Forest Bathing / Shinrin-yoku

Forest Bathing

 Breathe, relax, wander, touch, listen, heal.

                                                                                                                                                                 


"Shinrin-yoku is a term that means "taking in the forest atmosphere" or "forest bathing." It was developed in Japan during the 1980's and has become a cornerstone of preventive health care and healing in Japanese medicine. Researchers primarily in Japan and South Korea have established a robust body of scientific literature on the health benefits of spending time under the canopy of a living forest. Now their research is helping to establish shinrin-yoku and forest therapy throughout the world." - http://www.shinrin-yoku.org/shinrin-yoku.html

                                                                                                                                                                 

"The tonic of the wilderness was Henry David Thoreau’s classic prescription for civilization and its discontents, offered in the 1854 essay Walden: Or, Life in the Woods. Now there’s scientific evidence supporting eco-therapy. The Japanese practice of forest bathing is proven to lower heart rate and blood pressure, reduce stress hormone production, boost the immune system, and improve overall feelings of well being.

Forest bathing—basically just being in the presence of trees—became part of a national public health program in Japan in 1982 when the forestry ministry coined the phrase shinrin-yoku and promoted topiary as therapy. Nature appreciation—picnicking en masse under the cherry blossoms, for example—is a national pastime in Japan, so forest bathing quickly took. The environment’s wisdom has long been evident to the culture: Japan’s Zen masters asked: If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears, does it make a sound?

To discover the answer, masters do nothing, and gain illumination. Forest bathing works similarly: Just be with trees. No hiking, no counting steps on a Fitbit. You can sit or meander, but the point is to relax rather than accomplish anything."  - https://qz.com/804022/health-benefits-japanese-forest-bathing/

                                                                                                                                                                   


Being in the presence of nature, is essential for personal and spiritual growth, and is a fundamental part of my growing practice as an artist. I am a firm believer in the healing properties that are to be found in the natural world. It is important to me to create a dialogue between human beings, and the natural environment. Using a form of mindfulness, to clear the mind of negativity and absorb in the scenery around you, particularly the healing essence of the trees who have been scientifically proven to emit oxygen and breathe in carbon dioxide. 

                                                                                                                                                                 


 Some benefits of trees:
                                                 

• Trees can reduce air temperature by blocking sunlight. Further cooling occurs when water evaporates from the leaf surface. The conversion of water to air vapor --- a chemical process --- removes heat energy from the air.

 An acre of trees absorb enough carbon dioxide in a year to equal the amount produced when you         drive a car 26,000 miles. 

Trees can separate and define space thus providing a sense of privacy, solitude and security, and           create a feeling of relaxation and well being.

• Sound waves are absorbed by tree leaves and branches. A belt of trees 100 feet wide and 45 feet high can reduce highway noise by 50 percent.

Source: https://projects.ncsu.edu/project/treesofstrength/benefits.htm