Forest Therapy: So Much More than Tree Hugging

Yes, while engaged in forest therapy you might hug a tree, but you will also participate in so much more. Forest Therapy has its origins in Japan, where it is referred to as shinrin yoku (translation: forest bathing), in the early 1980s. It was a response to all the stress related problems associated with its overworked citizens. The Japanese turned to the healing aspects of nature to improve the health, wellness and happiness of their people and that concept has spread across the globe.

Let’s first try to describe forest therapy by describing what it is not. Forest therapy is not just a walk or hike through the woods, although some walking is involved. Its primary purpose is not physical exercise, although walking, by definition, is physical activity.  Forest therapy is not yoga in the woods, although some yoga might occur. It is not a nature walk where you spend your time identifying trees, shrubs, insects and animals, although you become more aware of their presence. Forest therapy is not a one-time or seldom occurring event. To derive its full benefits, it should become a routine practiced on a regular basis.

So, what IS forest therapy? As its Japanese name implies, it involves becoming fully immersed in your surroundings, which, in this case, is the forest. In a sense, it involves becoming one with the forest, becoming part of it, at least temporarily. Words associated with forest therapy include meditative, quiet, immersive, connectivity, sensory, and peaceful. Given our current situation regarding COVID-19 and politics, its easy to see how interest in these words and forest therapy have increased over the past year.

Perhaps the best definition of forest therapy comes from a forest therapy guide who stated, “It removes the hamster from the wheel [of your mind].” By entering the forest and unplugging from the daily, constant stresses of our lives on a regular basis, people are finding that it reduces stress, improves attention, lifts mood and improves overall wellbeing. However, many are also finding that this can be difficult as our minds have been conditioned to worry, stress, ruminate and overthink for years. That’s a hard habit to break. Therefore, many turn to forest therapy guides for assistance, especially to get them started. Forest therapy guides do just that, they guide people through the forest and help them achieve healing, peace and wellness from its soothing embrace. To learn more about forest therapy guides visit the Association of Nature and Forest Guides.

A typical forest therapy session can last an hour or more during which you might travel no more than a mile (a typical person can walk a mile in 15 minutes). During this time, your forest therapy guide will offer “invitations” to get you unplugged and fully immersed in your new environment. He or she might introduce you to a specific tree and ask that you use all your senses during this introduction. If you like, you can hug and name your new arboreal friend as well.

You also might lay on the forest floor (on a yoga mat if you prefer) and again, use all your senses to connect with your surroundings. Watch the wind stir the leaves. Smell the earth and moss underneath you. Listen to the birds and insects around you. Feel the moist earth and leaves between your fingers. Taste the freshness and cleanliness of the air. You then might conclude your session with a quiet picnic beneath the canopy of trees and dine on things the forest produces to sustain life, such as pine needle tea, seeds, nuts and berries.

Perhaps more than ever, we need a peaceful refuge as a break from all the anger, stress and disease that surrounds us, and the forest and forest therapy just might be the answer.