forest bathe
Forest of Dean
Shinrin-yoku (or forest bathing) means ‘bathing’ all the senses, whilst walking
slowly in the forest. When taking in the forest atmosphere like this, the brain
naturally switches off from the ‘sustained directed attention’ of life’s daily
pressures. Shinrin-yoku is restorative, both mentally and physically, like a
bath. Walking in the forest in this way is not like hiking in the woods, nor
indeed does it involve collecting or recording information and images like a
naturalist or for social media. Where does Shinrin-yoku come from? Shinrin-yoku
(森林浴) originated in Japan. The term was coined by the Japanese Ministry of
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in 1982. Japan’s Forest Agency invested $4
million to study forest bathing and set up the ‘International Society of Nature
and Forest Medicine’.