When I ask Susan Laurent her relationship with nature, my question simply does not compute.
"We're one with nature,” Susan responds. “We're not separate from it. We are all part of the natural world and the same as any being that's here on Earth.”
Susan is an award-winning board certified massage therapist, and the owner of Natural Healing Therapeutic Massage in downtown Mount Clemens. Now she’s also an Association of Nature and Forest Therapy (ANFT) Certified Guide. Susan, who already uses Reiki therapy and EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) to complement her massage therapy, sees Forest Therapy as a uniquely transformative healing modality.
“Forest Therapy is all around us.” Susan looks out her window and points. “I can look at that tree—that’s nature therapy. I could sit and listen to birds and that's the same thing. Forest Therapy brings you back to what you are. We are nature.”
Susan grew up an outdoor kid in Chesterfield Township.
"I've camped at every campground in Michigan, even the U.P.. When I was a kid, I ate breakfast and off I went into the woods on my bike, and I didn't come back until the streetlights came on.”
What drew Susan to Forest Therapy?
“When I'm hiking, I take in the energy and everything that nature offers me. I wanted to start sharing this with people because, ‘Hey, if I'm out here feeling amazing, I can get you out here feeling amazing too,’ because most people do feel separate from nature as opposed to feeling one with it.”
Susan tells me Forest Therapy is inspired by shinrin-yoku, the Japanese practice of ‘forest bathing.’ People spend time in forested areas to enhance health, wellness and happiness, and to take a break from the world of technology.
“Nature helps reduce stress hormones and increases levels of white blood cells known as natural killer cells. The phytoncides that trees give off help fight off diseases in the body. There's really no ailment that nature can't heal.”
Even though she’s completed 300 hours of Forest Therapy training, Susan seems to be a born Forest Therapist.
“This is who I am. I have a lot of plants in my house. My backyard looks like a park. This morning, I was at a stoplight where birds were chirping and I rolled down the window to listen. I've always been in tune to nature.”
Forest Therapy perfectly complements Susan’s acclaimed massage therapy practice.
"As a massage therapist, I don't see much sunlight during the day. I'm in a dark room listening to music. Then Friday through Sunday, I still transform people’s wellbeing—just out there in the sunshine.”
What’s the difference between Forest Therapy and hiking?
“Hiking is a faster walk, focused on sites, distance and elevations. In Forest Therapy, the walk is a slow pace, at times seated or lying down. The group is stopping and observing the beings around them for periods of time. When I hike with my friends, I'll say, ‘We're going too fast—we’re missing everything.’ With slowing down, all of the senses come alive.”
A typical Forest Therapy session lasts two to three hours, while Susan guides you through a series of invitations.
“For example, there’s an invitation called ‘what's in motion?’ Susan says. “A guest will find a sit spot or slowly move in an area while observing what’s in motion around them: trees, water, an ant crawling, clouds moving, the heart beating. You’d be amazed at what senses begin to come back into mainframe that technology robs from us. The forest is the therapist. I’m just the guide.”
Is there a celebration at the end of a Forest Therapy experience?
“We do what I like to call the Mad Hatter Tea Party. We sit around in a circle with fancy teacups and saucers, along with nutritious snacks, and we pour an extra cup of tea to give gratitude to the forest.”
Besides immersing herself in nature, what’s Susan’s favorite part of Forest Therapy?
“People come in with a mindset of what they think they will experience. I observe them in one state at the beginning, and then I watch as they slow down, observing their surroundings more slowly. I often hear 'I would have walked right past this before' or 'I never noticed this here before.’ By the time they get to the end of the walk, I’m hearing, ‘This is a great experience. I want to do this again.’”
I ask for one of Susan's favorite success stories. She smiles.
“I took out a group of four ladies and we came across all these logs down on the ground. One of them said, ‘When I was a kid, I would have fun running across these logs.’ And I said, ‘What's stopping you? Go run across the logs. Go be a kid.’
"All four of them hopped logs and ran around for 10 minutes, and they were so happy because their inner child was expressing, ‘I'm playing in the woods again.’
"I tell my guests at the beginning of our walk, ‘I'm your guide but about 10 minutes in, I'm going to turn into a 10-year-old.’ I want to be out here playing in the woods. I never want to leave. It’s home to me. Being out here is what feels natural for me. Humans have an innate desire and need to be in nature. I'm a human being. There's a tree being, an animal being, a water being, stone being, and numerous other beings. We're all different types of beings, all the same nature.”
Susan leads Forest Therapy sessions year-round. Her invitations might change based on the weather, but unless conditions are dangerous, Forest Therapy sessions are not weather-dependent.
For more info about Forest Therapy Immersions and scheduled walks, connect with Susan at awakenindigo.com or through her Natural Healing Therapeutic Massage site, nh-tm.com
"Forest therapy is not just reconnecting with the natural world. It's also about rediscovering ourselves."