"Reconnect with a wilder
way of being."

Tahia Devisscher

"We Evolve As We Love"

"You have a presence, Tahia, that seemed to me to exemplify the way science and spirituality can come together to create wholeness, which could be a paradigm shift for hope in our world. I felt inspired and very glad you’re doing the work you’re doing to bring this to others. I have been going out into the Stanley Park forest more since
our “bath” and with greater attentiveness than previously. The experience will stay with me. I’m very grateful."

At this nature immersion, I will hold space for connection and growth, and make sure you have fun in the process. Yes, laughing is a large part of it.

I will focus on connection with Self because I believe that the relationship we cultivate with ourselves is a reflection of how we relate with everything else. I will then facilitate mindful movement and spiritual practices to deepen your connection with others and the natural world we are part of. The intention is for this journey to support your inner growth. By the end of the immersion, you will feel restored, physically activated, uber creative, and clear about a lifestyle you feel proud of creating and leading. You will also have a heart full of sweet and playful moments.

How will I be a companion in your journey?

By merging my passions and offering them as a gift to serve you (and nature). I bring 20 years of experience as a dancer, yogi, and teacher to create nature-inspired movements that will support your physical and mental well-being. I will integrate breathwork, meditation, and energy medicine to activate your natural defenses and flow. To deepen your senses, introspection and creativity, I will be your guide in forest therapy walks. At every step, I will share scientific evidence that informs the practice, so that you can take this embodied experience home and integrate it into your daily routines.From beginning to end, I will stand as a witness to celebrate your life-work of art.

As time went on, I became more fascinated by the study of people and nature relationships. This curiosity took me around the world. I studied the forests of Borneo and how Indigenous Peoples who live in incredibly diverse forests were affected by deforestation and the rapid expansion of oil palm plantations.

I studied the forests of the Congo basin, and how forest communities there were affected by land conversion and climate change. I worked in the Amazon forests, developing strategies that could prevent wildfires through local traditional knowledge collaborating with Indigenous communities, farmers, and local authorities. Building resilience to climate impacts became my core interest, and as a scientist I dedicated 15 years to work with communities, non-governmental organizations, the United Nations, think tanks and governments on projects that build climate adaptation strategies based on ecosystem management.

In the past decade, this passion also landed in cities. I turned to cities because I realized that many of the environmental problems I was working on in my research were rooted in the increased disconnect between people and nature caused by urbanization. I delved in the study of urban forests and how greening cities can help restore and strengthen the relationship between us, humans, and the more-than-human world.
Walking this path, I became increasingly aware of the multiple benefits nature provides to human health and well-being. In particular, I learned about the effects on mental health, partly moved by what I observed during the covid-19 pandemic and my own personal experience during that time. In my current position as university faculty, I lead projects aimed at enhancing the role forests and greenspaces in and around cities play in supporting human well-being and building resilience to climate change. I also develop practical strategies to increase the connection between people and nature through urban rewilding.

Alongside academic undertakings, my life has seen the evolution of my other dearest passion - movement - manifesting in many shapes and forms. Movement is for me a language of ultimate expression, a means of deep connection, and a sacred venue for healing and coming home. Early in life, I embodied these manifestations of movement through dance. For two decades, I dedicated my life to ballet, jazz, and contemporary dance. As a professional dancer, I directed a dance academy teaching ballet, modern and folk dance to children and young adults. It was dance that captivated my moves, but the force behind this practice came from its expression, connection, and language capacity.

In most recent years, I have been combining my research interests, fieldwork experience, teaching and training skills, with my practice in nature-based care to create unique retreats and conference sessions tailored to different participants.
I have facilitated a range of experiences: from sharing meditation and visualization techniques in large plenaries, to guiding (in-person and virtual) forest bathing walks for conference participants and public health workers; from teaching yoga outdoors to small private corporate groups, to teaching yoga to very large public groups above hundred people; from facilitating intimate generative sessions that involve embodiment of ideas, to facilitating multi-day retreats for academics committed to designing new, cutting-edge interdisciplinary programs for biodiversity conservation and climate resilience.

In addition, my experience conducting fieldwork in different remote locations, and with very diverse teams, has given me much appreciation for biocultural diversity and the skills needed to adapt to changing conditions, both of which are fundamental in the nature immersions we are creating with Wild Living.

