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Forest Bathing — With or Without Trees
It is where you are mentally that is important
The evocatively named forest bathing (or shinrin-yoku) surfaced in Japan in the 1980s as a treatment for burned-out technology workers and reconnecting the population with the country’s extensive network of forests.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, it turns out that immersing yourself in nature and mindfully using all five senses — touch, sight, hearing, smell, and taste — has many health benefits.
Shinrin-yoku closely follows earlier principles gained from other meditative practices that continue to guide the mindfulness movement.
While shinrin-yoku requires a setting of natural beauty, mindful walking can be performed anywhere, so long as the walker remains present. If the walk is mindful, a busy thoroughfare is equal to an idyllic woodland setting.
That is the wonder of mindfulness — it does not matter where you are physically, it is where you are mentally that is important.
To find out more, check out the full article here.
