Forest Bathing and Forest Therapy

 

The Ficus Forest at the Fullerton Arboretum. Photo by Myriam Mahiques, personal archives. 2021

I love walking in forests, it is so calming.... Apart from concentrating on photography, I enjoy the smells and the textures, feeling the sound and textures of leaves below my feet. 

I have attended an online conference a few days ago promoted by Japan House in Los Angeles:

Forest Therapy: Reconnecting with Nature via Shinrinyoku

Guest speakers were Dr Iwao Uehara and Forest Therapy Guide Ben Page. From the introduction:

"During the pandemic, restrictions have kept many people indoors and masked when outdoors. Now that more people in the US are feeling safe in outdoor spaces and are breathing fresh air without a mask again, there is a sense of reconnecting with nature, its beauty and its healing qualities. In order to maintain physical, mental and emotional balance as they re-enter “normal.” life, many Americans are looking for new ways to connect with nature.

 Healing through close contact with nature is at the core of the Japanese concept of “Shinrinyoku” or “Forest Bathing,” a term coined in the 1980s by the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to encourage citizens to take walks in the forests. Japanese researchers have discovered many positive physiological effects of walking in nature, including lower heart rate and blood pressure, strengthened immune systems and a reduction in depression. 

 Professor Iwao Uehara, who founded the practice of Shinrin-ryōhō, or “Forest Therapy,” in which the health of the forests is also considered, and Ben Page, a local expert in forest bathing, will discuss the philosophy and benefits of forest bathing and forest therapy in Japan and worldwide."

From my notes on the conference:

"Forest bathing" (1982) is like bathing in the sea, but we are surrounded by the forest instead. How it feels, it depends on the person and the forest the person selects.

"Forest therapy (1999): the difference is a group of people is guided, usually to meditate, to heal, to interact with nature. There are activities involved to improve the forest, like (for example) clearing  of overgrown plants and planting of species. 

Some goals of Forest Therapy: rehabilitation of patients with dementia, avoid stress, avoid suicides, discover the local environment, improve people's relationships, counseling for depression.

The practice has to be done in natural environments without human intervention, not in gardens with trees planted by humans. It is not the same to walk around the neighborhood. 

Ben Page explained Forest Therapy is being implemented in USA, but it is a Western interpretation of the Japanese therapy. He mentioned an interesting comparison between cultures:

While Westerns say "we have to conquer the mountain", Japanese say "we have to be friends with the mountain".

Forest Therapy is preventive, not a curative discipline. It is to improve the wellbeing. 

A nurse relaxing in a beech forest. Photo posted by Japan House illustrating the conference.

There is much more to read and I leave a few links here:

Getting back to nature: how forest bathing can make us feel better.

Forest Bathing is great for your health. 

The practice of Forest Therapy