Damien Norris and I first crossed paths in the forests of British Columbia, Canada during an immersion for our forest and nature therapy certification. The first practice I remember sharing with Damien was to ‘playfully create dream living spaces among trees’, an amusing invitation proposed by our guide. As we moved organically through the forest floor with big smiles in our faces, I knew this was the first of many more co-creative projects we would embark on. Damien’s journey and expertise on natural movement was fascinating to me, as well as his PhD on human rewilding through wild parcours.
Ideas flourished with time about ways in which our experiences could come together in developing holistic immersions that can offer transformative and restorative journeys to Self and nature. Wild Living as a concept became alive as we walked the wild shores and forests of Tasmania dreaming passions, and the fusion of complementary approaches that as One would create something bigger than ourselves. A life project that is unfolding into extraordinary offerings, and a story that will now be created with you…

• About Damien

Damien Norris

"Our movement is the 'thread' that connects us to the world."

"Damien is an excellent and engaging presenter who can connect with people of all ages. Damien has presented at our university class several times on the topic of Parcours and La Méthode Naturelle and how these can be used to enhance well-being. The sessions are experiential based, and Damien skilfully leads students through a wide range of movement activities. The sessions are very much enjoyed by the students and are a real highlight for the semester."

Associate Professor Ben Piggott, Notre Dame University Fremantle.

At this Salt Spring immersion, I will lead movement experiences centered on wild parcours, Animal Flow, and functional, efficient movement. My expertise comes from 20 years as an elite gymnast and coach, as well as extensive personal and professional experience in la méthode naturelle (the natural method).

My passion for connecting with nature through movement is infectious. This, combined with a proven ability to instruct with humor, enthusiasm, and empathy, makes me an exceptional teacher. I’m a walking embodiment of the benefits of human rewilding and living a life of vitality. I dare you to guess my age!By focusing on efficient movement patterns in nature, I will deepen participants' bonds with the natural world, cultivate a profound appreciation for life, and share movement practices like how to fall, roll, balance, carry, and navigate obstacles in a way that might save a life—or a limb—in the years to come.

When I retired from elite gymnastics in my twenties, I transitioned into community development and international aid work.

Over time I took on professional roles as a criminal and civil lawyer, public guardian, university lecturer, philosopher, and human rights consultant.
As a lecturer I was in charge of the immersion program which guided students into remote, often isolated and challenging locations, in places as diverse as Timor Leste (East Timor), India, and 'outback' Australia. It was as a leader of these immersions that I witnessed the powerful transformational potential of immersion opportunities.Eventually I settled into a regular desk job and after two decades of a sedentary lifestyle, I became a father and everything changed. I was forced to reevaluate my physical health and fitness.
How I revived my fitness by practicing La Méthode Naturelle (the natural method) in natural and urban environments was shared on the TEDx platform: "It’s time to rewild." (below)

The TEDx presentation led to people from around the planet to contact me. This led to an in-depth exploration of human movement in nature. Explorations that took me around the planet; learning, teaching, and sharing. It is now the focus of my current PhD and research into human rewilding.
Now my life is dedicated to these passions: movement in nature and human rewilding. My studies explore, in practical and theoretical ways, how moving in 'wild spaces' fosters a deeper connection with the more-than-human world; a perceptual shift that changes how we understand nature and how we understand our own lives as one species among many.

Relevant to Wild Living is meeting Dr Tahia Devisscher. Tahia, I have learned, is a kindred soul who appreciates the Earth as I do, but from a different vantage point.
Tahia saw the forest through the mind of a scientist, but to label her as such does not really capture the totality of her worldview. Bubbling beneath the ‘data’ of the trees is a deeper spiritual 'current'.
Many of the details of Wild Living evolved organically on a hiking trip that Tahia and I enjoyed in Tasmania. Ideas sprang up as we walked in ancient forests.

The concept of a nature immersion that combined our passions appeared in dreams as we slept under the brightest of stars. Later these dreams appeared on butcher's paper during focus sessions and dreaming discussions. Two hearts, two minds, one vision. Each person's contribution became a synthesis; coalescing passions that formed into something neither of us expected.Wild Living is the 'synthesis' of our wanderings.

I think we surprised ourselves in creating Wild Living. Reflecting back over the time it has taken to bring this project to life, I notice one last observation worth sharing. Bringing Wild Living to life has not felt like work. It has never been a labour that I needed to take a holiday from. It has been the outflow of a shared passion. A careful and soulful work. In fact, from where I stand now, Wild Living seems to be the experience of our combined lives now shared with the world.
I've been coaching movement for close to 30 years now, but I have never been more excited about the movement offerings of Wild Living.

And I am very excited to be able to share this new 'wilder' world with you.

• About Tahia

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