FOREST BATHING

 

What's the big deal about Forest Bathing?

                                      

Age Old Solution To A Modern Problem

"I don't like either the word [hike] or doing it. People ought to saunter in the mountains - not 'hike!' Do you know the origin of that word saunter? It's a beautiful word. Way back in the middle ages people used to go on pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and when people in the villages through which they passed asked where they were going, they would reply, 'A la sainte terre', 'To the Holy Land.' And so they became known as sainte-terre-ers or saunterers. Now these mountains are our Holy Land, and we ought to saunter through them reverently, not "hike" through them."

 John Muir

ADDICTED TO TREES

Spending time with nature can lower your heart rate, reduce stress hormone production, boost immune system function and give you a general feeling of wellness. Feeling better with positive effects lasting for weeks after a trip to the trees. Becoming more rested and less stressed, anytime, anywhere, anybody. Small doses work too, as little as 15 min-20 min. at a time. You can't overdose but you can become addicted. You will be in good company of course. John Muir, Henry David Thoreau & Robert Frost, all went to the woods and came back the better for it.

SHINRIN YOKU

Shinrin Yoku as its known in Japan, can be loosely defined as using all your senses to take in the forest. Using sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch to really experience it. The main difference
between forest bathing and all other outdoor activities is less activity and more awareness.  Unlike hiking and camping, which are more about destination. The bathing destination is not about where your going, but where your at. Being in the here and now, not the future or the past.

 HARD SCIENCE GROUNDED IN NATURE

 NK (lymphocytes)- natural born killers cells-are proven by science to increase in production by 50% after regular forest bathing. These are infection fighting, cancer killing cells. Or as our friend John Muir put it  "Come to the woods for here is rest. There is no repose like that of the green woods. Sleep in forgetfulness of all ill." or thanks to Hippocrates "Vis medicatrix  naturae" (the healing power of nature).

FOREST BATHING TO DO LIST

Leave to do list with your cell phone, camera and all other distractions behind !

#1 SEEING -  slow down, look at bugs, veins on a leaf, the current in a stream. Things you miss on a hike. Take notice of the clouds, sun, moon, and stars, the flowers, snow and ice.

#2 HEARING Find a quite place, be still and listen to sounds of the wind, birds, squirrels, rustling leaves, tumbling water.

#3 SMELL Trees emit phytoncides, natural aromas. Think pine and cedar, flower blossoms of all kinds. Especially after a rain, which has a smell of it's own.

#4 TOUCH Trees alive and dead, rocks, water, dirt, and mud. Feel the sunlight, shade, heat, and cold.

#5 TASTE Take a Thermos of hot water make a tea of a plant or tree (make sure you ID correctly to avoid poisons)

#6 SUPER POWERS So called 6th sense, use the other 5 to hone your intuition and creativity.

THE ROOT OF PROBLEM - WE LOST OUR ROOTS

Oddly the same benefits can be had indoors, where we spend 93% of our time. By using wood on flooring, ceiling, and walls you can replicate the serenity experienced in the forest. More odd is the fact that you can have too much of a good thing. Best  results were received when only 30-40% of interior surface was covered in wood. Not 100%, odd indeed. But perhaps more understandable when you consider that a forest that is to thick makes you anxious, fearful, and possibly disoriented.

LEST YOU FEEL YOUR TIME IS WASTED

Consider this, Leonardo Da Vinci observed that small branches of a tree, have an exact , mathematical relationship to the larger branch that they came from. Thus giving them the ability to withstand hurricane winds. For a real world example think of the engineering of the Eiffel Tower. Don't forget Newton's observation of the apple.

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE

"Everyone goes to the forest; some go for a walk to be inspired,

and others go to cut down trees. " Vladimir Horowitz

I confess to coming to the forest for both, out of need for each.

RLR