What is Forest Bathing and why is it good for our health?
Nature deficit disorder is an affliction of today. We spend so much of our time inside our homes or at work in buildings. We rarely take the time to go outside to see and experience God’s beauty. Sadly, this affects both children and adults.
The average American spends up to 93% of their time indoors and can often be on social media up to 10 hours per day! More time than they spend asleep.
In recent years, a Japanese medical doctor, Dr. Qing Li, recognized the effects of our daily routines becoming hazardous to our long-term health. He began researching how nature could affect better outcomes on health. Spending time in nature and walking among the trees became a focus to see what forest therapy could do on not only our physical health but our emotional and mental wellbeing. This well-known term of “bathing in the forest” became popular in 1982 in Japan.
Forest bathing engages all your senses and fully immerses you in nature. The practice encourages unplugging from technology and plugging into nature. We, as Christians, add prayer and the peace of Christ and it equals a time spent away and focused on connecting to the presence of God.
After years of study, Li has found that spending time in the forest can reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and anger; strengthen the immune system; improve cardiovascular and metabolic health and boost overall well-being. Studies show it also impacts and helps regulate blood sugar levels.
It is easy to start connecting in nature...
• Find a spot, it doesn’t need to be deep in a forest for benefits. Try our beautiful MetroParks.
• Engage all your senses...Let nature enter through your ears, eyes, nose, mouth, hands, and feet. Actively listen, smell, touch, and look. Drink in the flavor of the forest and release your sense of joy and calm.
• Don’t hurry... slow walking is recommended… start with twenty minutes and work up to at least an hour on a regular basis.
• Try different activities...yoga in the woods, tai chi or meditation, prayer, take a picnic, write a poem, study plants, listen to the birds, walk with a friend.
• Appreciate the silence...one of the downsides of urban living is the constant noise. Silence is restorative, and a forest has its own healing sounds - rustling leaves, a trickle of water, birdsong, wind through the trees. If nothing else, when we connect with nature, we are reminded that we are a small part of a larger whole of God’s creation. This can lead us to think more of others and how we are part of God’s plan to work through the lives of others.
May you find a little peace in Jesus as you journey through the forest,
Lynn Gorton, CLM, Faith Community Health Professional, LGorton@rrumc.org