Congress 2021 blog edition
By Valerie Leow, J.D. Candidate, University of Alberta
Zoom Fatigue is very real and this year’s conference going virtual is no exception. Have six minutes to spare? Check out Kira Cooper’s "Forest Bath," a short guided meditation session designed to enhance one’s relaxation and connection with nature, available on demand as a recorded video at Congress 2021 for you to watch from wherever you are and whenever you feel “called to do so”.
Kira Cooper, PhD candidate at the University of Waterloo and Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Environmental Studies Association of Canada (ESAC), invites you to put down your mouse, step away from your keyboard, and temporarily unplug yourself from the technology that we have become increasingly accustomed to using, especially since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Depending on the travel restrictions in your area and the location that you are geographically situated in, it may be hard to find a secluded or safe space in nature to just be in. Instead, Cooper’s video endeavours to bring the Oak Ridges Moraine in southern Ontario to you through footage filmed in said region used in combination with soothing voiceover designed to guide you through a brief meditation session.
So “find a comfortable, yet dignified position” – sit, stand, or lie down, “whatever this looks like to you is completely fine” – and partake in an experience of fully inhabiting the moment and losing yourself in the feeling of all of your connections to life around you. Once you have fully extended your “roots,” “consciously begin to send out loving, kindness, and compassion through your root systems. Feel yourself actively wishing well for the wellbeing of others – wishing them vitality, joy, and healing. Notice their receptiveness to your generous wish in reducing their suffering. Each time you release these gifts of loving attention, feel your own roots strengthening in return."
“Allow yourself to be breathed deep into the forest. Wander in this place of spaciousness, of healing and renewal. Be here for as long as you feel called to do so. And whenever you feel ready, slowly invite gentle movement back into your body and open your eyes.”