Hi First name / friend,

 

Welcome to our April Spring Issue.

 

🍂 If you’ve shared time with us before, do scroll further to enjoy our latest seasonal reflections, along with highlights from recent gatherings and what lies ahead — including key dates and thoughtfully themed walks.

 

🌿 New to Forest Bathing or wishing to deepen your understanding? You can explore the research behind the practice, its many benefits, and what to expect from our sessions here: Explore Forest Bathing with us

 

If you are not already a subscriber and would like to be, sign up here. 

🌿 Spring in Full Flow
As April unfolds, the quiet promise of early spring begins to gather momentum. What first stirred in March now starts to unfurl more visibly — hedgerows soften into fresh green, blossom trees scatter petals like confetti, and the woodland floor prepares for its great seasonal display. The carpets of yellow daffodils give way to bluebells emerging, birdsong becomes richer and more insistent, and there is a growing sense that the land is no longer awakening, but fully alive and in motion.

🌿 From Equinox Balance to the Blossoming of Easter Light 🌸
We move now beyond the still point of the Spring Equinox — known in the Pagan Wheel as Ostara — carrying that moment of balance into a phase of expansion, vitality, and expression. Where March invited alignment for new growth, April encourages this into action, with quiet confidence in what is already emerging.

This is also the time when ancient traditions subtly intertwine. The festival of Ostara, rooted in themes of fertility, renewal, and new life, is widely understood to have influenced the modern celebration of Easter. Though Easter is now observed as a Christian festival, its timing remains governed by the Moon — falling on the first Sunday after the Full Moon following the Spring Equinox.

Symbols such as the egg and the hare — long-standing emblems of fertility and rebirth — continue to echo these older seasonal traditions. Here in the UK, it is not uncommon for Pagan, Celtic, and later Christian customs to merge, creating a rich tapestry of meaning that still reflects our deep ancestral connection to the cycles of nature.

This year, Easter falls later than the traditional Ostara date, spanning Friday 3rd April through to Monday 6th April — an extension of this seasonal gateway into more light, growth, and renewal.

Across cultures and throughout time, this period has been honoured as one of emergence and possibility. A moment to nurture what has been seeded, to step forward with intention, and to trust in the natural rhythm of unfolding.

As you spend time outdoors this month, notice how everything feels just a little fuller. The light lingers longer, the air carries softness, and life is no longer tentative, but fully expressive.

April invites us not only to witness growth, but to embody it, by stepping into being more of ourselves.

🌑 Thursday 19th March at 01:23 – Alder Equinox New Moon

At the Spring Equinox threshold, the energy shifts into the Alder Moon, where light and dark stand in balance before the light begins to outpace the night.

Alder symbolises courage, steadiness and purposeful forward movement. Growing beside rivers, it stabilises shifting ground — reminding us to remain centred amidst change. Following the revelations of the eclipse, this New Moon invites grounded renewal. The month of the Alder Moon is considered a good month for making spiritual choices and getting in touch with your own intuitive processes.

🌕 Thursday 2nd April at 03:11 – Alder Pink Full Moon

This gentle yet strengthening Full Moon carries themes of emotional steadiness and inner resilience.

Aligned with Alder’s energy and habit of growing by water, it supports remaining rooted whilst allowing emotions to flow. Our meditation focuses on calming the nervous system, grounding the heart, and restoring balance as life begins to gather momentum.

🌑 Friday 17th April at 12:51 – Willow New Moon

As the cycle turns, we enter the intuitive and flowing energy of the Willow Moon. Deeply connected to water and lunar rhythms, Willow invites reflection, sensitivity and inner listening, guiding us to trust our intuition and honour the quieter currents within.

Willow moon month is associated with personal work and rituals around healing and nurturing, including emphasis on feminine energies.This is a good time for emotional clearing, gentle release, and reconnection with inner wisdom.

🌱 Step Into the Calm of the Forest 🌱

A short 36-second film, kindly created by Hunter Delves (Community Engagement & Fundraising Manager at Harry Edwards), beautifully captures the essence of Forest Bathing at this special venue. You can watch it on YouTube here.

We warmly invite you to join us for a deeply restorative Forest Bathing experience within the private semi-ancient woodland of the Harry Edwards Foundation, set amidst the tranquil Surrey Hills. Inspired by the Japanese practice of Shinrin-Yoku, these guided sessions offer a gentle yet powerful way to slow down, awaken the senses, and reconnect with nature’s rhythms as they unfold through the seasons.

Late April is a particularly magical time, as the woodland floor begins transforming into a sea of bluebells — their delicate colour and subtle fragrance creating an atmosphere that feels both uplifting and quietly enchanting.

