We had the good fortune of connecting with Sari Telpner and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sari, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?

This is a really spot on question for me regarding my work. Ten years ago I was working what I thought was my dream job, at a large natural foods co-op as a Wellness Consultant. At the time I thought it was a perfect fit with my background as a Health Educator. In 2013, I was diagnosed with a condition called Meniere’s Disease which initially manifested with some minor hearing loss, tinnitus and unbalance.

   By October of that year I had my first violent vertigo attack which became increasingly frequent. Having already tried various alternative remedies, I next tried an Rx medication prescribed by my E.N.T. Specialist, called Meclazine. It made me extremely groggy and I had to stop taking it. I pushed very hard the next year at work, suffering chronic vertigo. One year past the diagnosis I collapsed at work and was unable to return. While working I didn’t have the time to rest and heal. Before I collapsed, I really didn’t know what was happening to me. According to blood work, my stress levels triggered an adrenal collapse connected with the vertigo symptoms.

   I spent the next two years mostly sequestered at home due to severe vertigo. During this time I discovered energy medicine. I began practicing Medical Qigong; Reiki Energy Healing- training in Reiki Levels 1,2, 3, becoming a Reiki Master. That was the very beginning of launching my private work as a healer in 2015. I discovered that gentle practices relating to the energy body began to calm the vertigo and started me on a journey back to myself and to balance. At this time I became a credentialed Whole Health Educator, already having my Master’s Degree as a Health Educator. My Whole Health Educator Program over a 16 month period was a treasure trove of tools I applied to my own healing, towards my Physical, Emotional, Nutritional, Environmental and Spiritual Health. As I regained my balance, I increasingly launched my work as a Health Educator, offering Health Education/Coaching along with Reiki Energy Healing Sessions.

  I didn’t fully understand at the time  that I was going through an “awakening” process triggered by the original healing crisis- a journey of self-discovery. I remained very sensitive to light, sound and being around the energy of many people together at once.

   In this process, I discovered some very helpful complementary healing modalities for finding balance and calming my sympathetic nervous system. Many were new to me including Medical Qigong, daily Self-Reiki, 4-7-8 Breathing, daily Gratitude Practice and Irlen color prescription lenses to decrease the vertigo, light sensitivity and support nervous system healing. I also discovered and trained in The Wim Hof Method using ice water immersion to support stress and my immune system. I developed a potent toolkit for myself as well as for my clients. Stress has been found to be a major trigger of chronic disease and I was gaining tools to share with others in need of stress regulation.

   Due to my sensitivities, I spent much time alone and outside in nature all year round. This time opened up a new world to me. Though I’d always spent much time in nature since childhood, the natural world opened to me in a new way and in 2017 I began taking my clients into the forest for nature immersion experiences. Their response to these experiences was quite profound. I as the facilitator and they as my participants were deeply changed from this new way of connecting with one another, ourselves and the natural world. I knew I had found my work and in 2018, I became a Certified Nature and Forest Therapy Guide through The Association of Nature and Forest Therapy. Once certified, I founded Wild Wellness Guide, focusing my health education practice on Nature and Forest Therapy. My experience as a Forest Therapy Guide has been the key that has truly brought me back to balance. I have discovered that the medicine that has been most potent for my own wellness and wholeness is the medicine I am here to offer to my clients.

   I am a “life-long learner.” I am passionate about inner growth and how we find wholeness in this challenging world. Forest Therapy is a practice which helps people not only find a new relationship with nature and themselves, but increased physical, emotional, mental and spiritual wellness and deep rest through calming the sympathetic nervous system.

   In early 2021 during the height of The Pandemic, I discovered a practice created by, Kat Novotna, a fellow forest therapy guide, called, “EcoNIDRA”. It is a nature-based form of the ancient practice of Yoga Nidra- a practice for deep rest. I signed up at that time for The EcoNIDRA Teacher Training, becoming a Certified EcoNIDRA Teacher. A big part of this training for me was  to immerse myself deeply in the practice for my own well-being through the deep rest it offers. It has become a daily practice for me for more than two years now.

  My early work and life threw me completely out of balance and the process I went through to regain it brought my current work to me. My daily self care practices are an integral piece of my ability to offer my work to others.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

I arrived at where I am today with my Nature-Based work through a personal transformation process, catalyzed by a healing crisis that lasted many years. I think of it as an alchemical process of leaving my former self behind through learning deep new lessons from my body, the energy around me, nature and the many teachers who showed up when I reached out for support.

