Shinrin-yoku, or forest bath – what is it? Can you help us? |

Co to jest shinrin–yoku?

Shinrin means forest in Japanese and yoku means bath. The term shinrin-yoku was first used in Japan in 1982 and describes the process of immersing yourself in the forest and experiencing it with all your senses. A forest bath is therefore not an ordinary walk in the forest, but something much deeper, which allows a person to completely reset the body and psyche. Shinrin-yoku has many scientifically proven health benefits. If you learn about the influence of forest baths on your health, you may leave the city noise and rush to the nearest forest to take a bath in it 😉

Where does man come from?

Each species in nature has its own natural habitat. Fish swim in water, when we think about birds we see them soaring in the sky, mentioning a mole we know that its home is the underworld. And we people? Man as a species comes from the savannah, on which he walked proudly on two legs, looking for food. Leading a nomadic lifestyle, gathering and hunting, we headed north, where forests were our natural habitat. We lived in symbiosis with many species of plants and animals, being part of nature. We used all our senses to anticipate danger, gather food, and build a shelter for ourselves.

We have been officially an urban species since 2000

The population of cities has increased dramatically in recent years. It is estimated that by 2050, as many as 75 percent of the estimated 9 billion people in the world will live in cities. We also spend more and more time inside. We know from research that the average American is currently indoors up to 93 percent of their time, 6 percent of them in a car. It turns out that he only spends half a day a week outdoors. Europeans are not doing much better in this respect.

We live like animals in a zoo

Separated from our natural habitat, we resemble animals locked in a zoo. Most of the time we stare at the screens of televisions, computers and smartphones. We are the generation of 3 chairs: at home, at work and in the car. We sit for far too long than our body is adapted to. During the pandemic, we were confined in a small space with all family members.

Animals kept in laboratories and zoos begin to fall ill. The zoo sloth loses the algae with which it lived in symbiosis from its fur. His greenish fur turns grayish. The menu is poorer than in the wild, the sloth starts to get sick, he is not alone. Behavior related to aggression and self-aggression are observed in closed animals – fur picking, tics, circling around the cage aimlessly, anxiety and the inability to release tension.

Let us recall how we felt during the pandemic that we had to stay at home. It is true that we now have the opportunity to use the gym or other fitness clubs – but the environmental stimuli are still the same as when closed – artificial light, small space, air thick with sweat and fumes, loud music or other people’s conversations. These are all living conditions far removed from what evolution has adapted us to.

Let’s go home – let’s go back to our natural living environment from which we come from, let’s come out of the closure

Thanks to shinrin-yoku, we can return to the bosom of nature, with which we have always been bound by multi-generational ties. Let us think about our ancestors and the living conditions they lived in. My family comes from the countryside. As a child, I spent every summer and winter break with my grandmother in the countryside and I remember this time most wonderfully. Together with my cousins, as little children, we were not afraid to penetrate the nearby forests, we spent most of our free time outdoors.

Today, today’s children are deprived of such unlimited and carefree contact with nature. Modern entertainment competes with going to the forest or park. We ourselves, as adults, are no better. We devote our free time to activities inside apartments and houses. It’s time to reverse this trend. Let’s take ourselves and our families to the forest.

Let’s bathe in the forest for great health benefits!

The shinrin-yoku theory has been popularized and scientifically researched in Japan. Its creators include Dr. Qing Li and Professor Yoshifumi Miyazaki. In Japan alone, there are 62 professional shinrin-yoku centers that are 100 percent financed from the state budget, and are used by a large number of sick people every year. They were also created in Europe and are located in Scandinavia, Germany, France and Spain.

In Poland, the promoter of forest baths is Katarzyna Simosienko – psychotherapist and the first certified shinrin-yoku guide in the Białowieża National Park in our country.

A two-hour forest bath will allow you to take a break from modern technologies, we will slow down the pace of our lives, we will relieve stress and experience contact with nature on a completely different level than before, using the 5 senses.

