Soma Sessions #8: Forest Bathing w/ Isabella McDonnell

~ Please note: These sessions are open to People of Colour only ~

Peaks of Colour's Soma Sessions are monthly spaces that invite global majority communities to deepen their connection with themselves, each other and the land.

Set in the Peak District, these informal and intimate sessions will offer an introduction to embodied and nature-allied practices that can assist in our healing from gendered and racialised trauma.

A space of repetition as Black Feminist practice (Foluke Taylor), and rehearsal as an abolitionist priority (Ruth Wilson Gilmore), Soma Sessions will support us to build capacity and resilience for a future in which the boundaries between our human bodies and our more-than-human landscapes are decomposed.

Session #8: Forest Bathing w/ Isabella McDonnell

Forest bathing, directly translated from the Japanese phrase Shinrin-yoku, is an embodied practice that involves immersing oneself in a forest environment to deepen the nature-allied connections that would have been enmeshed with the daily lives of our ancestors.

Communing with our local tree kin, Isabella will guide us to see nature connection through our own unique cultural lenses: the direct path towards true, co-created, interspecies belonging.

Date: Sunday 28th September

Time: 10:30am

Meeting location: Flying Horse Lawn, Lodge Lane, Sheffield, S6 5SP

Accessibility: There is a short walk over grass from the carpark to the session location.

Duration: 2-3 hours

Additional details: There is free parking at Flying Horse Lawn along Lodge Lane.

We reccomend organising car shares via our closed Facebook group: here.

The Sunday bus is now back running. We recommend getting the 120 at 8:54am (arriving at 09:46am) in case of delays.

What to bring/wear

• Walking boots / Comfy footwear
• Plenty of water
• Weather appropriate clothing/items eg Waterproofs/sun cream
• Blanket, sit matt, yoga matt or something comfy to sit on
• Any self-soothing items that you find helpful eg fidget toy or scented oils

About Peaks of Colour

Peaks of Colour is a Peak District-based nature-for-healing club, by and for People of Colour only. Founded in 2021 by Evie Muir, Peaks of Colour offers creative and holistic Walkshops, that explore alternative routes to healing and justice. Grounded in a Black Feminist, abolitionist, and nature-allied practice, our spaces invite communities to heal from gendered and racial trauma through an informal and intimate introduction to our local landscapes.

Join our Facebook group to stay up to date with our monthly adventures.

About Isabella McDonnell

Isabella is a dispute resolution practitioner, forest bathing facilitator and writer. She is the founder and host of the podcast, Xeno, and the founder of Roots of Belonging, which hosts outdoor events for mixed, dual heritage, and multicultural global majority people to deepen their sense of belonging in the UK outdoors. She is a recent graduate of the Opening Up The Outdoors programme and member of the All the Elements Network.