Where and why.
The roots of Forest bathing (excuse the pun) all started in Japan, its not actually as old as you think. Well from the proven scientific point of view it isn’t.
Philia – Originating from the Greek word meaning Love of – love of life and things.
An interpretation of this is that us mere mortals have a tendency and affiliation with nature, we just love it.
Allowing ourselves to be drawn to and into her.
Its no surprise it was embraced in Japan, with its vast assortment of forests, its embedded in their culture. Their houses, shrines entwined with religious beliefs and festivals have always had that deep connection with trees.
As we moved into the era of technology, handheld devices, commuting to work (not out into the fields), stuffed into one box after another from car to train to office repeatedly, persistently gazing at a box screen on a desk, in our hands or the tv. We stopped our interaction with nature. Hardly anyone too time away from work or the technology that had started to explode onto the market and into our homes.
The breathing in of fresh air, feeling the sun on our skin, the sharp crisp winter entering out lungs all started to become a thing of the past. Stress, anxiety, depression, lack of sleep and absence of real face to face communication had begun to take its place.
The Japanese government noticed this within its population and introduced a national health programme.
Let’s get people out into nature more, get them walking in among the trees was the approach in 1982. They just new it was a good thing, without knowing why. Of course, they were right. It was the initial seed that was planted that grew its roots to become Forest Bathing
A research group in 1990 began to study the effects of walking in nature, through forests, away from all technology, which was the first step on a path leading to the many positive outcomes of Shinrin Yuko and the immense health benefits began to unveil themselves.
Dr Qing Li is a leading researcher in the field today based at the Nippon Medical School in Japan and President of the Society of Forest Medicine, author of the renowned book Shinrin-Yuko – The Art and Science of Forest Bathing. Dr Li still continues his research with other researchers around the world today. If you wish to read the book here’s one place to purchase it https://bit.ly/47lEqgy
First published in 2018 Dr Li states between 2.5 and 5 million people now walk the forest trails every year.
I’ve not doubt in my mind that this number has grown significantly around the world since then.
An American professor Roger Ulrich wrote a very famous paper ‘View through a Window may influence recovery from surgery.
In 1980 he researched why some patients recovered quicker than others after the same surgery.
As a child he had medical issues and spent his recovery time at home, where he had the view of outside onto the trees.
During his research he discovered that those patients whose view was of a wall, nothing really connecting them to nature took the longest to recover. Compared to those who had a window view of trees.
The woodlands are a place where we can escape the noise of man, bath our eyes in natural colours, allow our nostrils to be void of artificial aroma’s, allow our ears to hear what falls upon them
Every day, every step and glance will never be seen or heard again in that moment in time. That experience is totally 100% yours and yours alone.
How precious is that?
If you wish to experience Forest Bathing for yourself, then please find locations and dates for Hampshire Forest Bathing with me here. https://theforestbathingcompany.com/the-events/
