What is forest bathing?
It is spending time within trees, from as little 15 mins to 4 hours plus has been shown to have a healing effect and it is used in many places as a form of nature therapy. It originated in Japan as preventative medicine in the 1980s. Research studies have found that forest bathing has a therapeutic effect on humans and can relieve physical and psychological pain.
What is the original translation of forest bathing?
Shinrin Yoku. ‘Shinrin’ means forest. ‘Yoku’: shower or bath. ‘To take a bath in nature/forest’
What compound do we breathe in from coniferous trees and that has been shown to boost our immune function and lower stress?
We breathe in phytoncides. These are scents released by the trees that are part of their defenses against bacteria, fungi, and insects. If you used this in essential oil form you could receive 50 % of the effects, but it is very expensive and is much more effective (and cheaper) to go to a forest and immerse yourself in nature.
What is Biophilia? How do you personally feel that nature helps you to love and appreciate life?
Biophilia – a love of life/nature: a desire or tendency to commune with nature
99.99% of human life has been spent living in nature. Our most recent history of living in Urban settings accounts for just 0.01% of human life. I found this data so interesting as so often in times of worry or stress I have a yearning to be where there are trees. I just took it as needing a change of scenery or perspective. At the start of the pandemic this year with all the worry of the changes and the thought of schools closing I found myself saying to my Mum lets go for a walk, but let’s pick somewhere with trees. I think my Mum thought I was a bit weird but off we went and as lockdown has eased we have started going out for Sunday afternoon walks in woods that I’ve recently found that I can walk to from my house.
I think it’s that feeling of awe and wonder that you get in a forest or wood, the trees that have been growing for hundreds of years, that have seen wars and fighting, that were there when I was a child and now are still there for my child to touch or climb. That feeling of stability but still of change; seeing the seasons change through the leaves on the trees, conkers grow and fall. It’s the stillness, the calmness, the sounds, and the delight of seeing bunny rabbits or little birds hopping around.
It helps me to reset, notice the little things, it lifts my spirits, helps me to be grateful for the natural world around us,
and more able to face the demands of daily life.
for more details check out https://healingforest.org/
or see http://www.babycherish.co.uk/classes~workshops for courses in the woods. Sarah x