Been for your forest bathe lately?
To you and I, a tramp through your local woods…. Easily
enough done, yet easy to forget how wonderful it feels and more so easy perhaps
to feel too busy to bother in the first place; so perhaps not that easy…! There
is evidence to suggest now though that a “forest bathe” is a great form of
therapy, for the mind, body and soul!
While the benefits of regular exercise, especially outside and in nature are
known, a growing body of research is evidencing the benefits to mental
wellbeing and health from exposure to forest and woodland environments in
particular. Known as shinrin-yoki ( http://www.shinrin-yoku.org/shinrin-yoku.html
),
this is a well researched type of therapy developed in Japan in the 1980's and
forms the foundation of preventative healthcare and healing in Japanese
medicine.
When I'm not massaging my lovely clients I get out in my local woods ( https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/wood/10316/elnup-wood/
) and
having just returned from a decent tramp, I can vouch for all those benefits!
It’s simply an assault on all senses in the most positive way.
A true sight for sore eyes, absorbing the lush verdant
leaves all around, the brown earthy hues of the soil and tree trunks, the
glimmers of glorious blue sky through the canopies of leaf coverage and if
you’re lucky enough, the sunbeams filtering through the gaps creating an
unearthly, mystical forest magic to the whole scene.
The lovely bird song, rushes of breezes through the trees sounding almost like
the sea, the ebb and flow of the tide, the rushing of the waves, the rhythmic
swaying of the branches swaying in the wind. All music to the ears tired of
traffic, music, radio, that internal infernal voice even…
Smells of the forest enhance the experience - the earthy soil and the
catches of scent of some flower or other, as does the feel of the sunlight on
your skin, the soft breeze across your face and fresh air moving your hair and
blowing away the cobwebs... The enforced deeper breathing means you are almost
ingesting the air you take in, using it as nourishment to feed your way –
tasting life itself in all its glory!
Forest bathing forces you to be present. You have to tend to your step to avoid
the tree roots, the unexpected dips of the uneven pathway, to pay attention to
your footfall if you want to avoid the nettles. You are scanning your horizon
almost sub consciously, plotting your next move and direction. You are half
aware of your entire surroundings, checking are you safe, is anyone around.
However, you are also soaking in the pure presence, of being in the moment. It
is almost a meditation in motion, if you allow it. If you can let the
relentless chatter in your mind switch off for a while and focus on the job in
hand, tramping through the woods, you are in a state of pure mindfulness. A far
more easy exercise in mediation than the formal version, for me at least. And I
like to use these tramps as just that, as a walking meditation.
The body is getting a fine work out, the mind is idling in a semi meditative
state and the soul is soaring from taking in the blissful benefits of nature’s
bounty all around via all five senses. This reflects the precise state of what
is known as ‘flow’ in positive psychology, the ideal state that according to
its founder Mihaly Csikszentmihályi, makes our lives more happy,
creative and successful. One you might recognise as ‘being in the zone’.
While part of the brain that manages stress can get over stimulated in urban
and city environments, natural environments soothe this, producing positive
changes such as a lowering of blood pressure and adrenaline in the body
resulting in a reduction in physical stress and depression, to name but a few
of the many improvements for the body, mind and spirit.
It seems the added bonus to walking through forest and woodland is that certain
trees and plants secrete chemicals known as phytoncides which have a known
beneficial impact upon humans linked to improved immune defence as they inhale
the smells! Notable plants include garlic and pine so get yourself down to
Fairy Glen in Parbold ( http://www.westlancs.gov.uk/leisure-recreation/parks-and-countryside/parks-and-countryside-sites/fairy-glen-appley-bridge.aspx
)
for the wild garlic and/or Formby beach forest reserve ( https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/formby
)
for the pine trees, both in abundance!
So what’s not to like about forest bathing?! It’s free, and if you’re lucky
enough, local to you. As if you needed any more reasons to get down to
the woods and thrill in the experience of being immersed in nature! You might
want to try it some time, and the next time, approach it with a different
perspective!
