“Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth.”
Henry David Thoreau
If you are a woman transitioning/have transitioned into survivorship, after your cancer treatment ends, we invite you to join us.
We are passionate in helping women who are recovering from their cancer treatment find a new way of living through restorative nature-based wellness programs.
Adjusting to Life After Cancer
The Rebloom Initiative© is a Friends of the Forest initiative offering women who have completed their cancer treatment the opportunity to reclaim their lives, renew their bodies, and experience healing connections with other women through restorative nature-based wellness workshops and retreats.
For many women, a key dimension of healing is to be in community with women who share your wound and your strong intention to find healing. We hold this space for you—a healing space for women to come together to share, to offer support to one another, and help define your new normal of living after you’ve completed treatment.
Our nature-based wellness approach offers hope and healing to women cancer survivors by empowering them emotionally and allowing them to reclaim their lives after battling this devastating disease.
The generosity of our donors ensures that financial limitations do not hinder access to these life-changing services. Together with our supporters, we strive towards creating a world where every woman has the opportunity to heal and thrive.
The Quiet Path: A Healing Forest Bathing Walk
Saturday, April 19, 2024
Private Farm | East Haddam, Connecticut
We invite you to join us for a peaceful and transformative forest bathing walk, a special offering for women who have completed their cancer treatment. This nature-based wellness experience is designed to help you reclaim your strength, renew your body, and connect deeply with the healing power of nature and other women who share your journey.
The Power of Forest Bathing for Healing
Forest bathing, or Shinrin Yoku, is a restorative practice that involves immersing oneself in nature to reduce stress, improve mental clarity, and foster emotional healing. This walk will provide a gentle opportunity to ground yourself in the natural world, breathe deeply, and allow the forest’s energy to support you in the next phase of your healing journey.
A Healing Space for Women
Surviving cancer is an immense personal challenge, and finding healing after treatment requires deep care and attention. The Rebloom Initiative© creates a space where women who have walked similar paths can come together in support of each other. This walk is a reminder that while our paths may have been different, we share a common intention to heal, renew, and find our way back to wholeness.
What You Can Expect
Gentle Walk in Nature: Connect with the forest environment through mindful walking, slowing down, and attuning yourself to the natural world.
Mindful Practices: Experience restorative meditation, breathing exercises, and sensory awareness as we immerse ourselves in the forest’s sights, sounds, and smells.
Supportive Circle: Following our walk, we’ll gather to share reflections, offer support, and provide encouragement to one another.
Empowerment and Renewal: Allow this time to be a nurturing opportunity to embrace your body’s resilience and honor your journey.
This offering is a reminder that healing doesn’t only happen in a clinical setting—it can also happen when we create space for reflection, connection, and rest within the natural world. Together, we will share the simple, yet profound, joy of stepping forward in life with renewed strength.
Financial Support
This event is made possible by the generosity of our donors and is offered on a pay-what-you-can basis. We firmly believe that financial barriers should never stand in the way of a woman receiving the support and healing she deserves.
Join Us
If you’ve recently completed cancer treatment and are ready to step into the next chapter of your healing journey with the support of others, we invite you to walk with us this April. This walk will create space for you to reflect, to heal, and to reconnect with life after cancer.
Details
Our workshops are exclusively available to six women who have recently completed their cancer treatments. Should you wish to participate in this offering, kindly complete the application form, and we will contact you.
The application process is simple and straightforward. We ask that you provide us with some basic information, such as your name, contact details, and a brief statement of interest in the program. This helps us better understand your needs and ensure that our workshop can provide the support and healing that you deserve. We also understand that every woman's cancer journey is unique, so please feel free to share any specific challenges or concerns you may have.
Our goal is to create a safe and supportive space for women to connect, heal, and learn from one another.
Our Rebloom Programs for Women
Adjusting to Life After Treatment
For many women, a key dimension of healing is to be in community with women who share your wound and your strong intention to find healing. Join us in the serene, healing environment of Mother Nature, away from everyday stress, safe among an unconditionally supportive community of women survivors, and experience workshops and activities focused on healing, recovery, and moving forward.
Contemplative Journaling
and Poetry
Although the practice of journaling certainly isn’t new, it’s definitely a bit of a forgotten art. In today’s digital age, we tend to use our smartphones for everything.
But the physical act of putting pen to paper, especially while spending time in nature, can be calming, relaxing and rewarding. It makes us slow down and become quiet observers. It can also deepen your connection to the more than human world—and ultimately, to yourself.
Restorative Yoga in Nature
Restorative Yoga (RY) is a gentle form of yoga requiring minimal physical effort. It is accessible for post-treatment survivors of any age, any level of yoga experience, and in all states of health, even those recovering from surgery.
Its gentle nature allows women to find solace amidst their journey toward healing while providing numerous benefits for their overall well-being.
Persons who practice RY use long-held, resting poses mostly on the floor or in a chair, with an emphasis on breathing and relaxation. It is commonly called “restorative” because of its ability to restore the body to its natural homeostasis by using props like bolsters, blocks and pillows to create supportive poses of ease and comfort that release chronic patterns of muscular tension.
The Quiet Path
Forest Bathing Walks
Forest bathing is a wellness practice. It is a mindful and slow walk in nature during which your guide will share mindfulness practices and invitations designed to awaken your senses, tune in to the present moment, and reconnect with nature. In the process, stories surrounding nature - both inner and outer, often arise.
This is a walking meditation, not an exercise, hiking, or jogging, but simply being in nature and connecting with it through our sense of sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch.
Art & Creativity
Cancer has life-changing and enduring effects on the lives of women who experience it. Our creativity workshops are designed with a focus on emotional health, well-being, and creative self-care. You are guided every step of the way.
We offer a safe space for self-expression and reflection on changing identities for women who live with cancer without necessarily having to resort to words. These mindful art-making opportunities help women explore their stories for insight and healing.
Creative expression can improve our mental health and help us maintain a healthy outlook on life, give meaning to our life, and help us deal with daily challenges and grief.
We understand that financial constraints can often prevent individuals from accessing much-needed programs like this. That is why we offer our services on a sliding scale basis - ensuring that no one is turned away due to lack of funds. This commitment is made possible by the generosity of our donors. We are incredibly grateful for the support we receive from individuals who share our passion for helping women cancer survivors reclaim their lives. Your donations enable us to continue providing this vital program free or at an affordable cost for those in need.
Why Donate?
Smile, and the world smiles back
Nature has always been a source of solace and healing for humanity. The serene beauty of the natural world has a profound impact on our physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Spending time in nature can be particularly therapeutic, offering a respite from the challenges you have faced during your battle with this devastating disease.
Cancer is an illness that not only affects the body but also takes a toll on one's mental and emotional state. The diagnosis, treatment process, and ongoing recovery can leave survivors feeling overwhelmed, anxious, and depressed. However, research has shown that spending time in nature can help alleviate these symptoms and promote overall well-being.
Nature has a way of reminding us of the cycles of life and the importance of embracing change. Witnessing the changing seasons, observing flowers bloom or leaves fall, can serve as a powerful metaphor for women who have undergone their own transformation. Nature offers hope and reassurance that just as nature herself goes through cycles, so too can you navigate the ups and downs of your survivorship journey.
Falling in Love with the World Again
Be thankful for your life, spend time in nature, breathe deeply, let go of your worries,
forgive yourself and others, and build your life around what you love.