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I am grateful to have been able to be part of this course that Rita is leading right here in this inspiring place.

It was an opportunity to get to know new colleagues from other countries and their culture. I tried many new thing, music therapy with a drummer as an integral part of culture heritage. Therapy with water, sea and snorkeling. Contact with nature. I will use the new knowledge with my colleagues, teachers and our students.

Find yourself, the knowledge to be part of nature, in a non- violent way. How to be happy...harmony with forest and possibility of the forest bathing. Thank you all of the opportunity- emphaty, creativity, motivation..

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Today we had an opportunity to conect ourselves with the forest. Even if I already have excperienced the impotance of being in the nature and excperienced the conection with nature before, today I found good ways to really calm down and let the consiunes flow in the body and mind.

Many times when I go out in the nature my mind is focused in the activities like salmon fishing or snowboarding in the remote mountain. I am very often so obsessed in the things I would like to achive (like catchi g salmon with my fly) that I forget to really sit down and just be without any hurry and really just be without any obsessed goals in my mind.

Today I really learned how to settle down and how to calm the body and mind and started to feel strong connection with the nature. I will for sure do these good methods in my future. That will do good for my body, mind and soul

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Today I learned the importance of the benefits of nature for our health and well-being.
Through contact with nature I can use all my senses, which help me see things more clearly, find myself, relax and increase my energy and vitality.
The yoga exercise and the mandala exercise served to help me maintain concentration and abstract myself from everything around me.

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In the third session of the Training, I had the opportunity to walk through the forest, live in the present moment, and pay attention to things just as they are. This helped me disconnect from negative thoughts, worries, and the world around me, allowing me to find myself by focusing on what is happening now, the present.

Opening our senses to nature contributes to a good connection with it, bringing us well-being and health. We also did Yoga, a physical exercise that teaches us to breathe correctly. Drawing mandalas with natural elements and patterns helps us concentrate and stay calm. All of this contributed to freeing my mind and focusing on the positive energies that nature provided me!

It was a session full of magic, well-being, and new discoveries!

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Today was a fantastic day!
Contacting nature helped me focus on the present, the now and the here. I enjoyed the sounds, the noises, the smells, the flavors and observing what is around me. This feeling gave me focus, peace and calm. Mindfulness provides the ability to focus on the here and now, without thinking about the past and future. This activity helped me train my mind, focusing on myself, releasing negativity and bad thoughts.
Yoga practiced in the forest was an excellent strategy for practicing mindfulness to train the mind and body.
The mandala activity was very enriching, it helped me connect with nature and focus on the beauty that the forest has.
Thank you very much for this fantastic experience.

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Today I loved going to the forest and I became aware of the importance of knowing how to be present.

Tried to connect my mind to the nature that surrounded me and free myself from thoughts and worries that didn't help me at all.

leaves the forest lighter and happier.

We made a mandala with elements of nature and during this exercise we were able to focus my attention on executing the mandala and abstract myself from what was around me.

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Today, in the third session, we went to the rainforest, a fantastic place full of life and light! We reflected on the importance of connecting with the present moment, setting aside worries and self-critical attitudes. Letting the moment flow and putting aside past or future thoughts. We also talked about the difference between a mind full (of worries) and being mindful… Mindfulness is a conscious attitude of connecting with the present, the here and now. This conscious state of mind helps us focus our minds, freeing us from a spiral of negativity. The forest bathing exercise is an effective and scientifically proven strategy to experience and connect with nature through the senses, bringing proven benefits to health and well-being. The yoga exercise and the mandala drawing with natural patterns were also very important and interesting in this session, as they were two suggested strategies for disconnecting from our daily worries and problems and connecting with nature and the present moment. It was a session full of well-being in the natural element – the rainforest.

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Forest bathing in the rain forest taught mindfulness and a deep connection with nature. Mindfulness helps us appreciate the interconnectedness of all living things and fosters a sense of peace and well-being. The walk in the rain forest was excellent. 🙂

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A beautiful day, an amazing experience with the sounds of nature, harmony and nature in the rainforest. A new experience for me.

Forest bath as a body cleansing of the mind.

Mandala as a new option for therapy and creativity.

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Yet another lovely day! The forest was so peaceful and calm. Bathing in the river was refreshing and the Mandala exercise is something I will definitely do with my pupils at school. Any pupil can complete it regardless of the skill level in art which is really great. Thank you Rita for sharing this with us. 🙂

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I have never been to a real rain forest so far and it was impressive - the bathing was refreshing. Beside that we could gasp half of Guadeloupe island by car. The mandala was new for me and I was reflecting to maybe use it in my graduate class next year (when all the grades and exams are done). Now I really feel tired but satisfied and curious to expext tomorrow's session.

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Almost 60% of Estonia is covered with forest. So, walking in a forest is my daily habit. But it was my first time walking and bathing in a rainforest and it was AMAZING!

From today's session among other thoughts and feelings I'll take two quotes that Rita shared:

💚"The worst endings are the best beginnings"

💚"Life is like a trampoline- the harder you fall, the higher you bounce"

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I loved the bathing in the forest - literal and also metaphorical :)

I also learnt that doing something repetitive and cleaning /which I almost never enjoy/ can be healthy and beneficial and relaxing.

It's hard for me to move slowly. I am normally very energetic, I like to do everything fast so it was very interesting to take the walk slowly.