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Shinrin-Yoku was developed in Japan during the 1980s and has become a building block of preventive health care and healing in Japanese medicine. Researchers primarily in Japan and South Korea have established an extensive body of scientific literature on the health benefits of spending time under the canopy of a living forest. This practitioner certification expands the conventional Shinrin Yoku to include a more “wild” approach to the therapy; we call this Yasei Shinrin Yoku, which combines the healing abilities presented by the natural world with spiritual and environmental stewardship and incorporates wildcrafting, which includes a tangible understanding of the sentient forest.
Yasei considers the expansion of our health, purpose and well-being as being directly related to the work that we do for the benefit of the forest – the practice considers that we and the forest are “one” and that through this presence the true natural balance of energy can be achieved that benefits both the individual and the natural world. If we invest in the health and growth of the forest then the forest will invest in us – the medium of exchange is “life-force”. Courses offer learning experiences with nature’s nutrients, which include phytoncides and also include teas, oils and aromas.
details
Section 1
Introduction to the Yasei Shinrin Yoku Guiding Program
- Creating Relationships with Nature
- Applied Wild and Indigenous Sciences
- Plants and Ecology Studies
Section 2
Energy Work and Nature Communication
- Biosemiotics
- Mother Tree and Stewardship Studies
- Storytelling and Rewilding
Section 3
Plant Spirit Medicines and Rewilding Methodologies
- Exploration and fieldwork in a local ecosystem of your choice.
Section 4
Yasei Shinrin Yoku Meditation Exercises
- Individual Sessions
- Group Sessions
- Guide to Client Forest Therapy Methods
- Wild Regenerative Logic and Yasei Sanctuary Forest Development
“Rewild” is the distance-learning program offered by the Wildcraft Forest School. We offer online courses, seminars and outdoor challenges and restoration programs which provide an inspirational and creative environment for students ranging from children to adults and from beginners to professionals.
Growing your Yasei Shinrin Yoku Guide Certification
You can grow your Guide Certification and become a Practitioner which will allow you to deliver our 12 Session Forest Therapy Program. We understand that as a Forest Therapy Guide you are challenged which trying to retain your clients for return visits. Currently the largest segment of Forest Therapy clients are those who become a “one-off client”. It’s this dynamic that has plagued ecotourism and nature-based guiding for decades. At the Wildcraft Forest School we have developed a 12 session Forest Therapy program where clients have a more enhanced opportunity to follow through with nature-based healing with your guidance.
You can now become a Practitioner and we will deduct the Distance Learning Registration Fee that you have paid, which will allow you to enroll in the Practitioner Training Program.
Register now so that we can reserve your space. Training programs are offered every month from May to September.
Wild Forest Therapy Winter Tookit
If you have been a past participant in our Guide or Practitioner Programs and you would like to receive “Wild Forest Therapy Winter Tookit” you can register today and begin the program on the 15th of the following month. The winter program will help you to continue your practice during the late autumn and winter months and includes print material, videos and question and answer sessions.
It doesn’t matter how much snow is on the ground, or how long the winter is, your Yasei Shinrin Yoku practice does not have to be put on hold.
Register now at $180 (Canadian Dollars)
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camp
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You may also register by Interac or
Wells Fargo Transfer. Send us an email and we will send you instructions.
- If you have questions please email us or call 250.547.2001
YASEI SHINRIN YOKU GUIDE
CERTIFICATION REGISTRATION
2-Day Camp with Distance Learning
Registration Cost: $900.00 Canadian Dollars
You may register by credit or debit card using this secure Paypal link:
If you choose to register we will begin your training with a series of online lessons within 5 days of registration. Your registration includes placement into one of our 2-day support camps that you can attend here in British Columbia at anytime in the future. Yasei Shinrin Yoku Guide Training that includes the 2-Day Camp - Cost: $900.00 (Canadian Dollars)
We will reach out to you to discuss your dates for attendance and other details.
- Please note maximum 8 people per camp
2026 Camp Dates
- June 20/21
- July 18/19
Yasei Shinrin Yoku
and Spiritual Stewardship
Nature is returning as a key element within the human spiritual experience. Don Elzer talks about how Yasei Shinrin Yoku delivers a practice where-by we create a working relationship with nature through stewardship.
Wildcraft Forest School - Camp Programs
Yasei Shinrin Yoku
Basic Guide Level 1 Certification
Level 1 Guide Certification in Forest Therapy Training through Distance Learning and a 2-day Camp
This program represents Level 1 certification and includes a foundation understanding of Yasei Shinrin Yoku and the methods involved with creating a tangible relationship with the forest and nature as it exists within the location of your present or future practice. This Yasei Shinrin Yoku Guide Certification Training Program is delivered through a 2-day camp that is supported by a Distance Learning component. The camp serves as a means by which participants can move through the lesson modules quickly and effectively.
Yasei Shinrin Yoku or “Taking in the Wild Forest Atmosphere” considers the expansion of our health, purpose and well-being as being directly related to the work that we do for the benefit of the forest – the practice considers that we and the forest are “one” and that through this presence the true natural balance of energy can be achieved that benefits both the individual and the natural world. If we invest in the health and growth of the forest then the forest will invest in us – the medium of exchange is “life-force”.
Yasei Shinrin Yoku Basic Guide Certification provides participants with an opportunity to set up a basic independent practice and provides support for advancing towards Practitioner Certification which provides skills for delivering a Yasei 12-session program and establishing a Yasei Sanctuary Forest. This learning program provides an understanding of wilderness therapies and forms of wildcrafting-based nutri-ecopsychology. Upon satisfactory completion of this program, participants will receive Yasei Shinrin Yoku Basic Guide Certification, which can assist them in both career and self-employment endeavors especially suited for alternative health services, the spiritual arts, theology, energy work, education, food, nutrition and outdoor recreation.
Level 1 Program Details
- Basic Understanding of Forest Therapy
- Introduction to the Yasei Shinrin Yoku Guiding Program
- Creating Relationships with Nature
- Applied Sciences and Historical Context
- Plants and Ecology Studies
- Developing a Sense of Place in Nature
- Basic Forest Therapy Exercises and Meditations
- Examination of Methodologies within Conifer and Deciduous Forests
Additional Features in this Training Program
- Attendance includes accomodation.
- This program offers a self-guided lesson package that includes the “Science you Need to Know” and various tools and video support.
- This program includes a Deciduous Forest Toolkit and a Conifer Forest Toolkit specific to this level of training.
- This program includes scheduled video conferences as well as personal online or phone support when required.
- Registration also includes a Wildcraft Forest School Membership which offers additional free learning services and discounts to in-person events at the Wildcraft Forest.
Successful completion of this program will garner participants a "Guide" certificate.
Our connection to nature is embedded within our DNA, the forest provides us with all the psychological and chemical attributes needed to live healthy lives – but our challenge is to learn how to reconnect with the living forest. Shinrin Yoku is Japanese for “forest bathing” or “taking in the forest atmosphere” this popular Japanese therapy represents a new form of nature-based healing.
Yasei Shinrin Yoku or “Taking in the Wild Forest Atmosphere” considers the expansion of our health, purpose and well-being as being directly related to the work that we do for the benefit of the forest – the practice considers that we and the forest are “one” and that through this presence the true natural balance of energy can be achieved that benefits both the individual and the natural world. If we invest in the health and growth of the forest then the forest will invest in us – the medium of exchange is “life-force”.
