Forest Bathing

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Forest Bathing

Forest Bathing - I just love saying these words together. I find the image that comes to mind so peaceful..

Studies have shown that being in nature reduces stress, anxiety, depression, anger, and it strengthens our immune and cardiovascular systems. Most people who walk in the forest know they feel good while doing it, and feel better when they are done.

Forest Bathing – Shinrinyoku, is a practice that started in Japan in the 1980s. Forest bathing is about taking time to really enjoy and absorb nature, with all of our senses: with our eyes, noticing the various colours of green, the sunlight through the trees. With our ears, hearing the rustling of leaves and birdsongs.

With our nose, the smells of the earth, the air, flowers. With our hands, touching the textures of tree bark, smoothness or roughness of leaves and rocks, warmth, coolness, dampness of the earth.

Also, allowing instinct/ intuition to direct us to where we would most benefit from all that the forest has to give us, while standing, sitting, walking under trees, on rocks, or in clearings.

Forest Bathing is also much more about the chemical aerosol spray that trees give off, an essential oil. Different trees give off different oils. The immune boosting benefits of these essential oil sprays has been scientifically proven to last for 30 days after your walk in the forest. Evergreen trees are the greatest producers.

I am encouraged that there are countries all over the world that understand the life giving properties of the old trees and intact forests. They make a point of preserving them and consider them important to the overall health and wellbeing of the people, society and the future of our planet.

There are many places all over the world that offer up their Forests for Forest Bathing practices, Japan, Finland, Iceland, Sweden, Switzerland to name a few. As we move into the year 2022 and start to think about making New Years resolutions, let’s add forest bathing to our lists. If enough of us experience these amazing benefits, we will see our trees and forests in a much more life affirming way.

Rommy Verlaan is the creator of Heart Song Native American Style flutes in Lake Cowichan.