It's worth multiple mentions about how profound being in nature can be for your body and soul.
The Japanese call walking in the woods "forest bathing" or shinrin-yoku.
There are so many reasons that, moving within a forest provide healing and healthy experiences, here are a few:
- You breathe in called phytoncides (wood essential oils), which are antimicrobial volatile organic compounds derived from trees, such as a-pinene and limonene. Incorporating "forest bathing" into a good lifestyle was first proposed in 1982 by the Forest Agency of Japan. It has now become a recognized relaxation and/or stress management activity in Japan.
- you move slower and more calmly... mindfully soaking up the environment through all five senses . A host of studies show that this can do wonders for your health.
Shinrin-yoku has also caught the attention of Amos Clifford, a wilderness guide and former psychotherapist in Northern California with decades of experience in mindfulness meditation. He calls it "the medicine of simply being in the forest."
How can you incorporate walking in the forest - this natural "medicine" into your life?
Finding a way to simplify the crazy pace and slow down long enough to notice the trees and how they change with the seasons, or watch a critter scamper along the ground searching for its food?
What life lessons can the forest offer you? Leave yourself open to discover the magic.