If you go down to the woods today...
Forest bathing may sound like it ’ s for hippies, but it has the power to calm our nervous system and improve health. Carol Donaldson finds out more
Ending a stressful day with a walk in the woods can work wonders. As you follow a path through the trees, maybe a blackbird is calling and evening sunlight is dappling the floor with light. You breathe out, your pace slows, the frantic rush in your head subsides a little and whatever was bothering you just a few moments ago seems a little less important.
If this sounds familiar, then you have experienced some of the benefits of forest bathing. Otherwise known as shinrin-yoku, it’s been prescribed by Japanese doctors since the 1980s, but is based on something ancient and ingrained in us all – a love of nature. A need for the natural world that is written deep inside us and, without which, our physical and mental health begins to fray.
City slickers
For 99 per cent of human history, we have lived in and around woodlands. Our survival was dependent on an intimate knowledge of nature. Even when we became farmers
11,000 years ago, we were still governed by the seasons and the forests were part of our everyday lives from cradle to grave.
But, in recent human history, we abandoned this connection and adapted to a noisy, fast-paced yet largely sedentary, urbanised lifestyle. By 2050, it is projected that almost 70 per cent of the world’s population will inhabit towns and cities.
But evidence is mounting that we are not adapting well. Urban living causes our sympathetic nervous system, which controls the well-known ‘fight or flight’ response, to be on constant high alert. This stress leads to problems such as high blood pressure, heart disease, anxiety and depression.
The good news is that our nervous systems can be calmed by reconnecting with nature, and the positive effects are felt most strongly by taking a walk in the woods.
While there are hundreds of courses and trips on offer these days, it is easy to go out and do it on your own, for free, as you choose.
Healing powers
Japan is one of the most densely populated and technologically advanced countries in the world, but it also has a deep-rooted cultural connection with nature. Devotees of the Shinto religion believe that spirits reside in trees and all life is sacred.
It was in Japan that researchers began a series of experiments to measure the link between forest bathing and human health. They discovered that after only 30 minutes a day of walking around and looking at woodlands, participants experienced lower pulse rates, blood pressure and levels of the stress hormone, cortisol.
There are numerous reasons why walking beneath trees is good for us. Trees release oxygen, and breathing deeply beneath the canopy oxygenates our lungs. They also emit chemicals known as phytoncides, aromatic oils which drift down from the canopy and increase human NK (natural killer) cells, which help fight off infection and tumours. But how does forest bathing differ from a simple walk in the woods?
According to Phil Richards, who runs shinrin-yoku sessions around Ebbw Valley, near the Brecon Beacons, “the biggest difference between going for a walk in a forest and forest bathing is intention”.
He adds: “Usually, we are walking to get to a certain point or for exercise. But with forest bathing, our intention is to allow experience and
connection unfold with awareness.”
Ancient woodlands are best, says Phil, but any connection with the natural world has benefits. Researchers have found prefrontal brain activity was calmed just by looking at house plants or handling natural wood.
“Paying attention is a key part of any forest bathing session, but so often we move through a landscape caught up in conversation or our own thoughts and don’t notice what’s around us at all.”
Five ways to connect with nature
Forest bathing is about paying attention and experiencing the woodlands with all five senses. A session could include the following elements:
Meditation A short
1
meditation calms the mind and helps you to be in the present moment. There are plenty of smartphone apps and websites that can help.
Slow walking Pay
2
attention to each footstep, the temperature of the air and the way your body moves. Take your shoes off and walk barefoot.
Canopy viewing Sling a
3
hammock between the trees, lie on a blanket or embrace the forest floor by covering yourself in leaf litter.
Play games Using all your
4
senses, be a human camera, try blindfolded tree hugging, create cocktails of woodland fragrances. Games don’t have to be just for kids.
Eat the view Take a
5
woodland-inspired picnic beneath the canopy – salads with hazelnuts or chestnut soup. You can even brew your own pine needle tea. Most pine varieties can be used, but exercise caution if you’re unsure.
Guided forest bathing
■ Shinrin Yoku Wales: Day courses with experienced forest therapy practitioner, Phil Richards, at Ebbw Vale (phil@shinrinyokuwales.com)
■ Forest Holidays: Offering three-hour forest bathing sessions with experienced rangers in the Forest Of Dean, Gloucestershire and Blackwood Forest, Hampshire ( forestholidays.co.uk/activities/ forest-bathing)
■ Forest Therapy Scotland: Caitlin Keddie, Scotland’s first certified guide, offers day courses across the Central Belt ( forest-therapy-scotland.com)
This feature is taken from Walk Magazine, the magazine of the Ramblers. Find out more at ramblers.org.uk/join, quote: A21Q4W
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Only 30 minutes of walking in woodlands lowers pulse rates, blood pressure and cortisol levels
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