Going on a Forest Bath is going on an immersive wandering in forest and nature.
During Forest Bathing you deeply restore the basic healthy connection between nature and you. Forest Bathing means consciously exposing yourself to nature through body and mind, and especially your senses. It’s tapping into nature’s cure. The immersion goes beyond only woods & forests, as one can connect to all kinds of natural landscapes. Forest Bathing – or better: Nature Bathing – can be done in grasslands, wetlands, rocky mountains or even literally in oceans, rivers and lakes.
But why?
Exposing ourselves to nature creates an immense positive effect on our mental and physical health. It’s something the human kind instinctively knows since always.
Recent scientific research is now unambiguously confirming this. Connecting yourself to nature – and especially doing this consciously – results in a wide variety of deep-going benefits for our mood and physical health.
What is it good for then?
On a psychological level:
► Decrease in stress and anxiety levels
► Positive effect on concentration and memory
► Strong mood enhancer, higher vitality
► Increase in creativity and problem-solving abilities
On a physical level:
► Strong and long lasting increase of immunity functions
► Serious decrease of stress-related hormones
► Lowering of blood pressure
► Faster recovery of injuries and wounds
But how come?
As humans we are evolutionary hard-wired to connect with natural elements. But technological evolution and urban living have cut us off of our daily interfering with the natural world. This results in a wide range of physical and mental problems of which we are only now becoming aware of. We could describe this as “nature deficit disorder”. But our bodies and minds still recognise nature’s elements easily and react instantly whenever we get in touch with our (literally) natural habitat.
It is time for us to reconnect.