Forest Bathing

If you haven’t yet heard of this practice, you have been missing out.  The Japanese people have lived by the concept of forest bathing for ages.  The main idea of the practice is simple:  spend at least 20 minutes a ay in nature. 

Why is this important?  Studies, partially spurred on by knowledge of this practice, have found that time spent outdoors can lead to faster healing, less anxiety, slower heart rate and lower blood pressure, among a variety of other ailments.  If this isn’t enough to encourage you to get outside, perhaps the idea of slowing down for 20 minutes might convince you to try it.

Forest bathing doesn’t necessarily have to happen in the forest.  For some, it might mean taking a walk through the countryside, walking through an orchard, or even just stepping out of the office and spending time sitting on a bench outside.  For those in the city, it might be difficult to get to a park to forest bathe.  No worries!  Simply going outside, even in a concrete jungle, will provide benefits that you wouldn’t get if you stayed inside.  Breathing the outdoor air, feeling the sun on your face, these are both highly regarded as helpful and healthy in the forest bathing process.

Today’s challenge:  try to spend at least 20 minutes outdoors today.  However, if 20 is too much here at the start, try beginning with 5 minutes outdoors and work your way up to 20 over the week.  You’ll probably find that you want to spend much more time outdoors after that.  If that’s the case, I say “Carpe Diem!”

Oh, and in case the photo above caused you some concern:  That’s an image of my dream and goal for my own forest bathing experience.  You can set your own intention. You don’t have to find a moss-covered log in order to forest bathe.  :)