Wahi pana, translated from Hawaiian: storied places, sites of legends or of historical significance, sacred grounds endowed with mana (spiritual power).

As Hawaiʻi’s first certified forest therapy guide, it’s my privilege to introduce you to the natural beauty of our islands and some of its storied places. Imagine, as we first step onto these grounds, hearing their moʻolelo (stories):

These are the ways I offer land acknowledgements. It is through stories, I believe, that we begin to open ourselves to a relationship with these living, breathing spaces.

Wahi = place or space
Pana = celebrated or noted; also pulse or heartbeat

Under the shade of a tree, I’ll invite you to join me in a circle. Would you please tell us your name, Iʻll ask, then where you call “home” (whatever that word may mean for you) and what brings you here today? I’ll explain how this way of introducing ourselves pays homage to the Hawaiian practice of asking the forest permission to enter. Traditionally, that request is made in the form of a chant, an ʻoli, that includes one’s lineage, where one’s family comes from, and one’s intention, i.e. to hunt or forage in the forest.

As voice follows voice in our forest bathing circle, connections begin to arise. There are murmurs of recognition as someone remembers a childhood of endless days playing outdoors. Heads nod when “home” is described as wherever one’s loved ones are — breath quiets when someone admits they’ve never felt rooted anywhere. When someone shares about their stressful work life and how they are desperate to “refill their tank,” those sensations are mirrored in the collective body. Over the course of mere minutes, we have each slowed down enough to listen…to hear our stories, witnessed and reflected back to us.

I wonder if, in declaring yourself, your purpose and your presence, to the human gathering and to the surrounding forest, you have now truly acknowledged the land and experienced (even if just in a small way) a native world view?

“You don’t have to chant. That’s the way we [Hawaiians] communicate with our environment. But if you’re not from here, it’s a simple ask: an introduction of who you are and an ask to enter into this space and what your intentions are for your time that you’re here.

And I think it’s the reverberation of the voice that’s important to come out in the environment, for that reciprocal relationship to start, even if it’s just talk.”
                                                                   – Kauʻi Kanakaʻole, kumu [teacher of] hula

The three settings in which I guide on the island of Oʻahu each offer a distinctly different ambiance and opportunities for all sorts of new “reverberations.” These days, I accept private bookings only, exclusively for you and your selected guests, so the experience can be truly bespoke! Please look me up if you’re ever in my neck of the woods and let’s talk story.

“Talk story” is a Hawaiian expression for the cultural practice of storytelling and sharing experiences. Deeply rooted in oral traditions, it encompasses entertaining, casual chit-chat, as well as a means to transmit values, history, and knowledge between generations, fostering community connection and preserving cultural heritage.

Phyllis Look is the owner and founder of Forest Bathing Hawaiʻi, based in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. She has facilitated nearly 500 walks in-person and remotely since her certification by ANFT in 2018. Her walks have been recognized in The New York Times, Forbes, National Geographic, Lonely Planet, and magazines of United, Japan, and Hawaiian Airlines, among others.  

Photo credit: Joy Galatro. The location pictured is Hui Noʻeau, a visual arts center on the island of Maui. The walk was part of Healing Trees, a series of free forest bathing walks offered to the community in the wake of the devastating Lahaina fires.