In 2020, Melissa Lem, a B.C.-based physician and environmental champion,  founded PaRx. In collaboration with the BC Parks Foundation, PaRx permits (and encourages) doctors to prescribe time in nature. Yes, it’s as simple as that. A big dose of nature–doctor’s orders! As part of the program, prescriptions include a Parks Canada Discovery Pass allowing patients to truly find patience and well-being outside.

Long ago, parents may have had to wrangle us to take an actual bath, but for the typical childhood or ‘wildhood’ of the 60s, 70s and 80s, forest bathing was a natural instinct, we just didn’t call it by such a fancy term. Reality TV was found in our backyards, not through a screen.

Outdoor adventures, especially in the company of like-minded women, are as energizing and healthy as 8 glasses of water and oatmeal for breakfast. You get all the benefits of a sound night’s sleep and a yoga stretch by simple immersion outside and, often, outside your comfort zone.

If you’re feeling zapped by a to-do list that seems to leave you no time for even a regular bath, let alone a forest bath, here are a few recharge destinations that place you as #1 on the to-do. 

The Camino: Find Your Bounce on the Way

Walking is free and instantly curative. Choosing to walk the Camino de Santiago is a big step in the right direction to a more balanced you. Wild Women Expeditions offers three signature experiences on “the Way” and each is guaranteed to slow down your racing mind! Absorbing a landscape on foot allows you to walk within and take the day totally in stride. Your only ‘job’ is to walk to your next velvety cup of cafe au lait. Then walk a little longer to lunch. You get the gist. Walking is a powerful, silent way to get to a better version of yourself and the Spanish and Portuguese terrain and flavours can help put that missing bounce back in your step.

Bali: Massage For Your Muscles and Mind

Photo Credit: Julie-Anne Davies

On WWE’s Beauty of Wild Bali tour, bodywork is the hardest work you’ll do. Ease into your Balinese days with morning yoga classes. Sink into hot springs after a challenging crater hike. Ooze into the long strokes of a long-awaited massage. Reset your sleep patterns and embrace a new palate bursting with lemongrass, turmeric, the tart freshness of mangoes and jackfruit. You’ll be totally pampered in Bali with boutique stays like the Wapa Di Ume Sidemen Resort and Spa. The extreme river and valley views are just the spot to split open a journal and contemplate where you are and where you’re going. After, find a daybed under the shade of a palm by the upper level infinity pool and remember to always revisit this feeling when you leave Bali.

Jordan: Come Alive in the Dead Sea

Did you know the lowest point on earth is the Dead Sea? Spend a memorable morning lolling about in the Dead Sea. Soak, float and then enjoy a purifying mud and salt scrub. Forest bathing is amazing, of course, but so is a bathtub-warm swim in the Red Sea, and you can do that too on WWE’s Journey Into Jordan. There’s a sea of stars in Jordan too–with almost zero light pollution, a stay at Fenyan Ecolodge will leave you totally star-struck. From the Ecolodge’s rooftop, a telescope will bring you even closer to the dazzling constellations. On this soul-rejuvenating trip you can reconnect with your kid-self and climb the sand dunes and lunar-like landscape of the Valley of the Moon. 

About Your Prescription

Photo Credit: Alina Cheng

What can we prescribe for you? A walk across Spain? A massage in Bali? A trip to the Valley of the Moon? Unfamiliar and sometimes uncomfortable experiences in unexpected places can bring us the ultimate balance in life–and some new friends to share it all with!

You can read about Donna Reina’s powerful healing experience on the Inca Trail here. The strength our Wild Women community member found in the Sacred Valley helped propel her through her recovery from a rare form of breast cancer. Her story is a testament to the importance of never forgetting “you”.

“For a woman over 50, I wanted to be an example that no matter what, it’s time to keep going, keep trying new things and pushing myself. This trip filled me with joy in my heart and a readiness for more adventure.” ~Donna Reina