Full disclosure, forest bathing sounds slightly more elaborate than it is. You don’t need your swimsuit, not even a towel + actually it is not even really an organised event as such. Forest bathing is simply the act of mindfully immersing oneself in nature; bathing our senses rather than our bodies. However it is the effects of forest bathing that are so much more interesting than the now trendy term often appears. As old as nature itself, the expression was only coined in the ‘80’s when the Japanese put structure to what cultures around the world have historically used for thousands of years: the irreplaceable healing effects of the natural world on human well-being.
Seen as an antidote to a rather aggressive emergence of the tech-boom, shinrin-yoku as it is known in Japanese, was a welcomed remedy to the then very stressful environments materialising in the workplace throughout Japan. In fact it was seen to be so effective on people’s health that the Japanese government began prescribing it for highly-stressed-out workers. By the ‘90’s, researchers were becoming more + more interested in the positive impact the practice was having on people’s mental + physical well-being that they began looking into the benefits for everyone no matter the scale of stress. What distinguishes forest bathing from a simple walk though? Great question. Well, striping everything back to the power of our senses has significant capacity to decrease anxiety + depression; working to slow everything down in the mind positively feeds through into the body as greater embodied level of overall health. As we become more aware of how detrimental mental stress is to the physical body we actually have more ability to heal ourselves than ever before. And as is often typical of the most powerful healing tools, it really is simple.
These days there are many trending groups coming to light with professional guides to take you on mindfulness / meditative walks all over the world. Some therapists - see Hike Psych as one example - are even taking sessions outdoors in an effort to further influence the work done during psychotherapy treatment. Some things to consider though if you decide to embark upon a more immersive experience in nature yourself are to leave your phone behind if it’s safe to do so. Being present with the capacity to connect with the world around you is the only real focus. As wonderful as it is to go with others, try it by yourself if you’re looking to tap into your innate ability to heal + hone a more focused ability to tune out the world + into your intuitive powers. Don’t clock your walk or time on any device, it’s about mindfulness without judgement, not achievement of any kind, especially not steps, calories or distance. As you step away from the distractions of your everyday world, seek to bring awareness to your senses, ask yourself, what do I see? What can I hear? What does it feel like to touch the trees or how does it feel to walk over the different textures of the forests floor? Can I smell anything?
There’s just one question left, are you ready to feel the power of nature in a whole new way?