Numerous studies prove that shinrin-yoku has a great effect on our body:

• reduces the level of stress
• Improves the quality of sleep
• lowers blood pressure in people with hypertension
• strengthens the circulatory system and improves metabolism
• regulates blood sugar levels
• Adds energy
• enhances the feeling of happiness and bliss
• stimulates the immune system by increasing the number of NN cells (natural killers)
• increases the production of anti-cancer proteins
• helps in the treatment of depression and mental disorders such as anxiety
• makes it easier to lose weight

The rules of forest bathing are not complicated

All you have to do is go to a place where you feel good. Breaking through unknown bushes can only cause unnecessary stress. Make it a natural forest, with visible paths or designated routes, but if you are afraid to walk alone or do not have easy access to such a forest, you can go to a nearby park. The natural forest, however, has the advantage over the park that there is a greater biodiversity of plants and animals, there are old, dead organisms that make up the unique climate of the forest.

It’s best if you spend up to 2 hours in the forest, but you will start to feel the benefits after 20 minutes. Do not take your camera or phone with you. The point is that you should devote all your attention to exploring nature and immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the forest. Problems with work, family and financial matters, leave far behind. Clear your mind, be here and now. If you are going with a child or friend, try to stay quiet and speak infrequently, so that each of you has the opportunity to take a deep dive into the forest or park.

Activate your 5 senses

Sight – we are visual learners and this is one of our most important senses. Sight will allow us to experience the beauty and richness of nature. Have you ever watched the play of light and shadow created by the rays of the sun breaking through the branches and leaves of trees? In Japanese it is described in one word – komorebi. This sight relaxes, gives you energy and makes you happy, it is completely different than staring at a computer screen for hours. Try it and you will see how beautiful it is.

The colors of nature, the play of light and shadows, various shapes, imperfection – all this can be observed in the forest. Such views, on a physiological or even magical level, will connect you with the heritage of our ancestors who lived in the vicinity of forests on a daily basis. All sanatoriums and health resorts are located in areas rich in beautiful nature, because people have known about its soothing effect on the human body for a long time.

In the forest you can watch wild animals appearing unexpectedly, which gives you great joy. You can also see previously ignored mushrooms, not necessarily just edible ones, which are fascinating if we just take a closer look at them.

Hearing – we are used to bombarding us with such a large dose of noise that we consider it a norm, and silence can bore us. In the forest you have the chance to experience the sounds of nature. The noise of the wind between the branches, the rustling of leaves under the feet – this is wonderful music. The sound of birds may seem completely ordinary, but on a subconscious level, it has a very relaxing effect on you. Perhaps a stream or even a waterfall is running in your forest. Stop and listen to these natural sounds and your stress level will be lowered, you will relax and clear your head of all worries.

Smell – it is the most primal of the human senses that has a very direct influence on our mind and body. Let’s recall what our most pleasant childhood memory smells like? Is it perhaps the smell of a cake baked by grandma or flowery meadows that we chased around feeling carefree? Certain fragrances can trigger an immediate reaction in the body, bring back fond memories of the places we have been and the people with whom we have wonderful bonds.

During shinrin-yoku in the forest, you inhale phytoncides released by trees. They are natural chemical compounds contained in the essential oils of trees that protect against the attack of pests, bacteria or pathogenic fungi. Phytoncides help to activate immune cells in the human body that are involved in the body’s defense functions. Already a few hours’ walk during a two-day shinrin-yoku session allows these cells in our body to stay at a high level for up to 30 days.

Let us now recall the decision made during the pandemic to close forests. What a great misunderstanding it was, taking into account the pro-health power of forest air.

The forest is also rich in other essential oils and fragrances emitted by trees and plants. In the forest, we can smell the soil and the bacteria living in it, during the rain and right after it, the smells become more intense, the forest smells rich. Let us take the forest air deep into our lungs, we need it very much for our health. Compared to city air, polluted with the poisonous fumes of civilization, which overloads our bodies with toxins, clean forest air gives a dose of immune boost.

