Anne Markham Bailey is a poet, writer, Forest Bathing guide, and leadership wellness educator. She is rooted in Birmingham, AL. On Twitter @amb_writes, on Insta @amb_writes.
The woman sat on a paisley cotton cloth spread across the Japanese Garden’s deep green lawn. She started to respond to an invitation to share her experience in this final portion of the Forest Bathing immersion as she looked slowly from face to face in the circle of participants. “I just want to say that I feel so different from how I felt when I arrived this morning. I feel close to all of you and this place. I feel calm, grounded.” She finished, and a silence ensued. Another participant shared, then the next, until all had spoken. The birds chimed in. The stream bubbled and sang. Cars passed on the busy road beside the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. It was noon, time for us to move back into our daily lives.
We had just completed a Forest Bathing immersion in the Japanese Gardens at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. For some, Forest Bathing is a confusing term, and new terms such as Forest Therapy and Nature Therapy have developed. “Forest Bathing” is a direct translation from the Japanese “Shinrin Yoku” and refers to immersion in nature. Such immersion is not done in a swimsuit, as is sometimes asked. Rather, it is a process of opening into our awareness through a series of guided invitations to connect. The Forest Bathing guide assists participants in moving out of the closed loop of thoughts and into the open communication of the senses. We benefit when we move out of the closed loop of our thinking mind and into the awareness of the senses of being a body alive in the world.
Many of us realize that we feel better when we connect with nature — the “more-than-human” world. We feel the freshness when we feel the breeze, see a rainbow, encounter a turtle, smell honeysuckle on the wind, or taste wild berries. We like it. Yoshifumi Miyazaki, the Japanese founder of the global Forest Bathing movement, noticed that his feelings of well-being increased when he was in a forest, and he wanted to understand the science behind his feelings. He initiated evidence-based scientific studies that showed how a Forest Bathing immersion for a minimum of an hour results in measurable mental and physical benefits such as lowered heart rate, increased immune function, and feelings of optimism and well-being. One of the most powerful results of Forest Bathing is rooted in the feeling of deep connection with the more-than-human world and with one another.
As humans, we suffer from disconnectedness. This is termed Nature Deficit Disorder and manifests in various ways, such as depression, anxiety, and feelings of alienation and isolation. As the mental and physical benefits of immersion in nature are shown to be effective at diminishing Nature Deficit Disorder in children and adults, medical doctors worldwide are prescribing Nature Therapy, another term for Forest Bathing. In Japan, a medical doctor can be certified in Nature Therapy. The results of studies from medical schools, research centers, and schools of Public Health show that humans are more likely to thrive when we connect with nature.
Pre-eminent Harvard scientist and Alabama native E.O. Wilson explored biophilia, the innate human need to connect with nature and other living beings. As humans, we are made for such a connection. Our bodies constantly gather and process the data we receive from the world around us. Much of this data-gathering is done through our senses. Our whole being connects with and processes what is gathered by the senses when we immerse in nature, and in doing so, we move out of the dominance of the unruly mind and into our connectedness. Participants consistently report feelings of deep connection to the planet, the elements, and one another as a result of Forest Bathing sessions. This process supports well-being.
In the practice of Forest Bathing or Nature Therapy, a trained guide invites the participant to move into the body and open the senses to connect. An immersion may last just an hour, the minimum suggested for connection or an entire day. Typically, the process engages core aspects, such as inviting participants to move away from the wild mind and into the feeling of being in the body, opening the senses, and exploring the connection. Immersions often include sharing circles so that individual experiences can be shared within the group in a deep listening context. Sessions end with a tea ceremony that completes the immersion.
Forest Bathing is flexible and can take many shapes. It may happen in a forest, garden, yard, playground, courtyard, or room with windows. It can occur in the snow, rain, or with houseplants or essential oils. An immersion may be for a corporate wellness program, part of an institutional, educational offering, for a family or group of friends, as a way to mourn a death or celebrate a life event. Forest Bathing may be a single person on their own with a how-to guide, or it may include hundreds of people in a guided online program, which is also highly effective.
Consider adding a Forest Bathing immersion to your wellness journey, wherever you may be, and get ready to feel the power of connection in your life.
How can you get started?
FOREST BATHING BASICS:
- Choose a spot outside where you can sit comfortably, and decide on a length of time that works for you — perhaps 30 minutes.
- Place your feet on the ground, sitting up as best you can. Lengthen your spine. Feel how the crown of your head lifts towards the sky.
- Feel how the weight of your body is called towards the earth in what is an astonishing and lifelong relationship with the force of gravity.
- You might bring your attention to the feeling of your breath as you draw the air outside of you into your lungs and then press the air back out into the world. When thoughts jump in, move back to the feeling of being present in your body.
- When you move into your senses, What do you notice? What do you smell, hear, feel, taste, and see? Continue to return to the feeling of being in your body when extraneous thoughts enter your mind.
- As your timer sounds, take a moment to notice how you feel, then return to daily life.
- Consider working with this practice daily or several times per week, and notice how you feel over time. You may even wish you journal about your experience.
Enjoy your forest bathing adventures!
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