Understanding Forest Bathing in Dzūkija National Park
A comprehensive guide to forest bathing traditions in Lithuania's most biodiverse region, exploring how to properly engage with forest environments for wellness.
Read ArticleHer Journey
From Research to Education
The Beginning: A University Discovery
Audra's fascination with wellness didn't start with yoga studios or meditation apps. It started in the archives. During her undergraduate years at Vilnius University, she stumbled onto research about how Lithuanian communities had been using natural environments for healing for centuries. The pirtis ritual. Forest walks. Mineral-rich Baltic air. These weren't wellness trends — they were time-tested practices embedded in cultural DNA.
She couldn't look away. After completing her Master's degree in Health Promotion in 2013, she knew exactly where she needed to go: into the forests and communities where these traditions were still alive.
Three Years in Dzūkija: Learning from the Land
From 2014 to 2016, Audra spent significant time in Dzūkija National Park. Not as a casual visitor, but as a researcher embedded in local communities. She documented forest bathing traditions that go back generations. She sat with elderly pirtis masters, recording their knowledge before it disappeared. She walked the same trails that Lithuanians had walked for centuries, understanding how nature connection becomes medicine.
This wasn't academic distance. She lived it. She felt the difference between walking through a forest and truly bathing in it. The distinction matters.
The Bridge: Connecting Tradition and Modern Wellness
In 2016, Audra made a strategic move. She partnered with Vilnius-based yoga studios to create something genuinely different — meditation programs that weren't stripped of cultural context. Programs that incorporated pirtis philosophy, forest connection, and Baltic wisdom alongside contemporary mindfulness techniques. It was radical in its simplicity: stop separating ancient practices from modern wellness.
That work expanded. She began conducting field research in Palanga and Neringa, interviewing traditional healers, documenting coastal wellness practices. She'd spent over a decade now preserving knowledge that might otherwise be lost.
What Drives Her Now
At zemenoras Solutions UAB, Audra channels this decade of research into educational content. She's not interested in selling quick fixes or wellness trends that'll be forgotten next year. She's focused on helping readers discover genuine, culturally-authentic ways to unwind. The kind that actually work because they're rooted in real understanding of Lithuanian landscapes and real respect for traditional knowledge.
True relaxation, she believes, comes from knowing the why behind the practice. And she's made it her mission to help others find it.