Alex Musgrove

About

Alex is a certified and accredited forest therapy guide with the International Nature and Forest Therapy Alliance (INFTA), an international network promoting the health benefits of forest therapy worldwide. Giving her walk participants the opportunity to slow down and connect with nature, Alex says the benefits of forest therapy walks are three-fold: direct, indirect and social. Direct effects include a reduction in blood pressure, stress hormone levels and anxiety; increased levels of mental... Alex is a certified and accredited forest therapy guide with the International Nature and Forest Therapy Alliance (INFTA), an international network promoting the health benefits of forest therapy worldwide. Giving her walk participants the opportunity to slow down and connect with nature, Alex says the benefits of forest therapy walks are three-fold: direct, indirect and social. Direct effects include a reduction in blood pressure, stress hormone levels and anxiety; increased levels of mental clarity, concentration and focus. There is also improved immune function, with an overall positive sense of wellbeing. Indirect effects include: improved fitness levels, possible weight loss, reduced risk of depression and better quality of sleep. Alex believes that the forest as a learning environment raises awareness of the benefits and diversity of nature, and these social effects encourage holistic thinking, improve social behaviour, respect and responsibility for nature. A forest therapy walk, she says, can also translate into greater appreciation for the national parks and botanic gardens and how they provide important access for us all to health-giving environments. Forest therapy originated from the evidence-based public health practice of Shinrin-yoku in Japan in the 1980s (also known as forest bathing) and its numerous benefits have since been well documented. On her Forest Therapy guided walks, Alex works to hold space for her clients so they intentionally slow down and relax. Along with providing carefully curated activities including breathing exercises and qigong, she gets participants to tune their senses towards the forest environment. By learning to fully attune to nature on her guided walks, Alex hopes her clients will then be able to practice this attentiveness when they go out on forest walks on their own. Alex loves being in the natural environment. When we go outside our sensory nature wakes up and we become more aware of the whole world going on with the animals, plant life, birdsong, and aromas. Alex aims to help others to experience being in the natural world. She believes many of us have forgotten that the forest was once our protector and a “place and source of comfort and calm”. The feedback from walk participants is overwhelmingly positive, Alex says, with many of them commenting about how relaxed they feel afterwards. Alex has had a long-term interest in health and wellbeing and spent a considerable period of her career in a medical environment. Read more

Languages

English

Therapies

Membership of professional associations

• International Nature and Forest Therapy Alliance
• IICT

Education and training

- Parks Eco Pass Certificate, National Parks and Wildlife Service (2021) - INFTA Certified and Accredited Forest Therapy Guide, International Nature and Forest Therapy Alliance (INFTA), (2020) - Core Cultural Learning Certificate, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Studies, (2021) - Mental Health First Aider, Mental Health First Aid Australia (2021) - Introduction to Qigong, Theory and Practice, Long White Cloud Qigong, (2021) - St John's Ambulance First Aid Certificate (2020) - Cert III in Guiding, (SIT30316), Tourism, Travel and Hospitality Training, NSW TAFE (2019) - Bachelor of Arts, University of Auckland (1991)