Nature Therapy Session - 2 Hours on the trail with Author, Holistic Life  and Contemplative Adventure Leader

Brian Germain

1-5 Participants (Families/Friends Welcome!)

Locations throughout Montgomery County Maryland!

What is Nature Therapy?

I lead individuals, families and groups in nature immersion experiences. We explore and observe tiny things and big things, and tune in to the natural world. We listen and we smell and we touch nature so it can touch us.  

AWAKEN YOUR CONNECTION TO NATURE!

Who is Brian Germain?

Brian Germain is an acclaimed author of four books on adventure safety and the psychology of courage. As a skydiver with many thousands of jumps and an ESPN X-Games title as Freefly Champion, Brian has a great deal of wisdom collected over his 38 years of safe skydiving, including backcountry (Inn Hoppe) parachuting throughout Scandinavia. He has been a teacher of students ranging from Elementary School to the Special Forces for more than 30 years. Brian is currently working in cooperation with school systems and other educational groups throughout the DC and Baltimore area, teaching Science Technology Engineering and Math Seminars (STEM) at Vertical Wind Tunnels in many locations. As a parachute designer and test pilot, Brian has a unique perspective on the study of fear and the means and the reasons to pursue our heroic thinking and skillful action. The survivor of many dangerous descents from the sky, he has found a path of resilience despite adversity. He has spent more than a decade teaching kids about parachuting at the National Air and Space Museum and at Career Day events at many schools. Kids love him, and they benefit from his messages about reaching toward courage in our lives. Recently he spoke to a crowd of over 700 civilian and military leaders in Poland, in a one hour seminar on the Holistic Approach to Skydiving Safety, and this message is infused in all that he teaches. His well-rounded approach to negotiating danger has created a solid basis for his latest area of focus, nature hikes with families.

As a long-time naturalist and international mountaineer, Brian brings a powerful sense of meaning to walking in nature. He has led countless people, young and grown, through natural environments, bringing deeper meaning to the short expeditions. Communication and cooperation are among his core messages, the natural result of a caring, loving, supportive environment. When we walk in the forest in harmony with nature and with each other, we can feel that we are doing what we were meant to do on this earth. We are meant to be in the outdoors together, exploring the magnificent diversity of creation, and the holistic system of ecology that keeps us thriving. This is the missing component to the modern human experience, with our wondrous technology that saves lives and solves real problems, we must remember our connection to the natural world, so that we may be happy in our souls.

What is Nature Deficit Disorder?

A host of psychological and physiological problems have been linked to deprivation of nature immersion. Stress stands as the root of most of these disorders, diseases and family friction. We all know accumulated stress is one of the biggest problems in our society, and now the world has gotten even smaller with the pandemic lifestyle. Tension builds from constant demands on our attention, and expands unchecked when we do not have adequate ways to let go and return to who we really are. The internet, the TV shows, the news programs and social media have cornered the human spirit in a way that has never before occurred. So many among us feel lost and helpless in our hopes to escape the emotional pressure cooker of modern family life.

It is time to do something about it.

The Japanese government has funded a highly successful program of what they call "Forest Bathing", which has shown to have a great many benefits to health and psychological wellbeing. You can read a National Geographic Article on the topic https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/...

It is time to unplug from the virtual reality of screen-time and plug back into actually reality…nature!

It is time to re-connect with the natural world in a brand new way. Trained in Contemplative Psychotherapy, Expedition Leader Brian Germain offers a unique program for families looking for something completely different. These hikes can change your perspective on your life to lead you to a feeling of the full relief of your burden long enough to truly let it in. This is something we all need and deserve.

What is a Nature Appreciation Hike?

Brian will guide your family on a contemplative journey into the natural world, providing mental focusing exercises to reunite you and your family with our real home, the natural world.

Using all of our senses, we can awaken a part of ourselves that may have been dormant for a very long time. Technology may offer us many amazing conveniences, but it will never replace our need to immerse our senses in the sights, sounds, smells and emotions brought forth by our living planet.

Hikes are 2.5 hours in length, and are appropriate for most families. Challenge is scaled with the capabilities of the group, however the focus is less on physical challenges and nature awareness games and more toward mental exercises based on the teachings of famed adventure leader Joseph Cornell. "Sharing Nature with Children", Cornell's creative and inspiring book offers a powerful antidote to the technologically accelerated life experience of the modern human. Come out in the forest, and tune into the larger Self, the planet of which you are a part.

The leader of these expeditions is Brian Germain, the author of acclaimed book Transcending Fear: the doorway to freedom. A leader in the skydiving industry on a great many topics, Brian specializing on managing fear and encouraging skillful courage. Brian is the leader of many online and in person discussions in his 35 year teaching career, and his many years as a life coach and psychology researcher and writer have given his leadership manner disarming and inspiring. Brian did his masters work in Contemplative Psychotherapy at Naropa University in Boulder Colorado, and his focus holistic approach to stress management has proven highly effective for thousands of people all over the world. In his immensely popular book The Parachute and its Pilot, Brian likens and aerodynamic drag in flight is no different from the fear that pulls on a human in the life experience. Our creative pursuits are either expanded in the intrinsic love of the experience, or limited by by avoidance of risks that could have brought great rewards. Stepping off the pavement is scary for many of us, and this is nothing to be ashamed about. It is a product of our daily life. The problem is, there is not enough life sustaining inspiration

Come experience nature in a new way, for a new reason. Bring your bug spray, a water bottle, appropriate attire and for evening hikes, two light sources, just in case.

Maryland Hiking Sites include:

Meadowside Forest, Rockville 5100 Meadowside Ln, Rockville, MD 20855

Burnt Mills East Special Park, Silver Spring 10701 Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20901

Sugarloaf Mountain, Poolesville MD 7901 Comus Rd, Dickerson, MD 20842

Rachel Carson Conservation Park 22201 Zion Rd, Brookeville, MD 20833