FOREST BATHING

By Cheryl Siskin 

 In the 1980s, the Japanese coined the term shinrin-yoku for the experience of taking in the natural environment through all of your senses. Literally, it means “take in the forest atmosphere.” More commonly, it’s called “forest bathing,” and it is now becoming a mindfulness practice – a practice of going into a natural environment and really being there in a mindful way. See the beauty of the trees and the undergrowth. Listen to the sounds of the wind in the trees, the leaves crackling underfoot. Smell the mélange of scents to the point where you can almost taste it. Touch the bark on a tree, feel a leaf.  

There are people who bill themselves as experts in forest bathing. They will guide you through a mindfulness practice in a forest. You will turn off your phone and go into a forest and walk on and off trail. They will guide you through the practice of appreciating all that the natural environment offers. 

The benefits of Forest Bathing have been studied.  According to one article that discusses a study of 20,000 people, 120 minutes of being in a park or forest per week can be an “antidote for stress.”  The study documented the following benefits of the 120 minutes per week:

• Lowered blood pressure and stress hormone levels
• Reduction of nervous system arousal
• Enhanced immune system function
• Increased self-esteem
• Anxiety reduction
• Improved mood
• Lessened Attention Deficit Disorder and improves attention
• Reduces aggressive tendencies
• Rate of healing expedited
• Reduction of feelings of isolation
• Feelings of calmness increased
• General mood improvement
• Healing speeds up
• Reduced feeling of isolation, promoted calm

 (Source: Brown, Jim.  “Ecopsycology:  How Immersion in Nature Benefits your Health,” Yale environment 360, Jan. 2020.)

 Two hours a week isn’t that much time when you consider this array of benefits. 

You don’t need a guide or a formal practice to enjoy these benefits.  Do what people have been doing for millennia:  go spend some time in nature and feel all that it offers.  Turn off your phone and all other potential distractions.  Take a deep breath.  Take another.  Feel how the scents transcend your sense of smell and bring a sense of peace to your core.[1]  Listen closely.  Is there a creek bubbling in the background?  Look at the shadows.  Feel the sunlight that sparkles through the trees.  Just be.

This is “forest bathing.” It is probably what going for a hike or camping is to many. The Sierra Club was founded because there were many people who appreciated nature and the joys of going for a hike. They didn’t have a shaman or mindfulness guide. They understood what Native Americans have long understood:  “[w]hen a man moves away from nature his heart becomes hard.” (Lakota)

Don’t let your heart be heard.  Stop and smell the forest.  Go hug a tree.