Forest Therapy
My life and work is based in Ashland, Oregon, a small town with an economy based on tourism. Located just 15 miles north of The California border, we are directly in the middle of wildfire country and suffering from severe drought. The moment I became certified as a Forest Therapy Guide, the fires hit our region very hard. As well, our local economy was seriously impacted by The Pandemic and is still struggling to rebound. I tried relocating a couple times in the past 4 years due to the climate situation and after half of our valley burned down in September 2020, but my connections here to people and the land are so well-established and strong that I have returned and am here to stay for now. Due to extreme climate changes, I have changed my vision of how I do my work here. I plan my forest therapy walks between late September or early October, running through fall, winter, spring and to mid-June. Now, more than ever, I cherish the cool, wet months for my own personal nature immersion as well as for guiding forest therapy experiences. The world is changing in regards to taking for granted the former climate we knew and relied on. I feel it’s more important than ever in these times to help people find ways to connect deeply with and fall in love with nature. I believe that what we love, we protect and advocate for.

   During a forest therapy walk, through an initial sensory meditation, participants are facilitated in slowing down and crossing a threshold into an embodied state of sensory connection. This allows us to connect in a new way with nature, ourselves and others. In this process of slowing down there is no goal of getting anywhere and no goal of identifying plants, fungi, trees or animals. It is a time to be present and meet nature as we are in a way we may never have before. The “Standard Sequence” of a forest therapy walk as developed by A.N.F.T. is a relational practice connecting humans with the beings of nature- often referred to as, “The More than Human World.” The practice helps connect us in  a new way with ourselves, others and nature. I invite participants through a series of “Invitations”, where we have an opportunity to interact in different ways with the nature around us. All the invitations are open and “non-prescriptive” with no one way to do them. Some of the invitations may be partner invitations where we interact with nature in pairs or small groups and some are done solo. Every forest therapy walk is different based on the time, the season and the particular day. The day before each walk, I scout the trail we will be using and plan invitations based on what is happening at that time in the forest or park. I observe where the light and shadows are falling; the temperature; what is happening with the plants and trees; insects/dragonflies; ducks; squirrels; the sky; the sun or the clouds; noises in that particular area or foot traffic. I spend a good amount of time finding the various locations where we’ll have our invitations and I stay open and ready to change the trail areas the actual day of the walk, based on the conditions I find when I arrive to prepare the day of the walk.

   This practice helps people learn how to create their own personal forest bathing/forest therapy practice which can be done in a backyard, on a porch or looking out a window as well as in a park or forest. Each experience ends with a wild-foraged forest tea ritual which helps prepare us to cross the threshold back into active life once again.

   The beauty of Forest Therapy is the ever changing patterns of the natural world and the unique people who show up for each experience. As well as being a quiet and meditative sensory experience, forest therapy can be quite fun and playful. Each forest therapy walk is a new experience based on the daily changes in the natural world as well as the unique people who attend.

   I have been facilitating ritual space for groups for decades and am blown away each time I facilitate a forest therapy walk in terms of how connecting, profound and life-changing the experience can be. I feel grateful and honored to partner with the natural world and hold space as a forest therapy guide.

   Currently I offer seasonal walks at Lithia Park in Ashland, ancient home to The Shasta Nation. It is a beautiful forest with miles of trails along a large year-round creek. Wildlife abounds in this deciduous and coniferous forest. The Japanese Garden at the park was recently renovated and is included in the various trails I use for my walks. Seasonal walks are geared to The Public. As well, I offer Private Walks for Individuals; Couples; Bereavement; Special Events such as Weddings; Birthday’s; Blessing-way’s; Religious Groups; Women’s /Men’s Groups and Team-Building Walks for Business Organizations.

EcoNIDRA
At this time I am using EcoNIDRA as a personal practice for deep rest and self-care and am also establishing collaborations to offer the practice through businesses, Yoga and Retreat Centers.

 Wild Writings
I have been writing for years on my website blog which is called, “Wild Writings.” My writing is becoming much more personal as I share my life stories. I am beginning to allow myself more time to write as I have many stories to share. Whether my writings will take the form of blogging or shift to longer stories remains to be seen. I will discover this along the way and am very grateful for new openings in my life to move forward more fully in this direction.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.

My best time ever is lots of quiet, slow time in nature.

We would spend time at Lithia Park; hike in Ashland’s Oredson-Todd Woods; the trail system above Lithia Park and Grizzly Peak. We’d take a day trip to Crater Lake National Park and to The Headwaters of The Rogue River. If there’s time we’d head to The Northern California Coast and the Redwoods in Jedediah Smith State Park for a couple of days.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to recognize and honor Shayne Case who has been a healer and guide to me since the very beginning of my healing crisis. Shayne arrived in my life at a time when I could barely stand or leave my home due to severe vertigo; a time when my life was pain, fear and loss. Through working with Shayne over an extended period of time, I discovered my inner voice and learned to listen to it. I learned to trust in myself from the deepest place of knowing. The work I did with Shayne; the space she held for me, helped me find balance and walk forward into a new life as I discovered my true self. (shaynecase.com)

Website: https://www.wildwellnessguide.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wildwellnessguide/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WildWellnessGuide

Image Credits
Sari Telpner Graham Lewis Cornelius Matteo Nicole Blanchard

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