Human Forest - Honouring Yourself. A Regenerative Touch Experience.

In a world that constantly asks us to give, it’s easy to forget the most powerful gift we can offer ourselves: the ability to honour our boundaries. Honouring Yourself is a journey into reclaiming your "no"—a sacred step towards discovering the full power of your "yes."

This special Human Forest Experience is not just about touch, but about deep listening—to your body, your intuition, and your needs. When we learn to say "no" with clarity and confidence, we unlock the freedom to truly embrace life’s "yes" moments, the ones that bring us joy, connection, and authenticity.

Why is this theme important?

Boundaries are the foundation of trust, both within ourselves and in our relationships. Without them, we find ourselves lost, disconnected, and unsure of what we truly want. When we honour our "no," we are actually honouring our deepest truths. We learn that saying "no" is not rejection—it’s a way to create space for the things that align with who we really are.

In this event, you will be invited to explore your boundaries in a safe, nurturing environment. You’ll have the chance to practice what it feels like to fully trust yourself and express your needs without fear. This is an opportunity to reclaim the sacred power of your "no," and in doing so, rediscover the joy of saying "yes" to what truly matters.

WHAT IS A HUMAN FOREST?

For those of you that don't know, a Human Forest Experience is a human ecosystem connected by consensual touch.

Half of the room will be trees who will be blindfolded and receive loving, devotional touch from the other half of the room (the critters). You will have the opportunity to experience being both a tree and a critter.

These events can be powerful, healing opportunities for participants to experience intimacy and joy. Our priority to supporting participants to leave our events feeling opened, cared for and loved.

Come be part of a movement awakening people to the joy filled, healing and restorative power of touch.

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IMPORTANT:

• In this event we focus on devotional, loving and non-sexually oriented touch. Note: there is no genitalia touch at this event.
• All our events have been remarkably healing and opening for many participants, as seen in the testimonials above.
• That being said, this is a touch focused event. If you have any history of trauma related to receiving or giving touch, please be in touch with us directly to seriously consider whether this event is right for you.
• Participants are required to be on time to ensure they understand how to communicate their boundaries with clarity and respect via the consent and boundaries section at the commencement of the event.

About your facilitators:

Jehan Abeysekera -
Jehan is the newest addition to the Human Forest Project. Since 2021, he has been a strong supporter behind the scenes, advocating for the medicine that comes to a community whenever there's a Human Forest Experience in town. Now, he is actively taking part in cultivating that medicine.
Jehan's priority is building the foundations of safety in a space which provides more room for playful curiosity. He believes that there is magic to the Forest- it can be felt with our senses, when we strengthen the relationships to ourselves and each other. With his experience facilitating for the 'The Man Cave' (a Not-for-Profit helping adolescent boys develop greater emotional intelligence and awareness of consent), ultimately his focus is dismantling the barriers to developing a deeper connection with our community and nature.

Ali -

With touch being her primary love language, Alicia (Ali) has been a long standing ‘Tree’ of the Human Forest events in Melbourne and experienced her first Human Forest at Burning man in 2017. Today, she is a facilitator of the Human Forest Experience, trained by the Human Forest Project. As a somatic trauma therapist, her innate wisdom, intuition and sensitivity are her guiding light. These gifts of awareness have been further refined through a dedicated spiritual practice of more than 10 years which included 5 years spent teaching yoga, and meditation, coordinating silent meditation retreats and various workshops at a well-respected yoga school in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Called to help and support others, Alicia has worked professionally in mental health with people from all walks of life. Academically, Ali has completed a Postgraduate Diploma of Psychology, Bachelor of Science Psychology/ Psychophysiology, Diploma of Mindfulness Therapy, and Triple Vagal Method practitioner certification. With all this experience, Ali holds loving, compassionate, and non-judgmental spaces and has a profound love for nature that she can’t wait to share with you.

Things to note:

Bring:

- Comfortable clothing

- Some nibbles and/or drinks to share with others at the end

- An open mind

- Any friends that might be interested! ;)

Personal responsibility: Please make an assessment on whether you are feeling stable and resourced enough to explore the practices on offer in this event.

Arrival: Endeavour to arrive between 6:30pm - 6:45pm. To preserve the experience for all involved, doors will close at 7:00pm. Truly, it breaks our heart to have to turn latecomers away yet the disruption to the whole group experience by virtue of lateness does require management. We ask that you find understanding and consideration for the timebound nature of the container and make every effort to arrive on time.

Driving: Know Centre of You is on Chapel St and ample time to find a car spot is best to be factored into your plans. Park direct on Chapel St (spots unmetered after 5pm) or in Anchor Place, the open-air parking lot in the side street that runs opposite Centre of You (unmetered after 4pm).

Public transport - tram: Both the number 6 tram & 78 tram stop on the corner of High St/Chapel St. This is stop 31 on the number 6 tram (Moreland/Glen Iris) & stop 45 on the number 78 tram (North Richmond/Balaclava).

Public transport - train: Both Prahran & Windsor stations along the Sandringham Line will get you walking distance to Centre of You.

Finding Centre of You: Centre of You is nestled within the arcade that Chapel St Bazaar is in (217 Chapel St). It is up a flight of stairs with a wide landing at the half-way-point. Unfortunately, this current version of Centre of You does not have a wheelchair accessible lift. If you could use support in getting up the stairs or would like to discuss ways to make your experience at Centre of You more comfortable, please reach out via [email protected] or via DM over on Centre of You Instagram.

Accessibility: At COY we aim to ensure our community and events are inclusive and accessible while alongside upholding the needs and responsibilities of our business and the businesses of our collaborating facilitators. Should you be in a time of financial challenge and unable to pay the full ticket price comfortably, please reach out via [email protected] or via DM over on Centre of You Instagram

Ticketing T&Cs: We get it, life happens, therefore we will gladly refund you up until 24hrs before the event start time. After that, we have a strict no refund/no transfer to future events policy.

If you are no longer able to attend and wish to pay forward your ticket to someone within the community, be in touch via [email protected] or via DM over on Centre of You Instagram.

Questions? Email [email protected] or reach out via Instagram DM.

Host or Publisher Centre of You