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History of Forest Bathing
It is of no surprise that shinrin-yoku or forest bathing started in Japan as two thirds of it is covered by diverse regions of forest.
Their two main religions Shinto and Buddhism believe that the forest is “the realm of the divine” and in Shinto many spirits, called Kami, are within all the constituent parts of nature including the trees.
In the 1980’s “technostress” or “karoshi” meaning death by overwork, was prevalent in the cities. A government department was directed to test scientifically the effects of nature on the human body and psyche. The benefits of connecting with nature with all ones senses, literally bathing in the forest, resulted in an evolving therapy that has been borne out of intuition and supported by peer reviewed scientific research.
What is forest bathing – shinrin-yoku?
By now you might have heard about the healing effects of Forest bathing. The research started 40 years ago in Japan in 1982 and is now recognised as a clinically proven therapy.
It involves spending time in a woodland, slowly connecting to nature by stimulating all your senses.
Our bodies still recognize nature as our home as 99.9% of our time as Homo sapiens have been spent in a natural environment.
It is hard wired into our DNA.
Just two hours in a woodland can act as a preventative of the build-up of many modern stress related maladies and can be beneficial for up to 30 days.
Here are some of the benefits that have been clinically proven and peer reviewed:-
Lowers blood pressure
Reduces blood sugar levels
Lowers concentration of stress hormones (cortisol)
Lifts depression
Increases the number and activity of NK cells which are white blood cells which with the help of certain proteins kill unwanted cells.
Decreases pulse rate and increases energy
Improves sleep and concentration
Reduces anxiety and improves ones emotional state
As the conduit between you and the woodland or river side I will take you through some Invitations, which are short engagements utilising your senses of smell, touch, hearing, sight and even taste and to slow down to the pace of your environment and observe its magnitude, peace and complexity.
Your breathing will slow and deepen, your sense of hearing will become more acute, your brain will stop thinking of everyday list of “to do’s” and your natural surroundings will envelope you in its peace and serenity. You will be Home.
We all deserve a bit of peace and to slow down. There is no mysticism and “signs from above”. It’s ingrained in our DNA so it’s just about rediscovering the slow ways. Something I reckon we all yearn for.
A Proven Scientific Therapy
The calming in the frontal brain activity reduces “sympathetic” nerve activity, namely our flight or fight actions, and is replaced by our rest and relax “parasympathetic” nerve activity.
Shinrin-yoku improves the body’s natural resistance to disease which is suppressed under modern day stress conditions.
In short, it reduces blood pressure, stress hormones (cortisol) and blood sugar levels.
It lifts depression, improves quality of sleep, boosts the immune system and increases the number and activity of white blood cells (called NK or natural killer cells) killing unwanted cells with the help of anti cancer proteins.
It also improves concentration, memory and positive feelings. Bacteria in soil and the chemicals called phytoncides released from trees all aid our wellbeing in this preventative therapy.
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