Forest Bathing Inside "ʻUmeke Lāʻau: Culture Medicine"

ʻUmeke Lā‘au: Culture Medicine by multimedia artist, visual poet, and educator Meleanna Aluli Meyer is a sculptural calabash symbolizing care and cultural practice. In Hawaiian culture, the ʻumeke or wooden bowl is a container for mea wai wai, precious things. This 22-foot-wide installation, part of the Hawaiʻi Triennial 2025, is meant as a safe gathering space for all to experience art and culture as a form of medicine and healing.

"Forest Bathing" (translated from "shinrin-yoku," an established public health practice in Japan) is a growing global wellness movement backed by 30+ years of scientific research on the physical and psychological benefits of immersing yourself in nature. The Relational Forest Therapy approach that your certified forest therapy guide practices offers further opportunities to remember that we are part of the natural world, to reinvest in your individual purpose, and to restore a sense of community. We are the precious things!

Through a sequence of open-ended, sensory-based prompts from your guide, youʻll be invited to slow down and become present. Thereʻll be moments of interaction with other participants (sharing of your noticings, if you like), as well as time to sit quietly in contemplation. What will stir in you inside the ʻumeke, enveloped by the bodies of trees, immersed in the indigenous values of aloha and mālama ʻāina (caring for the land)?

• The March 21 event coincides with the United Nation's International Day of Forests
• The April 23 event celebrates Earth Day (April 22)

• Metered parking is available on Punchbowl Street and South King Street and within the public portion of the Civic Center garage. Street parking is only available starting at 8:30 a.m. ($3/hour.)
• Protocol for respectful use of this space requires removing shoes/slippers before entering (please have clean feet). Wearing socks inside the installation is okay.
• We'll be sitting, lying, standing, leaning directly on the wood surfaces. No chairs or other objects that might harm the wood, please.
• NOTE: You should be able to sit comfortably for at least 15 minutes on a wooden floor, as well as lower yourself to and rise from that sitting position.
• Carry the minimum amount into the ʻumeke. Avoid bringing purses, bags, backpacks, etc.

Host or Publisher Forest Bathing Hawai‘i