01 / The Story Behind Our Training

Why We Created the Shinrin-Yoku Guide Training

The development of The Mindful Tourist® guide training began in 2021, bringing together different areas of scientific inquiry, education, personal experience, and an enduring interest in the relationship between human beings and the natural world.

Its founder, Dr. Milena A. Guziak (MChem, PhDEng, MScPsy), spent approximately a decade living in Japan, where her academic, professional, and personal experiences contributed to a growing interest in Shinrin-Yoku and broader questions surrounding nature, consciousness, human well-being, and mindfulness.

The intention was never simply to create another programme teaching people how to lead activities in a forest.

Instead, the aim was to develop an educational approach that encouraged people to understand the scientific and historical foundations of Shinrin-Yoku while cultivating their own capacity for observation, reflection, ethical judgement, and meaningful engagement with nature.

We wanted students to begin by experiencing and understanding nature themselves, before learning how to facilitate experiences for others.

This distinction remains fundamental. A guide may learn how to introduce a sensory invitation, facilitate a reflective activity, or organise a forest walk.

However, learning a sequence of activities is not necessarily the same as developing the awareness, sensitivity, and judgement required to respond appropriately to different people and environments.

Our training therefore brings together scientific knowledge, Japanese cultural perspectives, mindfulness, nature connectedness, personal reflection, practical guiding, and professional ethics.

Over time, it has developed into three learning pathways designed to accommodate different needs, geographical locations, and ways of learning, while preserving the same core certification requirements.

02 / History, Science & Terminology

From Shinrin-Yoku to Forest Bathing and Forest Therapy

An important part of our training involves understanding the historical development of Shinrin-Yoku and the terminology used internationally.

The Japanese expression Shinrin-Yoku (森林浴), commonly translated as forest bathing, was introduced in Japan in 1982 as part of an initiative encouraging people to spend time in forests and experience their atmosphere.

Its purpose was not initially to establish a new clinical treatment or a profession based on a universally prescribed sequence of activities.

It encouraged people to rediscover something that had long existed: the possibility of engaging directly with natural environments.

As scientific interest expanded, researchers began investigating psychological and physiological responses associated with exposure to forests.

Over time, additional concepts and expressions emerged in Japan, including shinrin ryōhō (森林療法), translated as forest therapy, and shinrin serapī (森林セラピー), which became associated with different health-oriented and institutional developments.

These changes contributed to the growth of research, professional education, certification systems, and organised forest-based experiences.

Is it when an individual experiences relaxation? When physiological changes are measured? When a professional guide facilitates the experience? Or when an activity is formally organised within a therapeutic framework?

Within The Mindful Tourist® educational approach, we consider Shinrin-Yoku, forest bathing, and forest therapy to refer broadly to the same modality of intentional nature engagement, while recognising that institutional, cultural, and clinical contexts may introduce additional distinctions.

Changing the name of an experience does not necessarily change the processes through which human beings respond to nature.

Equally, the term forest therapy does not automatically mean that a guide is qualified to deliver psychotherapy or another regulated healthcare intervention.

For us, the important questions concern what actually happens during an experience, what contributions may support well-being, and what responsibilities belong to the professional guide.

03 / Our International Community

Five Years of Learning, Reflection and Connection

Since the development of our training programmes in 2021, we have had the privilege of accompanying people from many different backgrounds on their professional learning journeys.

Some arrived with experience in healthcare, psychology, education, environmental science, tourism, or hospitality.

Others had no previous professional experience in nature-based practice, but brought curiosity, commitment, and a personal relationship with the natural world.

We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to begin learning to become a guide, regardless of their previous academic or professional qualifications.

However, openness to learning must be accompanied by meaningful professional standards.

Certification is not awarded solely for attending classes or completing theoretical lessons.

Students are required to demonstrate their ability to prepare, facilitate, evaluate and reflect upon real Shinrin-Yoku sessions, with attention to participant well-being, professional boundaries, physical and emotional safety, and environmental responsibility.

The development of this approach has been informed by student feedback, research, international collaboration, and years of practical teaching.

From our first online training programmes in 2021 to our immersive experiences in Japan beginning in 2023, the curriculum has continued to evolve.

Today, approximately 170 certified guides form part of this history.

We extend our sincere appreciation to everyone who has contributed to this journey through learning, practising, questioning, sharing feedback, and continuing their relationship with nature beyond certification.

06 / Questions from Our Community

Why Do We Need Forest Therapy Guides?

During our recent Q&A session with Dr. Milena A. Guziak, participants raised thoughtful questions about professional authority, certification, commercialisation, and the value of guided experiences.

If people can already spend time in nature independently, what additional value does a guide provide?

Can a professional guide promise therapeutic outcomes? What makes a certification meaningful? Who determines the standards of competence?

We welcome these questions because they encourage us to examine our assumptions, educational methods, and professional responsibilities.

We believe that a guide's value should not depend on convincing everyone that they need professional guidance to benefit from nature.

Rather, guides may contribute preparation, accessibility, environmental knowledge, safe facilitation, opportunities for reflection, and meaningful shared experiences.

The intention should be to support an individual's capacity to develop their own relationship with nature, rather than create continued dependence on professional services.

07 / Continuing Scientific Inquiry

Research, Books and the Continuing Development of Our Training

The Mindful Tourist® training programmes are connected to a wider body of scientific research, professional writing, and reflective practice.

Dr. Guziak's publications examine subjects including the historical development of Shinrin-Yoku, forest atmospheres and phytoncides, mindfulness, nature connectedness, the design of sensory invitations, professional ethics, and the relationship between human well-being and natural environments.

This research continues to inform the educational foundations of our training, while encouraging critical examination of established methods and claims.

Our publications also include Your Guide to Becoming a Forest Therapy Guide, which developed from training materials used in Japan and gradually evolved through eight manual editions.

The first public edition is currently out of stock, and a revised second edition is expected by the end of November 2026.

08 / Your Learning Journey

An Invitation to Begin Your Own Journey

Whether you choose to learn independently, join an international mentored cohort, or travel to Japan for an immersive experience, the foundations of our approach remain the same.

We begin with curiosity.

We develop our capacity to observe, reflect, question, and engage with the living world.

We learn about the history and science of Shinrin-Yoku while recognising the limitations of what research can currently establish.

We develop practical knowledge, professional judgement, and ethical awareness.

And gradually, we learn how to share nature-based experiences with others while respecting their autonomy, individual needs, and the environments in which we practise.

As we enter another year of professional education, we remain grateful to the approximately 170 guides who have successfully completed our certification requirements, and to the wider community of students, educators, researchers, and collaborators who continue to shape this work.

Our Certified Guide Directory is currently being updated, and we look forward to sharing the revised directory as this work progresses.

To everyone considering beginning this journey, we warmly invite you to explore our three pathways and the questions that guide our educational philosophy.