Forest Bathing

Imagen by Huellas Latinas – © Huellas Latinas – Crosby Farm Regional Park 2024

“Nature is the place where we can find inner peace and wisdom” – St. Francis of Assisi

Nature wisely advises us that inner peace is a gift we can give ourselves; we don’t have to struggle to live within it. Often, what others say we have to do to earn a place in this world holds great value, and we quickly lose our inner peace.

Forest Therapy, also known as “Forest Bathing,” originated in Japan in the 1980s in response to the lack of peace and disconnection from nature experienced by the urban population. The Japanese use the word Shinrin (forest) and Yoku (bathing/therapy) to describe Forest Bathing. The practice involves slowly walking through the forest, observing the trees and wildlife using all five senses to fully experience the environment.

Benefits of Forest Therapy

Forest therapy or forest baths can be therapeutic, countering some of the negative effects of our technology-driven, weather-controlled, fast-paced, and often highly stressed daily lives. Researchers have created a growing body of scientific literature on the various health benefits, including improved physiological, emotional, cognitive, social, and spiritual health and well-being. The physical and mental health benefits of exposure to forests and other natural environments include positive effects on the cardiovascular and immune systems and reduced stress levels. In fact, the American Psychiatric Association includes forest bathing in its list of mental health tools for 2024.

According to the National Library of Medicine, there are several benefits of Forest Therapy for our Kokoro, a Japanese word that encapsulates a person’s entire range of emotions, thoughts, and feelings. Some benefits include:

Increase in natural killer (NK) cells in humans, the number of NK cells, and intracellular levels of anticancer proteins, suggesting a preventive effect on cancer.
Reduction in blood pressure and heart rate, showing a preventive effect on hypertension and heart disease.
Decrease in stress hormones, such as adrenaline and noradrenaline, as well as salivary/serum cortisol, contributing to stress management.

However, the point of Forest Bathing is to slow down from ourselves because sometimes it is ourselves who impose tasks or difficult situations on us. As we slow down from ourselves and from any thought that makes us feel we are not enough, that there is something wrong with us, or that we should work harder, we move further away from who we really are. With the help of nature, we can turn back to ourselves and live in the peace and wisdom that we overshadow with the dilemmas of everyday life.

**Imagen by @huellas.latinas – © Huellas Latinas – Terapia de Bosque en White Water State Park 2022**

Part of the Process

You need to dedicate 30 minutes to focus on forest therapy. Give yourself permission to engage all your senses. Take deep breaths, observe the aromas you can perceive. Walk until your gaze focuses on something particular or peculiar. If you know the edible flowers of Minnesota, try tasting one. Walking slowly among nature, what can you hear? Which wild animals can you hear?Hay que dedicar 30 minutos para enfocarse en la terapia de bosque. Date el permiso de sumergir todos tus sentidos. Respirar profundo, observar cuáles son los aromas que puedes percibir. Caminar hasta dónde tu mirada se enfoque en algo particular o peculiar. Si conoces las flores comestibles de Minnesota, trata de probar alguna. Caminando despacio entre la naturaleza, ¿qué puedes escuchar? ¿Cuántos animales silvestres puedes oír?

Forest Therapy Program

With certification as Forest Bathing Guides by ANFT, in 2024 Huellas Latinas has included Forest Baths IN SPANISH in its annual programs. For this summer/fall, we look forward to enjoying the program “Slow Down and Appreciate Your Environment with Forest Therapies” in the city of Minneapolis. 6 walks will be offered to the Spanish-speaking community this year, thanks to funding from the Minneapolis Parks Foundation. Check our website

We invite you to spend time outdoors; at least 30 minutes can positively impact your life, bringing calm, serenity, wisdom, and the other benefits of Forest Bathing. Try this activity with someone you care about, like your children, grandparents, and parents. Use the hashtag #ForestBathing to share your experience with others.

¡Nos vemos en los Trails!

References

Effects of forest environment (Shinrin-yoku/Forest bathing) on health promotion and disease prevention —the Establishment of “Forest Medicine”. Retrieved from Huellas Latinas: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9665958/
OpenAI. (2024). Conversation with ChatGPT on June 3, 2024. [Online conversation]. Retrieved from https://chatgpt.com/