Have you ever gone forest bathing?
If you’ve never heard of this meditative healing modality, your mind might take you to a bathtub in the middle of the forest. But the answer is no, you won’t be getting in a bathtub. But yes, you will be leaving just as relaxed.
So, what is forest bathing?
Forest Bathing for Health & Healing
How’s It’s Done and How It Feels
Forest bathing is a form of nature immersion that enables you to unplug from electronics and embrace all your senses. While working with the intricacies of the natural world, you will enter into a mindful state of presence and gratitude.
While many people liken forest bathing to a meditative hike or nature walk, it is less about the destination or how far you go and much more about all the beauty you find along the way.
During a forest bathing session, you can expect to walk slowly and silently through nature, inviting all your senses to come alive.
Often, this experience helps practitioners enter into a state of deep relaxation, happiness and peace. You will likely leave your forest bathing session feeling lighter, more grounded and extremely connected to your environment and your true self.
You might even find yourself feeling less stressed and more content.
Sounds pretty incredible, right?
These incredible outcomes are backed by multiple studies that prove the mind-body benefits of immersing yourself in nature. Keep reading to learn about the history and science behind forest bathing and nature therapy.
The History & Science of Forest Bathing
How It Started & Why It’s Still Relevant
Also known as shinrin-yoku, forest bathing originated in Japan in the 1980s when the country noticed a spike in stress-related illnesses resulting from the tech boom. Through this mindfulness practice, Japan aimed to steer citizens outside in an effort to combat nature deficit disorder.
According to Qing Li, the medical doctor, scientist and researcher who spearheaded the forest bathing movement, spending time in nature is healing on multiple levels.
As president of the Japanese Society of Forest Medicine and author of “Forest Bathing: How Trees Can Help You Find Health and Happiness,”, Li has conducted decades of research and continues to measure nature’s effects on our well-being.
Keep reading to hear more about his findings.
The Healing Power of Forest Bathing
Mental, Physical & Emotional Benefits of Nature Immersion
By simply stepping into nature, you are taking care of yourself on a physiological level. From regulating emotions to stabilizing hormone levels all while supporting cardiovascular health, the practice of forest bathing works wonders for your physical, mental and emotional health.
As Li’s research and multiple studies* show, the benefits of forest bathing and nature therapy are abundant:
- Forest bathing boosts your immune system through the inhalation of clean oxygen as well as healthy plant chemicals called phytoncides.
- A regular forest bathing practice can lower your heart rate and blood pressure.
- Spending time outside has the power to result in more restful sleep.
- Nature therapy reduces cortisol and other stress hormones that cause anxiety, depression and anger.
- Practicing mindfulness in nature reduces fatigue and improves your focus and concentration.
- Connecting with nature improves your mood and increases your overall well-being.
Not only does forest bathing have incredible long-term effects on the body and mind, it also promises immediate feelings of peace, presence and contentment.
Are you ready to start experiencing the benefits of forest bathing right now?
Read on for a quick guide to start practicing nature therapy today.
How to Start Forest Bathing Now
Your Mini Guide to Mindfulness in Nature
Step 1: Find a place to practice
If you live in an urban area, you can find a local park or greenspace. If you have access to a vehicle, consider driving outside the city to a nearby forest.
Step 2: Unplug and take it slow
Put your phone on silent and stow it away. Walk slowly and with much attention. You can even link your hands behind your back and focus on how your body feels with each step you take.
Step 3: Awaken all your senses
Connect with your feet on the ground. Approach trees and smell their leaves; rest your hands on their bark. Listen for subtle sounds. Let every new sensation be a source of wonder.
Step 4: Embrace creative inspiration
If your session inspires you to sit and meditate with a flower or stop to journal about your experience, allow it. The main objective is to be present in nature. Then, let yourself play.
Step 5: Return to nature often
As you continue your forest bathing sessions, you will notice subtle and not-so-subtle shifts in your well-being. Continue nurturing your growth by regularly returning to the outdoors.
Experience Forest Bathing in the Costa Rica Jungle
Join Me for an Unforgettable Forest Bathing Session
Do you want to experience forest bathing in a setting that instantly induces a state of peace and calm?
You’re invited to join me (Mandi Carozza, E-RYT 500 Yoga, Mindfulness & Nature Immersion Instructor) for an unforgettable forest bathing session in the Costa Rica jungle.
During this impactful practice, you will slowly and silently saunter through the jungle, inviting all your senses to awaken. You will be called to activate your childlike sense of wonder as you stop to feel the velvet texture of a flower petal, smell the sap of a tree, taste the rainwater from a blade of grass. You will be guided to look up, down and all around, to admire and witness, to breathe with the wind and the trees, and to see everything as if it is brand new.
You will emerge from this experience feeling more connected to Mother Earth and more open to receiving her support – all while gaining the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual benefits of stepping into nature.
Join us at Anamaya Resort in Montezuma, Costa Rica for this Jungle Bathing session along with a week of yoga, meditation, breathwork, ceremony, delicious food and much more.
Resources on Forest Bathing & Nature Therapy
- Effect of forest bathing trips on human immune function – PMC (nih.gov)
- GGSC-JTF_White_Paper-Awe_FINAL.pdf (berkeley.edu)
- The benefits of nature experience: Improved affect and cognition – ScienceDirect
- Creativity in the Wild: Improving Creative Reasoning through Immersion in Natural Settings | PLOS ONE
- Noticing nature: Individual and social benefits of a two-week intervention: The Journal of Positive Psychology: Vol 12, No 6 (tandfonline.com)
- Can forest therapy enhance health and well-being? – Harvard Health
- Why Forest Bathing Is Good for Your Health (berkeley.edu)
- A before and after comparison of the effects of forest walking on the sleep of a community-based sample of people with sleep complaints – PMC (nih.gov)
