Hello and welcome dear soul,
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All right,
What is Shinrin-yoku?
Well,
Shinrin-yoku is an expression coined by Japanese researchers back in 1982.
It was defined as making contact with and taking in the atmosphere of the forest.
It means quite literally,
Forest bathing.
Much like sunbathing,
Where you immerse yourself in sunshine,
With forest bathing you immerse yourself in the forest.
However,
Unlike sunbathing,
Where you can be completely distracted by conversation,
People watching,
Listening to,
Or watching some kind of entertaining media,
Forest bathing requires focus or attention.
You need to be fully present in the moment to reap the benefits of being in the forest.
Essentially,
Forest bathing is a form of walking meditation.
Or if you choose to sit in the forest with eyes open or closed,
It is merely a different form of a regular meditation that you would do in your home.
The studies in Japan in the early 1980s revealed that when people went into the forest and paid attention to it by being completely present in the moment,
There would be a significant drop in cortisol,
Blood pressure,
Heart rate,
And heart rate variability.
This was studied in 24 different forests across Japan,
With 12 people in each study,
For a total of 280 people.
Half the group would go into the forest and half into the city.
The next day they would switch so the city group from yesterday would now be in the forest and vice versa.
No matter how many times they tried this,
The results were the same.
Later studies in the early 2000s showed that Shinrin-yoku reduced anxiety,
Depression,
Anger,
Fatigue,
And confusion,
And increased vigor or energy that you feel you have available to you.
So how do you do forest bathing?
As you might have guessed,
It can be as simple as finding a forest and going into it.
When you arrive at the forest,
Turn off or silence your phone so that you are not distracted by the outside world.
As you enter the forest,
Look around you at the trees and plants and really see them.
Notice the sound of the birds happily chirping away.
Smell the air.
Notice how fresh it is.
Whenever I go into the forest,
It only takes a few breaths of the air for me to relax and let go.
Introduce yourself and your intentions to the trees.
In silence or out loud,
You could say the following.
Hello forest.
I am Henry.
I am with you.
I am here.
I am.
I have come to drink in your beauty and to witness you with all my senses.
I am open to receive your energy,
Your wisdom,
Your consciousness.
I am open to receive you.
And stay in the moment.
Stay present in the environment.
Keep noticing what you see and what you hear and smell.
Stop and have a look at things.
Like all the plants and all the different trees.
A creek trickling by.
See the bugs busy at work doing what they do.
If you find a comfortable spot,
Have a seat and observe everything you notice around you.
Whether you sit,
Stand or walk around in the forest,
The only thing you need to accomplish is to remain present.
If you find your mind wandering and thinking about work,
A difficult relationship in your life,
Or anything outside of the forest for that matter,
Gently bring yourself back to the present moment using your breath like this.
Close your eyes a moment.
Breathe all the air out of your lungs.
And then inhale fully through your nose.
And notice what it feels like in your body and what it smells like.
Then let out a big sigh.
And open your eyes again.
See the forest.
You are in the forest.
So consciously choose to be present in the forest.
Forest bathing can be done for as long as you have time for it on a given day.
Even a short visit can have lasting effects.
And if it is raining when you arrive at the forest,
Even better.
The sound of rain falling is also very soothing.
Just dress so that you aren't uncomfortable.
And rain in the forest can be a feast for the eyes with all the raindrops glistening on the trees and the plants.
Smell the moist air.
It smells so sweet and fresh.
Soon you will be feeling very good.
You will feel the energy,
The aura of the trees.
Being in harmony with nature is an energy exchange.
The trees take your heavy dense energy and transmute it into positive light energy.
When I think about that,
It seems like the trees are doing all the work for me.
So I like to share my energy back with them.
I set that as my intention.
I say to myself,
I am contributing to the forest.
Or I am contributing to the trees.
And I feel love and gratitude for the forest build in my heart.
And I consciously share that with the forest.
I'm sure it appreciates it.
There are ways you can enhance your experience in the forest.
One is to do some grounding or earthing while you are there.
If you are in more of a park setting with grass,
Take off your shoes and socks and walk around.
Or you can sit on a bench or a log with your feet in the grass.
We were never meant to be disconnected from the earth.
But in the last hundred years,
With more and more insulated rubber and plastic soles,
We are no longer connected.
We pick up a lot of extra electrons through the day and it can have negative effects on our health.
When we are earthing,
We are grounding ourselves and the extra electrons flow from us back into the earth.
You can also ground yourself by hugging a tree.
It's an old cliche and you may feel silly,
But it works really well.
Another simple way to ground yourself is to walk with a wooden staff.
With your bare hand on the top,
Each time the staff hits the path,
You are grounded.
So maybe you noticed it when it started,
But in the background of this recording,
I've put in the sounds of the forest and the rain.
In your mind,
Your imagination probably created a scene of being in a forest as you heard the sounds.
And just by listening to this in the background as I spoke,
You felt more and more relaxed as the time passed.
This brings me to another point about Shinrin-Yoku or forest bathing.
You don't necessarily need to be in a forest to do forest bathing.
What?
Scientist and author Dr.
David Hamilton from Dunblane,
Scotland has shared some interesting studies showing that even just the sounds of a forest,
Of nature,
Can have profound positive impacts on our stress levels,
Happiness,
And sense of peace.
Even if you don't have a forest or a park near you,
You can still take advantage of some of the benefits.
This is the reason why in many of the meditations I've published,
The backdrop is the sound of a forest,
And usually with the rain.
I even have one with no music and no words.
All you hear is the birds joyfully singing away,
The peaceful sound of rain falling,
And some thunder in the distance.
Studies have been shown that this too can reduce stress and anxiety in people's lives.
You can listen while doing something else,
Like preparing a meal,
Studying,
Working from home,
Or even as you fall asleep.
Not everyone has a forest nearby or access to nature,
So this is a good hack.
To me,
Being in nature is a return home,
An ancestral memory imprinted on our DNA.
And while the forest is appealing to some,
The sound of the ocean or waves on a lake is most relaxing to others.
Now you have learned a bit about this wonderful practice.
You can go out and enjoy all that forest bathing has to contribute to us.
I'm also interested in your perspective.
Leave me a review and share what nature sounds are most calming for you,
Or where you do your forest bathing.
Thank you for listening.
I am grateful,
And I wish you much peace and many blessings.
