Forest Bathing: A walk in the woods
Melissa Jean is a professor of environmental studies, forest bathing guide, writer, and
community educator teaching about nature-based mindfulness and creative writing.
Her
website is www.breatheoutside.com
I’ve been guiding forest bathing walks for about five years now, and I’ve never had anyone say they don’t believe me when I start talking about the research that indicates that time in nature has positive effects on our physical and mental health. Most people have had the experience of going into the woods and feeling their heart rate slow, or sitting down in a park for a few minutes and finding themselves calmer and more relaxed. The abundant scientific research on humans and nature confirms what many of us have felt since we were children: We belong in nature—we’re part of it—and spending time in the natural world is profoundly healing.
Still, the research is fascinating. It tells us that something as simple as smelling cedar oil can lower our blood pressure, and that even just looking at pictures of nature on a computer screen or sitting near a houseplant can improve our mood. If even these small moments of connection with nature can have an impact on our well-being, imagine how powerful it is to spend longer stretches of time outdoors! Research has found that a day spent in the woods can improve our self-reported emotional well-being for weeks, and that a habit of regular time in nature can improve our brain health over the course of our lifespan.
Forest bathing is a way of being outside mindfully, and it brings the documented benefits of a mindfulness practice into combination with the benefits of being in nature. Forest bathing doesn’t typically involve water; you can think of it like sunbathing, except that you are basking in all the elements of a forest or any other natural space where you practice. Drawing upon the principles of Shinrin-yoku, a Japanese wellness practice that can be translated as “taking in the forest atmosphere,” forest bathing involves connecting with nature using all five senses. By practicing mindfulness, presence, and curiosity in a forest bathing practice, we come into deeper contact with ourselves and the more-than-human world that we inhabit.
In a forest bathing walk, your guide will give you invitations intended to help you awaken all of your senses and be present in the moment. Every forest bathing walk is different, because the forest is different in every moment. A forest bathing walk is an invitation to observe, play, connect, feel, wander, wonder, sense, rest, and more—and every walk is different.
One of the most powerful things that might happen on a forest bathing walk, in my opinion, is that you might get bored for a moment. And in that moment of boredom, you will notice how much is happening around you all the time: what the insects are doing, how the trees are being. In modern society, where our attention is a commodity, reclaiming our own attention from the algorithm is an act of self-care and even rebellion. Building time into our schedule where we can’t be reached by the continuous deluge of words and noise and blue light is a gift to our brains and hearts. And finding solace and rest and connection in the natural world is priceless.