[water surging] [birds chirping] [gentle music] [water trickles] - [Narrator] Time and nature can help reduce stress, improve your mood, and reconnect us to something essential.

[water surging] [birds chirping] The ability to separate from the noise and get into the rhythm of the forest should be accessible to everyone.

[birds chirping] [gentle music] According to research, just 17 minutes of daily exposure to nature can create a greater sense of connection to the world around you.

- Many times when I guide people on a nature and forest therapy walk, we are in wonderful natural settings, but it's not conducive to all populations being able to walk on those trails or move on those trails.

What I'd like to do is just kind of go around, have everybody introduce themselves.

- [Narrator] Along the banks of the Tuckasegee River, the Jackson County Greenway Therapy Trail is the first all-accessible certified forest therapy trail in North Carolina.

[gentle music] [people chattering] [birds chirping] It's known throughout the country, not just for the scenery, but for the feeling people carry with them when they leave.

[people chattering] [gentle music] [bicycle whirring] - This trail makes it possible for basically anybody to come and make a connection with nature.

[birds chirping] [gentle music] A lot of people, when they hear forest bathing, they think you need a swimsuit and a towel.

[birds chirping] [gentle music] Actually, forest bathing is just an immersive experience in nature.

It's about slowing down, connecting.

It's about using your senses to notice what is around you.

I invite you to listen for the sounds of this place.

[water rushing] [gentle music] [wind whooshing] [leaves rustling] [birds chirping] [gentle music] About five minutes or so after entering a natural space, your brain starts to slow down.

And instead of that to-do list, it starts to notice the patterns and the textures and the colors that surround you.

[birds chirping] [gentle music] For me, I feel like I'm home here in the mountains.

[birds chirping] [gentle music] And I think a lot of people want to experience a place that feels like home.

[birds chirping] [birds chirping] [gentle music] [bicycle whirring] [leaves rustling]