Forest Bath

JAPANESE THERAPY TO PROMOTE HEALTH, RELAXATION AND STRENGTHEN THE IMMUNE SYSTEM.   

The ‘forest baths’ or Shinrin Yoku have their origin in Japan and its literal meaning is ‘to absorb the atmosphere of the forest’.

Although this practice of «Forest Bathing» emerged from the 1980s, it would not become known in the rest of the world until well into the 21st century. The dissemination and scientific demonstration of its benefits was the responsibility of the Japanese scientist Yoshifumi Miyazaki, who in 1990 began to study the beneficial effects of forests on health. These studies were disseminated in his book Shinrin-Yoku: Healing Forest Baths. Japanese therapy to promote health, relaxation and strengthen the immune system.

The forest bath or Shinrin Yoku, is a Japanese practice that seeks to connect body and mind in nature, open the senses to mother earth and focus attention on the sounds, smells and sensations that surround us without setting any goal in terms of distance to travel. The Japanese have been practicing this activity for years to alleviate stress, thanks to the phytoncides and negative ions that reduce the risk of depression, boost the immune system and prevent cardiovascular disease and other ailments. Just let yourself be carried away by the atmosphere of the forest, take a quiet walk with all five senses and reach a state of absolute relaxation and connection with the natural environment: hug a tree, caress a leaf, feel the breeze on your face, smell the aroma of the trees with your eyes closed, perceive the crunch of your feet as you step on the dry leaves or listen to the chirping of the birds.

Medicine is also in the air (of the forest)

Our organism is not an island, it is in deep relationship with the environment.

The immune system is sensory and is in permanent exchange with the nervous and hormonal systems, as well as with the environment. Health depends to a large extent on all these relationships.

The immune system, for example, is sensitive to the action of terpenes emitted by plants to protect themselves and also to communicate with each other.

Forests and ecosystems are intelligent communities of marvelous complexity where the flow of terpenes is a means of communication, a language. Trees use it, for example, to warn each other of possible threats.

They also serve to communicate with other species and also with our immune, nervous and endocrine systems.

In the forests, the air is full of these volatile anti-cancer compounds that strengthen the immune system and whose effect on the organism in the medium and long term is much greater than we might think.

Japanese researchers provide evidence that fewer people die from cancer in forested areas.

 Breathing in a forest is like taking a healing elixir.