HOF HACARMEL FOREST, Israel—On the lush, green Western slopes of Mount Carmel, overlooking the coastal plain and the Mediterranean Sea, scores of Israelis lie on mats on the forest grounds, practicing yoga and deep breathing to melodic chimes aimed at natural well-being and the healing of body and mind.
After 21 months of war and the 12-day conflict with Iran that sent Israelis scurrying to bomb shelters and safe rooms at all times of the day and night, a new initiative offers weary Israelis body-and-mind-healing activities through nature.
The Israeli organization best known for the hundreds of millions of trees it has planted in forests throughout Israel –Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund — has teamed up with the brother of an Israeli regional council head who was killed with his son in his kibbutz near the Gaza Strip during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre to use nature as a healing agent.
“Nowadays in Israel, if you are not stressed out, you ask yourself what is wrong with you,” Doron Amitai Libstein, 55, told JNS on Thursday. Libstein’s brother Ofir, 50, head of the Sha’ar HaNegev Regional Council, was killed along with his 19-year-old son Nitzan defending Kibbutz Kfar Aza.
“We hear on the news that the war [with Iran] is over, yet our bodies still feel that the war is on,” Doron Libstein added.
“When you lose a brother and a nephew and two other family members, you ask yourself what can I do that is meaningful,” continued Libstein, who worked in hi-tech before switching to the field of well-being. “Once you do something that is meaningful and good, you find value in life and responsibility instead of victimhood.”
The breathing wellness in nature project, using the forest as a healing space, was launched this week at the Hof HaCarmel Forest in the Mount Carmel National Park, south of Haifa. It is being offered free of charge at various national forests, with the next event slated to take place on July 31 at the Ben Shemen Forest, located between Modi’in and Lod in central Israel.
“You cannot have internal tranquility when it is dirty outside,” said Iris Avraham, KKL-JNF project initiator. “Just as we clean the forests, so too we can clear people of their stress through the forest.”
Armed and leading a distress workshop
With a pistol tucked in his waist and a T-shirt with “BREATH” written on it, one of the instructors at the workshop offered in the Hof HaCarmel Forest was leading a group of women, including wives of IDF reservists, in a breathing exercise as he played pleasing musical chimes.
“I’m surrounded every day by people who are stressed and with fears even now because of the situation, so to breath and stretch in nature in such a beautiful place gives you good energies,” said participant Sigal Rosen, a 52-year-old mother of four from the nearby community of Megadim. “It really can help a person spiritually get over fears.”
Adi Erez, a 33-year-old from the Carmel community of Nir Etzion, was cradling her 5-month-old baby girl Faran. Erez gave birth during a year when her husband spent most of his time away on military reserve service. She was taking in the natural vibe at the event as a change of pace.
“Even without taking part actively in the activities, this was a very pleasant and relaxing event in the midst of a difficult period,” she said.