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“You don’t have to social distance with a tree.”
Wise words indeed from Amos Clifford of Santa Rosa, a leading voice in the practice of forest bathing. Even if it’s still required to keep a good distance from humans, he notes, it’s fine — and highly beneficial – to go out and hug up as much nature as you can, absorb the healing atmosphere of fields or forests, relax in it, revel in it. In essence, “bathe” in it.
Also known as forest therapy, forest bathing is a growing movement in the wellness community. And though it doesn’t have to involve a forest, per se – or a bath, for that matter — the term comes from the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku. Roughly translated as forest bathing, it’s an immersion in nature through a guided practice of meditative techniques as a way to clear the mind, open the senses and connect with the natural world. It’s said to provide mental and physical benefits — uplifting mood, increasing tranquility, lowering blood pressure, enhancing immune systems and more.
And if we ever needed all of the above, it’s now.
Thing is, the usual practice involves going out to a natural space with a group of people who follow a trained guide through parklands or forests. It’s an activity made more difficult with pandemic-related restrictions on travel and, in some cases, limited access to parks, trails and beaches.
So we spoke with a few forest-bathing guides about how to DIY it in your own neighborhood, even in your own backyard, on your video screens or by bonding with a houseplant in your fourth-floor walkup.
“Any exposure to nature works,” says Clifford, founder of the Santa Rosa-based Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and Programs and author of “Your Guide to Forest Bathing: Experience the Healing Power of Nature.”
“There are many healing influences in nature. And if you’re lucky to have a yard with trees, spend time with those trees,” he says. “Even in most of our cities, there are trees along the sidewalks. Go to nature wherever you find it. It doesn’t have to be big, spectacular nature to have the same effect.”
Clifford’s own elderly mother lives in a third-story apartment and, while sheltering in place this spring, has been “bathing” in nature just by looking out her window and watching the birds. “She knows all the birds out there, tells me stories about all of her birds,” he says. “That’s a very legit kind of nature connection. It does her a lot of good.”
To be sure, the practice of forest bathing – in normal times — is more than just a walk in a park. The idea is to employ all of one’s senses. It’s about “attention and intention,” Clifford says. “Give yourself a little challenge — how can I bring each of my senses into connection with this tree or flower or plant? Vision, hearing, smell. Even trees have many sounds, depending on the time of day (and) which direction the wind is coming. Can you identify your trees by smell?
“Another sense that we emphasize in forest therapy is the ‘heart sense,’” he says. “How do you feel it with your emotional body? People will lean against a tree, sit against it or, yes, even hug it, put their hands on it. Start noticing what happens in your body when you do that. Everyone has a different experience. But it’s the act of being conscious of that in that moment that counts.”
There’s no place like home
During the COVID-19 restrictions, some guides have continued to do in-person walks, but with modifications — with smaller groups of two or three from the same household and by keeping distance. In typical practice, they end the experience with a tea service. They’ve been skipping that for now.
But guides around the world have been leading walks on Zoom — doing a walk solo and taking viewers with them online — and they have been surprised at the positive results.
“I was reluctant at first to use technology to connect people to the natural world, but the results are quite amazing. It seems everyone is finding some peace, calm and connection with the virtual walks,” says Irene Bailey, an Oregon guide whose practice is called Temenos Rising. “I’ve had folks joining from their backyard, inside their high-rise condo or parks near their homes. We are not alone, and Mother Earth is here to support and nurture us.”
Bailey has been leading groups on a two-hour virtual walk — asking only a donation — from Portland’s Mount Tabor Park, a dormant volcano with acres of beautiful forests, trails and wildlife.
“I start with me on the screen, so they can see the background, which is really pretty,” Bailey says. “Some guides keep the video on the whole time and show things in the environment. But we’re on our screens so much already, I think it’s important for people to be present with what they have, so I’ll turn the video and even the audio off at some points, to allow people to be present in the moment.”
Jackie Kuang, a Los Angeles guide who recently moved to Arizona, was also surprised by the impact of Zoom-enabled nature therapy, even when it’s done while sheltering in place. For one walk, she took people virtually to a babbling creek, and had anyone participating indoors gather containers and fill them with water.
“I had them engage,” she says, “interacting with the water, feeling the water, then going back in your mind to a time when you were near water, near a lake or on the beach. I could hear people playing with the water, splashing.”
Kuang has also enjoyed the connection with a global community. “Whoever was on my walk, they had a shared experience of enjoying something meaningful together. When we all have audio on, I could hear a symphony of birds from different places in forests and yards around the world. It was an amazing discovery.
“A lot of times we need to go far to feel special, go to Hawaii or something,” she says. “And yes, that’s wonderful, too. But often we underappreciate what’s right in front of us.”
Even a houseplant
Guide Hana Lee Goldin, whose practice is called The Sacred Wilds, recently moved from the Bay Area — where she had been leading walks at San Francisco’s Presidio and UC Berkeley’s Botanical Garden — to downtown Los Angeles. With beaches and trailheads closed for much of the spring, it’s been difficult, she says, “But even the smallest bit of nature can generate benefits for our health, wellness and well-being.
“Maybe you have this beautiful little flower plant in your home – look at it and ask yourself, ‘What am I really looking at here?’ Pay attention to the sight of it. Does it smell like anything? What does it feel like underneath your fingers? Notice what comes up inside of you in response to that. How does my inner world respond?”
And if all else fails, head for your screens.
“Take a few minutes to watch a nature documentary or look at pictures of beauty in nature,” she says. “There are daily webcam live streams from zoos and aquariums and gardens. Go to Google Earth tours to see a rainforest or an ocean. Take a virtual tour of the national parks. It does wonders for our emotional health.”
Forest Bathing DIY
Whether you’re walking through a park or your neighborhood, sitting on your balcony or sticking your head out the window, these questions from Goldin of The Sacred Wilds, can help you connect with the natural world using your five senses:
What does nature look like right now? Are there birds in the sky? Flowers at my feet? Trees in the distance? How many different shades of blue or green or brown are there? What colors are popping out? How does this make me feel?
What do you hear? Wind rushing through bushes, birds chirping, water lapping the shore? Are these sounds loud or quiet? How does this make me feel?
What does nature smell like right now? Fresh? Floral? Earthy? Do I like this smell, or do I turn my nose at it? Do I miss this smell or remember this smell?
What does nature taste like? Not suggesting you go lick a tree, but if you stick out your tongue, air molecules wash over your taste buds. Is there a taste? Or does it just taste like fresh air?
How does nature feel? Gently run your hands across what’s safely available to you, be it a flower petal, leaf, stone or tree. Is it soft or scratchy? Solid or fragile? How can you relate?
