I spent the first decade of my career working in an office-setting, treating veterans with PTSD at various VA hospitals across the country, and specializing in mindfulness-based therapies. The work was incredibly rewarding, but spending each day in a windowless office disconnected from nature left me feeling drained. Walking sessions with my veteran clients became a much-needed respite from life indoors.

Around this time, I started exploring the research on the Japanese practice of Shinrin-Yoku, also known as "Forest Bathing." The research was clear: Time immersed in nature significantly reduces stress and cortisol, lowers blood pressure, restores attention and creativity, and improves mood. The Japanese government had been funding this research since the 1980s, but in the West the practice was just beginning to take hold.

And in 2022, I decided to break free from the office. I left my job at the VA, sold my home, bought an RV, and my family and I traveled the country for 3 straight years, exploring the most beautiful wild spaces we could find, and learning the art of Forest Bathing. I discovered that my specialty in mindful meditation connected directly with this practice, and the two practices could be merged to enhance the effects of each. After 3 years of exploring the wild, I was ready to plug back into society and share the practice of mindful immersion in nature.