With each new year comes an inundation of claims about the ultimate wellness panacea, including some which veer off into the wackier side of health hacks. But it would appear that a simple therapy has been under our noses, or rather our feet, all along.
The Japanese have been extolling the virtues of forest bathing for years, but it’s only now that the movement is gaining momentum in the Western world. Hailing from the Japanese practice of Shinrin Yoku, which literally translates to ‘forest bathing’, this practice is based on the premise that nature has a profound effect on our overall wellbeing, and offers us numerous rewards, both mentally and physically.
But this is no jog in the bush, and neither is it a focused hike. Instead, the idea is to disconnect, by leaving all technological devices at home, and replace the map with a horizon-opening wander, aimlessly allowing your body to naturally guide you through the forest as you take in every sight, smell and sound that you can sense. Eventually you may be able to so fully immerse yourself in nature that you become capable of noticing even the different shades and tones of the flourishing greenery. Certainly, you’ll become attuned to the songs of birds overhead, and you may start to savour the earthy, pure scents of damp soil, while feeling the soft grass between your toes, or stopping to admire the roughness of the tree bark as you calmly navigate the surrounds.
This isn’t just hippy-dippy nonsense: phytoncides, the chemicals released by trees and plants, have been proven to have powerful immune-boosting properties. Studies show that regular exposure to nature can reduce blood pressure, aid sleep and improve concentration and memory. There’s also a big mindfulness aspect, a bit like a meditation on foot, which implicates forest bathing in the reduction of depression and anxiety.
In Japan itself, much effort has gone into researching the benefits of Shinrin Yoku and, faced with clear evidence of the profound benefits, the Japanese government has incorporated the practice into the country’s health programmes. Now, the concept is gaining traction around the world. In the States, it’s possible to sign up to the national Forest Bathing Club and even become a certified Forest Therapy Guide. In 2019, the Woodland Trust — the United Kingdom’s largest woodland conservation charity — promoted the idea that forest bathing should be one of many non-medical therapies that doctors can recommend to enhance their patients’ wellbeing.
Requiring nothing more than a mass of trees, and a spare hour or so, forest bathing is the wellness hack that we’ll be calmly cultivating long after the fads have come and gone.
And, if you can’t find the time to regularly make it outdoors, grounding mats (or earthing mats as they’re often referred to) are gaining momentum, enhancing sleep and reducing aches, pains and inflammation by grounding you directly into the earth via your home’s power source.
Get Grounded
