Medicine Walk: 25th Feb 2024
A Guided Walk with Vanessa Cook in Chalabre, France.
A medicine walk is an intentional walk in nature, where we explore different ways of relating to the natural world to deepen our connection to it and ourselves. It is similar to forest bathing, a practice that is growing in popularity, but comes from the jungles of Brazil rather than Japan.
Firstly I will guide you through intention setting and lead us through a short exercise to loosen the body and open it up to moving in nature in a more fluid way. We will then venture off the main trail, following animal tracks as they zig zag across the river, allowing the river and forest to pull our attention where it needs to go. I will encourage you to look at the scene on a micro and macro level, frequently reminding you to sink into the role of the observer and not be absorbed by your mind chatter. In that space, you may we’ll find the answers you are looking for.
After we exit the woods and leave the river behind we can hop in our cars and stop at the “fairy pool” for a cold dip and a warm cup of tea and piece of cake.
A note on clothing and equipment.
For those of you who are into barefoot walking I would encourage you to do so on this trail. It will allow you to explore the river in more depth without worrying about getting your socks wet! There is also something exquisite about squelching mud between your toes and washing it off in icy pools!
If that doesn’t tickle your fancy then please wear shoes that have some measure of waterproofing so that you can really maximise the terrain you will be able to explore. You could also bring a backpack to carry your shoes in if you want to do a bit of both.
It will be cold so dress up warm, but not too bulkily so that you have room to move. After all you can’t crawl under low hanging branches like a badger if you have too many layers on!
We will most likely get a bit muddy, so prepare for that.
Bring extra layers for when we have our tea and dip.
The whole session should take somewhere between 2-3hrs, depending on what comes up during our medicine walk.
RSVP by emailing claire@zambuni.com.
