About
Our Mission
To support as many people as possible to fall back in love with Nature, to protect, respect and revere, and to understand our place ‘in the family of things’.
To promote Nature-based therapies at every level of society.
To engage with individuals and organisations to promote Nature as our true Spiritual path.
Our History
Nature & Therapy
Nature & Therapy UK was formed in 2017 by Ecotherapist Stefan Batorijs in response to a growing demand for an understanding to our spiritual and psycho-biological connections to Nature.
The evidence from Japanese research has demonstrated the benefits of Shinrin-yoku (forest bathing) from a largely scientific approach and it has been important to integrate our spiritual and intuitive connections to build a holistic and relational model of well-being. This is what our training courses offer.
What is Forest Bathing?
Shinrin-yoku translates from the Japanese as a forest bath or forest shower. I like to translate this term to mean a total full-being immersion in the nurturing qualities of the forest and the trees.
Taking time to relax, surrender, de-armour ourselves and be held by the forest is an unforgettable experience that leaves us feeling softer, clearer, sharper and more grounded.
Engaging our senses teaches us so much about our relationships with life. Research has clearly demonstrated the physiological and psychological benefits of Forest Bathing which include:
- Increase in immune function and anti-cancer proteins
- Lowered stress hormones and reduction in trauma symptoms
- Reduced anxiety, depression, anger and fatigue
- Increased metabolism and reduction in metabolic disorders
- Decreased insomnia and sleep issues
- Reduction of blood pressure and heart rate
- Increase in activity of the Parasympathetic Nervous System
“A holistic wisdom-based approach to health in collaboration with Nature, not above Nature”
Stefan Batorijs
Our Values
- Consider all humanity as part of Nature and an intrinsic aspect of planetary evolution.
- To care for, love, and respect all beings and accommodate the needs, values, and perspectives that make our Biosphere rich, diverse, and creative.
- To efficiently reduce our carbon footprint, waste, and non-sustainable resource use.
- To find solutions to reduce our environmental impact, increase connection, care, and understanding of natural systems and individual components to achieve cycles of sustainable life with zero pollution.
- To improve lives through listening, understanding, compassion and education.
- We all share a common ancestry within Nature and that our primary relationship with Nature has a spiritual basis.
- Working together for people and planet—we will regularly assess our practises and consult with students, partners, and stakeholders to improve best practise.
Our Strategic Aims
- Building a reputation as a centre of excellence for the dissemination of ideas and leading research into how Nature benefits human health, and ways to mitigate our impact on climate change and extinction events.
- Challenging discrimination and stigma associated with access to Nature and amateur contributions to our collective understanding of life.
- Championing Nature at a strategic and National level - giving Nature a voice where it matters most, and challenging outdated assumptions and discrimination against Nature.
- Create an efficient, thriving, inclusive and forward looking environment based on inclusion and well being.
- Contribute to global research and promotion of the benefits of Nature and the reciprocal relationship at the heart of all we do.
- To engage in dialogue with local, regional and National organisations to discuss, educate and promote Nature based recovery methods that influence future land and people management policies.