How to Walk yourself Healthy & Happy by Russ Williams

Author:Russ Williams
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: M-Y Books ltd

Put simply ‘Forest bathing’ is taking time to unwind and connect with nature to improve your health.

Forest bathing is retreating to nature to immerse in the forest atmosphere and the good news is you don’t have to live near a forest or travel to one to ‘bathe’ you can actually practice ‘Forest Bathing’ under a single tree.

The practice originated in Japan in the 1980’s and was named by the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries as “Shinrin-yoku,” which roughly translated into English means “forest bathing.”

It is based on ancient Shinto and Buddhist practices.

In Japan ‘forest bathing’ was created as a response to a real public health crisis with rising levels of stress levels at work and a very high ‘spike’ in rates of auto-immune disease.

The practice of ‘forest bathing’ is designed to let nature into the body through the 5 senses of seeing, hearing, touching, smelling and tasting.

Japan at the time was suffering from mass migration from rural areas to the big cities and its natural forests became uncared for and in many cases ‘sick forests’.

Professor Yoshifumi Miyazaki is the author of ‘Shinrin-Yoku’ – the Japanese way of forest bathing for health & relaxation, and he did some ground-breaking research into ‘why we feel relaxed when we encounter nature’.

His first Forest Bathing experiments were carried out on the Island of Yakushima where the professor researched the effects of Cedar trees on the stress hormone levels in the human body.

Professor Dr. Iwao Uehara of the Tokyo University of Agriculture and president of The Society of Forest Amenity & Human Health Promotion in Japan went a step further and formally defined ‘Forest Therapy’ to the Japanese Forest Society in 1999.

His conclusion was that Shinrin-ryoho (Forest Therapy) was an ideal therapy for people with a disability, suffering from illness, mental health and lifestyle diseases.

It utilises the many healing properties said to be found in forest and trees and can deal very effectively with preventing illness, provide relaxation opportunities and a perfect therapy environment for rehabilitation.

He encourages walking mindfully and exercising in a forest to help change our mindsets and perspectives on life.

Today he continues to promote Forest Therapy as a way of making both forest and human beings healthier.

Clearly, embracing a forest in this way is the complete antithesis of a sweaty hike in a forest which is what most of us think of when we take a trip to the woods.

Forest Bathing is done at a much slower pace and is totally focussed on fully experiencing nature and all it has to offer.

It’s not about the exercise, getting your heart rate up or ensuring that you cover a set distance. It’s a much gentler and mindful form of slow walking based on relaxation and appreciation.

Forest Bathing has numerous other benefits as well.

Multiple forest bathing studies have demonstrated its ability to significantly reduce blood pressure, stress levels and resting pulse rate.

A trip through the woods will also increase your body’s adiponectin levels. These have an anti-inflammatory effect on blood vessel cells and have been shown to decrease the risk of heart attack.

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