FOREST BATHING

Blue Ridge Forest, NC

The Japanese Art of Shinrin-Yoku

 

Growing up in the central Kansas heartland of America instilled in me a sense of wonder and awe for the grand skyscapes that offered a wide panorama of deep blue sunny days interspersed with immense roiling thunder clouds.  So, I was never introduced to the experience of walking under vast canopies of towering trees until much later in life.  I’ve written many times since then about varied experiences of being outside in nature hunting along the rolling prairies, fishing along serene creeks and rivers, walking the beaches of the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts and hiking in the mountains across this vast country.

 

But it was only recently here in North Carolina that I discovered the Japanese term of shinrin-yoku, meaning forest bath, as we experience life under the canopy of cascading forest trees.  It’s been noted that we human beings have evolved our body and brain out in nature for 99.9% of our existence.  Most Americans now spend 93% of our time inside or in vehicles.  Prior to the advent of air conditioning, we would spend more time outside, but now we leave our air-conditioned homes to drive to our destinations in air-conditioned vehicles and enter urban air-conditioned buildings.  Our technology and fast paced lives have isolated us from nature and contributed to aggravated conditions such as cancer, strokes, higher blood pressure, ulcers, depression, anxiety, and compromised immune systems.

 

The Japanese formally embraced and defined Forest Bathing as one means of social prescribing activities to counter the effects of modern life and there is evidence that the benefits are worth pursuing.  A casual, meditative walk in the woods is a way to regain balance and temporarily escape the stress of everyday life.  And a chemical that is released by trees and plants called phytoncides has been found to bolster the immune system.  Organic compounds, pollen, fungi and bacteria contribute to the micro-organisms we humans need for a robust and diverse microbiome.  We can inhale their exhalation and exhale their inhalation as we coexist symbiotically.  The art of Forest Bathing is not a cure for illness but it can be a proactive preventative.  And it is a great place to commune with our Creator. 

 

This forest therapy can heighten our awareness of the present moment through our five senses by taking in the bathing impressions of nature all around us without the interfering noise of modern life.  And once we establish a calming quiet place in nature, we can always return there, if only in our mind.      

A walk in the woods,

The art of Forest Bathing,

Return to nature.