? How many types of sounds can you sense?
-Fales River @ Rocknotch/Rockville Falls near Greenwood, Kings Co

The Bay of Fundy and other wild spaces calls us to reach out and connect

Forest Bathing & Forest Therapy

Forest bathing (or shinrin-yoku) began as a Japanese practice to address chronic stress & related problems. Research has since been proving time spent in nature can improve enhance bodily functions and improve mental health. Much research is available to describe the rationale behind this practice. The Association of Nature and Forest Therapy, where Wil Brunner received his Guide Certification, is inspired by the Japanese practice and created specific elements to adapt to the western world. Weaved within the foundation of shinrin-yoku are elements of Jungian psychology, indigenous knowledge, nature therapy and environmental stewardship.

Research by Dr. Qing Li, see the Resources & Research page for the article

On a forest bathing walk with Wil, one will experience a simple and gentle framework through a series of unique sensory activities to hone our bodies, minds and hearts to nature. You may be invited to feel different plants with your skin, or listen to birdsong. Participants are encouraged to be creative and fluid and to do whatever feels right in the moment. Towards the end of the walk, a closing invitation helps incorporate the experience before leaving the forest. Participants do not need to be experienced outdoors people or practiced meditators, and those who are can still notice the benefits. If one feels curious about forest bathing, they are likely ready to go through the doors to nature.

In addition to public forest bathing wellness walks, private sessions can be booked for individuals and groups. These can occur in a specific place of your choosing, or a local setting where public walks also occur. Specific elements and 'flow' can also be tailored for the appropriate experience. People or groups with certain limitations or specific goals may prefer a privately ran walk, perhaps virtually or at home, rather than the open feeling public walks feature.

Below are some photos from late 2021 to present forest bathing walks. Many thanks to participants for allowing to be photographed!

Therapeutic Recreation

Nature or ecotherapy has grown into a popular tool for people of all walks of life. Mental health barriers, life changes, grief, chronic pain and other struggles are seeing benefits from the healing effects of the natural world. When humans return to nature we immediately feel better. The research overwhelmingly points to exposure to nature through our senses reduces stress, focuses our attention, elevates feelings of satisfaction and pleasure and many others. The research also shows these effects stay with us long after we've come indoors, gone back to work or continued our normal routine. Finally, physical activity in nature brings us into our bodies, creates space from overthinking and builds a sense of accomplishment and self gratitude. All this in addition to improving physical health.

The difference between a traditional and nature therapy type of activity from Soft Pine Wellness, is the intention to support our mental health and bring together all the benefits of physical time in nature. These activities are integrated with mindfulness meditation and elements of forest therapy for a holistic and deep exercise. Goals are set, the land is met through an ongoing, reciprocal relationship and creative expression and sharing are used to communicate the experience.

Mindfulness Meditation

“Just watch this moment, without trying to change it at all.
What is happening? What do you feel? What do you see? What do you hear?”
-John Kabat-Zinn, founder of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction

Meditation has quickly become an extremely well known and well used self care and therapeutic tool for the modern world. There are many types of meditations, often originating from eastern religions, which offer different benefits and results. Mindfulness Meditation, predominantly a Buddhist practice, is the simple yet complex process of fostering full awareness of the present moment while embracing calmness, acceptance and stillness. It can also mean many other things depending on the type of practice. Mindfulness is a formal meditation practice but it can also be viewed as a lifestyle or type of attitude towards life and our participation in it.

As the above quote hints at, forest bathing and nature therapy has much to do with a mindful perspective and attitude towards nature. Soft Pine Wellness offers guided nature-based meditation sessions in person, virtually - oftentimes for free - and can also include guided meditations with a forest bathing or recreation activity. See the Resources & Research page for a free nature meditation script.