Why Forest Bathing Works

My name is Tom Court, and I am a Forest Bathing Practitioner. 

Since I was a child, I have loved spending time in nature. I was lucky to grow up in a small village which had numerous woodlands nearby. On the northern side of the village was the edge of the beautiful Royal Forest of Dean.  

Whether I was riding my bike, climbing trees, making dens, playing in streams, or just looking for wildlife and insects, I was in a place where I felt at home. 

I really didn’t understand at the time how important spending time in nature was and just really enjoyed the space it provided, and the feeling of endless opportunities. 

As soon as I learnt to drive, I was lured away from the forests into the towns and cities, swapping the green natural landscape for a grey urban jungle. My house in the city was only a short walk from a few parks, and I found myself visiting the parks to unwind and relax after the stresses of the working day. 

As the years passed, I felt the urge to move back into the countryside. This was also driven by a long-term goal to create a life working more closely with health and healing. 

My wife and I had started running yoga retreats, where I was responsible for catering and taking our guests for a woodland walk. During these walks, I was amazed how grounded the guests became and even started becoming more confident and playful.

A few years later my family moved into the woods permanently by purchasing a smallholding at Hill Farm in Tintern, and we started building an eco-retreat venue to run our yoga and wellness business Forest Retreats. 

A friend recommended that we might consider offering a Japanese practice that was becoming very popular called Shinrin Yoku, as we are lucky enough to have ancient woodlands on our land at Hill Farm.  

As soon as I started reading up on it, it immediately aligned with my love or nature and the benefits I gained. Research suggests that spending time in nature and connecting mindfully with your senses not only calms the mind but has physiological health benefits too. 

The effects are so powerful that the practice of Shinrin Yoku is now prescribed to people across Japan. Over 60 dedicated forests have been set up to enable their population to visit and experience Shinrin Yoku (Forest bathing). Shinrin Yoku translates as to bath or shower in the forest’s atmosphere, the forest air being of the utmost importance.

A two-hour period spent in the forest can double your NK cells, which naturally fight cancer in your body. Your metabolism stabilises, and therefore can have a positive effect on diabetes. 

Your sleep can improve, and your stress levels and blood pressure reduce. 

There are so many reasons for this health boost; the clean air, calming sounds, smell and beautiful scenery. Which is obvious, but on a more detailed inspection the gases produced by the trees have a huge impact and can trigger a profound reaction within our bodies.

To go into nature with the intention of self-healing and to connect deeply with the environment can help to achieve a mindful state. Unlike meditation inside the house, using nature to distract you from your normal thought patterns is extremely effective at keeping your attention. 

Time might be spent looking into the tree canopy and the many intricate fractal patterns of the branches, touching tree bark, leaves and mosses, listening to the birds and the rustling of wind in the leaves allows your mind to slow down. 

We are used to moving at such a pace with our busy lives and slowing down can be one of the hardest things for us to achieve. A great way to slow down and ground yourself is to take your shoes and socks off and walk a short distance barefoot. Being mindful about every step and really feeling your way is a popular way to help slow you down. 

Spending time in nature has a subtle way of bringing our moods up, boosting creativity and reducing anxiety - something I feel most of us can really benefit from. But I feel the most powerful part of being within the forest is the way our whole self-connects and our health improves. 

The forest is symbiotic, where every part of the forest and the nature within it works together to help improve the overall health of the forest in its own special way. We are a part of this system, and in the simplest terms, the air we breathe out helps the trees and in return their oxygen is given to us. 

We have evolved within the forests for thousands of years and belong in this environment as much as the birds, animals, and insects. We are nature. 

Healing in nature is a wonderful way to take ownership of your own health. It's free, it's easy, and it can also be fun!  

We all share a desire to be surrounded by living things (biophilia) and have a human desire to be close to other forms of life. The forests and nature are full of life, and this could be one of the reasons why they bring us so much joy, pleasure and health.