"Forest workshops" were organized by Irig moj grad in cooperation with project partners within the Interreg IPA CBC HU SRB program - Natural Selfness, ref. no. 1602/31/0242.

The workshops were released on the following dates and contents:

The basic forest wellness program is a therapeutic forest walk. It is structured according to the ANFT method and consists of: introduction, POP element, WIN element, ID element and tea ceremony. The effect of this walk was especially evaluated in relation to mental well-being and it was shown to have a significant beneficial effect on improving the quality of life for both depressed and anxious people. At the same time, it increases creativity and intimacy with other people, oneself and the environment. This program is applied successfully all over the world in public health, health tourism projects. Along with yoga, it is the only preventive medical branch in health insurance companies and companies. It is also used in team building, as well as in rehabilitation programs, problems of juvenile delinquency.

The basic program of this workshop is the presentation of the traditional Japanese health and preventive program of bathing in the forest air. This ancient method has been applied in Japan for centuries, and has been experiencing its renaissance since 1980. It implies the luxury of immersing in the atmosphere of the forest and enjoying its bounty. Shinrin-yoku is a simple method in which one surrenders to the atmosphere of the forest. The Ministry of Health of Japan has invested significant funds in scientific research, which has proven that breathing forest air and its aromatic molecules - phytoncides, is manifold beneficial for the quality of life, well-being and health.

Unlike the forests of Japan, which are dark, European forests, especially Balkan ones, combine the positive effects of the sun and the forest atmosphere on the quality of life of the participants, their well-being and health. The Balkan forest hammam is characterized by laughter, joy, dance, song, as elements of forest theater, but also leisure, as the most luxurious tourist program (doing nothing, idleness, muse).

Phytotherapy as a complementary medical discipline has its place in forest wellness. First of all, through programs of forest walks with a naturalist while recognizing medicinal plants and learning about their health potential. We use plants for the tea ceremony, the forest SPA table, and the aromatic plants are an element of herbal bošči-pinda in pinda as well as massage wellness techniques. Medicinal plant products represent an important element of the souvenir offer in forest wellness. Horticultural therapy through Micobacterium vaccae, a happy bacteria from the soil, stimulates the creation of endorphins (hormone of happiness) in participants and contributes to improving the quality of life as well as grounding (walking with bare feet on the ground). The workshop will demonstrate the formation of a health kindergarten.

This workshop aims to present the basic elements of art therapy through the creation of installations from nature that express gratitude to mother earth as collective art, mandalas made of natural material (from the forest), body art as well as bibliotherapy with haiku poetry.

This workshop is intended for the education of women entrepreneurs and other participants from vulnerable populations. The goal is to enrich the tourist offer of forest wellness with products made of wood, plants, forest fruits, wool and other natural materials. The importance of this workshop is also the connection of the participants with the tradition and culture of the area where the forest wellness programs are carried out.

The sensory garden is an important element of the forest medicine and forest wellness program, it sharpens the senses, contributes to mindfulness, relaxation, encourages creativity and is used in the TIM building and health kindergarten programs. Especially interesting are the Japanese gardens, the French and the English type of sensory garden. The workshop is intended for pedagogues, psychologists, landscape architects, tourism experts, ecologists...

The music therapy and sound therapy workshop is intended for psychologists, pedagogues, tourism workers and health workers. Soundscape is one of the most important elements of the wellness program as a whole, and especially the forest wellness program. The variety of biodiversity (the number of bird species and their song) is directly proportional to the effects that forest wellness has on mental well-being. In addition to the sounds of nature (the murmur of water, the sound of the wind, the chirping of a story or simply silence), sound baths that produce specially designed sound bowls, gongs and bells, as well as the sounds of various instruments (harp, flute, koshi, raindrop stick and other percussion instruments). Singing therapy through the activation of the throat chakra is also an important element of the forest wellness program.

The tea ceremony is an indispensable element of the forest wellness program that connects phytotherapy, aromatherapy, meditation, gastro art, tradition and culture of peoples around the world, starting with the Chinese tea ceremony, through Japanese, South American and folk medicine. The combination of medicinal herbs in the form of tea is part of the program of the Serbian medieval hospital in Studenica. We present this program, entitled "Herbs, prayers and the sound of bells" as a representative program of forest wellness and health tourism in Serbia. The setting of the tea ceremony includes art therapy, a forest SPA table and is an expression of gratitude to nature and mother earth. In the ANFT method, the tea ceremony represents an element of incorporation where we connect with nature both externally and internally.

The forest SPA table is an inseparable element of forest wellness and includes the preparation of food from ingredients from nature (the forest), which implies the use of organic products and implies sustainable development. We will show recipes based on mushrooms, forest fruits, carob, acorns, sremuš, zove, acacia, edible flowers, micro-herbs and ferns... We will get to know the concept of forest to plate, forest on the table as well as the elements of the forest vital bar.

The workshop consists of three parts that are closely related. Ayurveda - the science of life, the first and oldest medical system recognized by the WHO. In forest wellness, we use the following programs: daily routine, diet, aromatherapy, massages (Pinda sweda, massage and only massage). Health Qi gong exercises contribute to improving the quality of life and the physical and mental well-being of forest wellness. Laughter yoga is one of the breathing therapies. It is especially applied in forest wellness through simple exercises such as: let's open the heart, make a cappuccino, measure the laughter meter... The exercises are intended for participants of all ages, including people with disabilities and oncology patients.

Forest theater is a branch of forest wellness, created in India, which includes combined techniques of dance and movement therapy, laughter therapy, bibliotherapy, music therapy, art therapy, psychodrama, aromatherapy, philotherapy, body art...

More info at this link: shorturl.at/hrtA1