Re-Wild Your Lifestyle Through Forest Bathing
- Dorothy Cline
- Jan 24
- 5 min read
Dorothy Cline, Paws Cause PR
"Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home. Wilderness is a necessity." ~John Muir
We busy humans, spend most of our time at home or at the office, in our cars commuting, or sitting inside a cement office building all day. We rarely spend time outdoors, and as we become more disconnected as a species from the natural world, the incidence and likelihood of modern “DIS-eases” and illness continues to rise.
The Prescription? Re-Wild yourself to the sacred bond with NATURE!
There are so many benefits to spending time in nature that the term ‘forest bathing’ has been coined and in some places is actually a doctor-prescribed treatment. Eco therapy, Earthing, and nature therapy retreats are also popping up around the world as people actually can not only feel the difference, but now scientifically document the benefits that our connection to Nature and The Earth have on our body, mind, and spirit.
Forest-bathing is a concept that has recently gained popularity in the western world, though the practice was originally developed in Japan in the 1980s, known as “Shinrin-yoku”-(“taking in the forest atmosphere or forest-bathing”). The sounds of the forest, the smell of the trees, the songs of the birds, the sunlight playing through the leaves, the fresh, clean air — these things give us a sense of comfort. They ease our stress and anxiety and help us to relax and to focus. Communing in nature can restore our mood, give us back our Mojo, revive our energy, refresh and rejuvenate us. Forest-bathing is the simple art of spending time in nature, and has several powerful health benefits for our holistic self- body, mind, and spirit.
🕉Benefits of forest-bathing include:
🙏Serotonin (the happy hormone) boost: After breathing in the negative ions rich in nature they produce biochemical reactions, such as increasing serotonin. Low serotonin levels are associated with negative mental health including depression and anxiety, while high serotonin levels are associated with positive mental health and happiness. Hence, participating in activities in nature and forest-bathing improves mental health.
🙏Boosted immune system function: A natural oil called “phytoncide”, which trees and plants emit to ward off germs and insects, is attributed to the immune-boosting power of forest-bathing. There are more than 5,000 substances that defend plants and protect them from bacteria, fungi, and insects. Phytoncides work by inhibiting or preventing the growth of the attacking organism. When we breathe in the clean fresh air, we also breathe in the phytoncides, these same airborne chemicals produced by plants. In a study, after only three days of forest-bathing, participants in a scientific study had a 50% increase in natural killer NK cells ( a type of white blood cells). Since Phytoncides have antibacterial and antifungal properties, our bodies respond by increasing the number and activity of these cells to protect and defend our bodies.
🙏Improved cortisol (stress) response and improves mood: A study conducted in Taiwan concluded participants’ scores of “‘tension-anxiety’, ‘anger-hostility’, ‘fatigue-inertia’, ‘depression-dejection’, and ‘confusion-bewilderment’” were significantly lower, whereas the positive mood sub-scale score of “vigor-activity” was higher. Participants in similar studies were tested for blood pressure and cardiovascular function, both of which showed impressive improvements.The immune system boost and lowered stress levels means less illnesses and “DIS-ease”. Forest bathing/Earthing also reduces risk of heart disease, improves heart rate variability, and reduces blood viscosity.
🙏Circadian rhythm regulation:
The natural light from the outdoors and Earthing help to normalize your circadian biology and reset your body’s internal clock- resulting in better quality sleep. Forest-bathing’s effects on your circadian rhythm and cortisol levels means deeper REM cycles and sounder sleep.
🙏Microbiome diversity:
Inoculate your biome with healthy bacteria diversity. When we go into nature, we interact with the dirt and the air, which contain the natural biome of the forest. Soil and the human gut contain approximately the same number of active microorganisms, while human gut microbiome diversity is only 10% that of soil biodiversity and has decreased dramatically with the modern urban lifestyle. There is a direct relationship between the soil microbiome and the human intestinal microbiome. A novel environmental microbiome hypothesis, which implies that a close linkage between the soil microbiome and the human intestinal microbiome has evolved during evolution and is still developing. From hunter-gatherers to an urbanized society, the human gut has lost alpha diversity. Interestingly, beta diversity has increased, meaning that people in urban areas have more differentiated individual microbiomes. Since early childhood, we grew up with soil; we played in it, we taste it, we inhale it, and we drank water which had passed through soil. Moreover, we ingested plants grown on soils together with soil microbiota. Since pre-history, humans have willingly consumed soils as a supplement to their otherwise nutrient-poor local diet, a habitude called “geophagy”. Certain soils have detoxifying agents necessary for making certain food products edible, and for medicinal purposes, usually as treatments for gastrointestinal ailments.
The living environment of urban dwellers shows a lower natural biodiversity and exposure to environmental microbes. With our fast-paced, fast-food urban lifestyle we have lost contact with outdoor-associated natural beneficial microbiota which indirectly yet vitally affects the human gut microbiome and has negative consequences on our human health. Think about it! Our ancestors were in close contact with soil, due to their lifestyle, practicing agriculture and animal husbandry. Research documents that children encountering early contact with environments that are less hygienic such as natural outdoor settings, gardens, animals, and farms are less susceptible to developing autoimmune diseases.
Urban re-wildering to improve the urban biodiversity of our living environments can be protective against immune disease by greater contact with a diverse set of environmental microbiota and consequently can improve human health. Our urban concrete lifestyle and the loss of direct contact with the soil causes interruptions in the microbiological cycle in urban environments in contrast to pre-industrial rural environments. Soil is therefore a key primary source of not only a healthy intestinal microbiome, but of overall wellness of humans.
Incorporating forest bathing into your life is one of the simplest and most effective things you can do to ensure a healthy lifestyle. Practicing nature-based activities into your life offers many benefits to your longevity and overall well being such as: immune boosting, stress reduction and better sleep.
Forest-Bathing for Newbies:
The most straightforward way to forest bathe is to simply go outside into nature. However, a more holistic philosophy often accompanies forest bathing and Shinrin-yoku. This philosophy encourages mindfully holding the intention to connect with nature, to heal, and to make your time spent outdoors meaningful.
Forest bathing can be done by anyone and it is not a hike or a strenuous physical activity, rather simply just BE-ing with Nature, being open to receiving the gifts from Mother Earth, and allowing the healing properties into your life. The magic to unlocking the power of the forest is in the five senses. Let nature enter through your ears, eyes, nose, mouth, hands and feet. Listen to the birds singing and the breeze rustling through the leaves of the trees. Look at the different shades of green of the trees and the sunlight filtering through the branches. Experiencing nature’s patterns helps to stop the spinning thoughts of the Monkey Mind. Smell the fragrance of the forest and breathe in nature’s aromatherapy. Taste the freshness of the air as you take deep breaths. Place your hands on the trunk of a tree. Dip your fingers and toes in a stream. Lie on your back, on the ground and bask in nature’s symmetry. Drink in the flavors of the forest and release your sense of joy and calm.
This is your intuition, a mindset. You are now in harmony with nature.
.
Comments