Nature-based practices

Practices for deepening connection

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- Outdoor sessions -
Meeting in parklands around Eltham
Or online to explore your local parks

Birds flying over the Birrarung or Yarra River. Calm waterway surrounded by trees.

Nature-connection is more than a relaxation practice, although it is this as well. More importantly, it is a return to what is real and true. And our bodies remember.

Therapeutic conversations flow differently outside. We are often able to remain more grounded and bring a wider perspective to topics that usually overwhelm us.

I encourage us to meet the natural world as a genuine partner in the therapeutic conversation.

Because, throughout human history we have been in reciprocal relationship with the rest of the natural world -
care-taking, listening deeply, viewing our lives through this symbolic mirror.

There is wisdom and guidance all around us,
if we can learn to listen.

We need never feel alone, disconnected or lost, when the natural world is waiting to invite us back in.

In-return we can offer care and deep acknowledgement, to the natural world that takes such good care of us.

Tuning-in to Nature’s Wisdom

Outdoor Sessions

  • A wooded trail with a signboard providing information about the Gawa Wurundjeri Resource Trail, with trees and green grass surrounding the path.

    Arriving

    RELATIONAL ORIENTATION

    You will be offered and guided in practices at each stage of the session.

    Beginning with a practice of arrival, and a relational orientation to this place. You will make a small offering (as we might when visiting someone’s house), introduce ourselves and our intention for the session. I will support you with practices for orientation (to place, the seasons, the relationship).

    We will make a conscious step into the landscape and therapeutic container.

  • A mushroom growing on the ground among soil, pebbles, and small plants.

    Tuning-in

    SENSITISE YOUR LISTENING

    We move towards practices which tune the senses. This could include mindfulness or simple creative activities. Practices support us to slow-down, quieten and settle the nervous system. This helps us listen.

    We sensitise to the both natural environment and our inner world. Gentle awareness is brought to the body so you can feel the messages and gifts of being in connection with the landscape.

    You may choose to hang out in tuning-in for a whole session. It is a skill many of us yearn to reconnect with.

  • Tree with twisted branches inspiringly set against a blue sky, with a crescent moon and small bird visible in the background.

    Consulting with Nature's Wisdom

    YOUR BEAUTIFUL QUESTION

    You will be invited to bring a ‘beautiful question,’ and offered prompts prior to the session to generate this.

    Listening deeply (outwards and inwards) we will bring this question to your surroundings.

    You will be offered practices to consult with the landscape; ask the breeze; consider the ecosystem of your life. This may be the quiet contemplation of a ‘sit-spot’ or more active practices of making.

    All the while we notice the generosity being offered all around you.

  • A small green native plant with long in revegetation protection cover, as part of wildlife conservation effort

    Reciprocity

    OFFERING MEANINGFUL THANKS

    You will be invited to consider ways to offer gratitude for the physical benefits and wisdom you have received.

    This might include offering a song, or words of appreciation; pulling some weeds; picking-up rubbish, making a commitment to advocacy or contributing to citizen science. Offerings will reflect both what is needed, and your particular way of loving.

    There is an option for sessions to move more and more in this direction over-time. There is so much to be thankful for, and many therapeutic benefits to being in a genuinely loving and reciprocal relationship.

  • Close-up image of wet, smooth, dark-colored rocks and pebbles with autumn leaves, including a prominent red leaf, among them in a natural outdoor setting.

    Completion

    INTEGRATION AND RETURN

    We end the session with integration through bringing words to what has been experienced.

    You may set intentions and identify what you are leaving behind.

    You get ready to return to your daily life, holding the gifts of nature’s wisdom. Perhaps you feel yourself a little further embedded, and woven into this world.

    Some people may choose to remain on-site after the session for further journaling or take a walk.

This outlines one possible arc for your outdoor session, and likely where we will start. But so much more is possible as we deepen into your therapeutic questions. I bring art materials, camping chairs, picnic blanket and a mind and body filled with practices to inspire your journey. We might create a threshold ritual to support life transitions or do some weeding to gather materials for basket weaving. Both Hakomi and Dream Therapy sessions can be done outdoors too. Let’s chat about where your therapeutic journey is heading, and how we might invite the natural world into the conversation.

15min Connection call
More info about outdoor sessions 
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