Shinrin Yoku ~ Forest Therapy or Forest Bathing

Here’s a little history lesson…

A practice that is over 40 years old was born in Japan out of a calling to address the health of a culture that was beginning to decline. As the tech industry of the 1980’s began to rapidly develop in Japan, its citizens began to show significant signs of burnout and stress. While many people answered the demands for tech based jobs this ultimately required them to move away from the country and into urban areas.  Long hours glued to a computer, and less time spent outdoors all began to take effect on one’s health. 

In response, campaigns were promoted to support the idea that spending time amidst the forest produced a whole host of health benefits. The term shinrin-yoku, which translates to forest bath or taking in the atmosphere of the forest was coined by one of Japan’s Forest Agency directors Tomohide Akiyama. He had learned of the evidence-based research linking time in nature particularly forests, correlated to improved health outcomes.

More recently, this practice was quickly embraced in our “neck of the woods,” as articles began to show up across different media outlets.

This was the perfect time for me to embrace forest therapy for myself as I revisited my lifelong love of nature and the outdoors. I began to study and later became a certified Forest Therapy guide. This was all in divine timing as many of us were sequestered away as the result of the Covid situation of the 2020’s. In Richard Louv’s book “Last Child in the Woods,” the daunting reality is that young children who spend much less time in nature, show a significant disconnect to the natural environment around them.  Louv is responsible for coining the term Nature–Deficit Disorder which describes the human costs of alienation from nature, attention difficulty, higher rates of physical and emotional setbacks, and a diminished use of one’s senses.

In my mind, going out in nature, several times a day should not be a scheduled and organized activity. It could be a natural state of freedom.

When would you like to meet me for a “playdate” in the outdoor living room?