Taste – what do forest blueberries, blackberries or mushrooms taste like? For a long time people have been drawing food from the forest not only collecting the above-mentioned food, but also hunting wild animals. Before we became a sedentary species into agriculture, we were gatherers – hunters. To this day, people use the gifts of the forest. I pick rowan and make miracles with it, I know what acorn coffee tastes like, I like mushrooms. If you are interested in the topic of eating wild plants and would like to learn more delicacies – I recommend the book by Lisen Sundgarden “Herbarium – food and home treatments from the womb of nature” and “Wild Kitchen” by Łukasz Łuczaj, Polish ethnobotanist and ecologist, habilitated doctor of biology. In these books you will find a number of inspirations and recipes using wild food plants.

Touch – you can open yourself to the sensations coming from contact with nature. Feel the breeze on your cheeks, touch forest plants, hug a tree. You can take your shoes off for a moment and walk along the forest moss. If you have safe forest paths at your disposal – take off your shoes and walk barefoot. I do this a lot and experience many previously unknown reactions. My feet can finally take a break from the prison of shoes.

Thanks to contact with the ground, the body receives a large dose of healing negative ions, which have a very beneficial effect on us: they stimulate and refresh, bring a good mood, improve sleep.

The Earth is a gigantic battery with a natural low electric charge. When a person walks barefoot, he benefits directly from this charge. Read more about grounding and all its benefits, it’s really worth using for your own health. I highly recommend the book by Clinton Ober: “Earthing. How to get healthy energy from the Earth ”.

It’s also great to dip your feet in a forest stream. Do you know that feeling? Have you ever splashed in cold, rushing water?

We are so impoverished when it comes to the sense of touch in everyday life, using only our hands, that sometimes it is worth reversing the perspective and using our feet – to feel how wonderful it is when our feet are tickled by grass or forest moss. I am an extremalist, I even walk on branches, camolas, acorns and cones, recently I was struggling barefoot through nettles and even mud.

Shinrin-yoku for the whole family

The forest is a wonderful natural ecosystem composed of many plants and animals, fungi and bacteria that we often do not know exist. The subject of shinrin-yoku is multidimensional, and it is at this level that the forest affects man. It not only improves the health parameters of our body, but also soothes the psyche, gives us energy, vigor, and improves our well-being.

It is enough once a week or if you do not have time – once a month for such an unhurried, therapeutic walk in the forest. By immersing ourselves in the forest according to the principles of shinrin-yoku, we will be healthier and happier.

Let us not forget our children. Today, they need support in teaching them how to use the benefits of nature more than we do. Today’s children, tempted by new technologies, more and more often choose entertainment in front of a computer screen than going out to the fresh air, to the forest or to the park. Richer on knowledge about forest bathing, let us take our children and whole families to the forest. Let us be part of nature from which we come from, let us respect our tradition and take care of nature. Be quiet in the forest, don’t wear flashy colors, don’t litter the forest! We remember to protect ourselves against mosquitoes and ticks.

Shinrin-yoku a odchudzanie

From the above article, you learned about the impact of forest bathing on health and well-being. It has been known for a long time that in a healthier body, metabolic processes can be more effective than in a sick body. Many of you struggle with various ailments. Some people suffer from autoimmune diseases, allergies, circulation problems, isulin resistance, and excessive levels of stress hormones that make it difficult to lose weight.

Although Shinrin-yoku seems to be wandering slowly without a big goal, on a deeper, physiological and psychological level, it can work wonders. It’s not just about burning calories, it’s about healing the body. If you try to take forest baths regularly, you may find that losing weight becomes much easier.

The forest is waiting for you!

Do not hesitate too long – get up from the chair, set a goal in your head – forest or park and go to work! Take a good bath between the trees, feel the forest with all your 5 senses. If you’ve been bored with slow walking in the forest so far, after learning the theory and principles of shinrin-yoku, put them into practice and you will see what impact the forest bath will have on you. If shinrin-yoku makes you less stressed, healthier, happier and slimmer, what are you waiting for? March to the forest!

For those interested in exploring the subject, I recommend Dr. Qing Li’s book “Shinrin-yoku. The Art and Theory of Forest Bathing “or” Nerves in the Forest “, as well as” Lasoterpia “by Katarzyna Simosienko.