A small update for Saturday sessions:
Start times are now 11:30am, allowing those who wish to attend Qigong with Sue Llewellyn (10–11am at the same venue) to enjoy both experiences, with time to arrive and settle before we begin at 11:20am. For Qigong bookings and other on-site offerings, please visit the Harry Edwards website.

Guided by Joanna Bristow-Watkins and Katie Robinson, each session unfolds as a slow, mindful journey through the woodland. You’ll be invited to notice the subtle shifts of the season — the texture of the air, the changing colours, the scent of the earth, and the quiet language of the trees.

Your experience includes:

🌿 Sensory Invitations – Gentle practices to engage sight, touch, sound and scent
🌳 Treelaxation Meditation – A deeply calming, restorative pause beneath the canopy
🍵 Woodland Tea Ceremony – A grounding and nourishing closing ritual

📍 Harry Edwards Foundation, Surrey Hills
⏳ Duration: 3 hours (2.5 hours Dec–Feb)
💷 Investment: £39.77

Sunday 26th April | 11:00 – 14:00
Sunday 17th May | 11:00 – 14:00
Saturday 13th June | 11:30 – 14:30
Sunday 19th July | 11:00 – 14:00

📢 IMPORTANT: Booking Within 48 Hours?
Please text 07930 414525 before booking to confirm availability. Book any of the above public sessions at the Harmony Shop

Wokingham Forest Bathing Session

🌿 Monthly events at California Country Park, Wokingham, RG40 4HU 

Wildlife Encounter - Cormorant
Last month Joanna was sitting quietly by the river during a client call when a cormorant appeared, settling into a nearby tree. It remained there for some time — still, watchful, and completely at ease — before diving into the water, then returning once more to its perch.

In nature connection, these moments often feel like more than coincidence.
🐦 The Spiritual Meaning of Spotting a Cormorant
Cormorants are remarkable birds that move fluidly between air, water and land, and in many traditions they symbolise the ability to navigate different realms of awareness. They invite us to look beneath the surface — to sense what is not immediately visible, and to trust the deeper currents of intuition.

Their stillness is equally significant. A cormorant will often wait patiently, observing the water below before taking action. This reflects a gentle reminder that clarity comes through pause, not urgency.

The image of the bird perched in the tree — particularly above flowing water — carries its own quiet message. Trees represent connection and perspective, while water reflects emotion and flow. Together, they suggest a moment of witnessing life from a place of calm awareness, rather than being swept up in it.

After diving, the cormorant returned — and released into the stream before settling again. Even this simple act can be seen symbolically as a form of letting go, allowing what is no longer needed to be carried away by the current.

Taken as a whole, the encounter reflects a beautiful natural teaching:

✨ Pause and observe before acting
✨ Trust what lies beneath the surface
✨ Move between stillness and action with ease
✨ Release what no longer serves, and allow life to flow

In the gentle rhythm of the cormorant — stillness, dive, return, release — we are reminded that nature is always offering quiet guidance, if we take the time to notice. 🌿

 Our Other venues

We also arrange private bookings and/or corporate sessions at a selection of locations in the Surrey Hills (Shere, Bramley, Guildford, Woking & Tadworth) and London (SW20, SW14, NW3).  Contact us for details on katieandjo@harmonyinnature.uk

Through Harmony Healing, Joanna offers a variety of online esoteric and energy healing courses, including online and in-person self-empowerment courses, intuitive readings and 1-2-1 energy healing sessions. She has an online Chakra Alignment course starting 11th March, see here for details.

 

Joanna also hosts monthly Full Moon Meditations online from 7.30-9.30pm (UK time) and produces a monthly Celestial Forecast, which includes insights on Moon Phases, Asteroid Showers, and Ancient & Modern Festivals, subscribe here.

 

Katie offers intuitive health mentoring and 1:1 places for Nurtured by Nature One-day Reset Retreats (Facebook Link, or message Katie without obligation for details). These retreats are designed for those needing a complete mind and body reset, away from their usual work and routines. Tailored to your needs, they include a selection from nutrition, breathing awareness, mindful movement, sounding or chanting, essential oils, ‘de-chemicalising’ your lifestyle, natural first aid, Reiki, and sensory nature connection through Forest Bathing. You will take away tips to transmute stress into calm.

 

This is a full day retreat, but half days, or for 2-3 people, are available on request. To discuss your ideal retreat, message Katie directly on 07596 830910.

 

 

mob. 07930 414525 Jo
mob. 07596 830910 Katie