SHINRIN YOKU
Shinrin Yoku
Also called forest bathing or forest therapy.
There really isn’t a universal definition of Forest Therapy or Shinrin Yoku. Nor is there a standard practice. Each practitioner therefore fills the concept according to his training, his experience or his own feelings.
I am personally certified by the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and Programs, an American association that has been one of the pioneers in this field. Its founder, Amos Clifford, was inspired by mindfulness, Zen meditation, Japanese Shinrin Yoku and his experience as a psychotherapist and wilderness guide when he developed the practice in forest therapy that characterizes the ANFT today.
Forest bathing, Shinrin Yoku as the Japanese understand it, is the art of immersing yourself in the forest to promote general well-being. It is accessible to everyone who walks among the trees for a while.
Forest therapy goes a step further in the sense that we focus more consciously and actively on those activities that make us feel goods. This is where a guide can be relevant, because he gives a framework to the practice by offering a series of invitations meant to gently encourage you to take it one step further. A guide also creates a secure environment that allows you to better let go and therefore fully enjoy the benefits of the session.
More concretely, forest therapy is a gentle walk with a series of invitations that help us slow down, get into the rhythm of the forest, come into our senses and silence the mind.
To sum up, we could say that Shinrin Yoku is about immersing ourselves in the forest through our senses and this sensory experience brings us a lot of benefits, both physically and psychologically.
What is Shinrin Yoku ?
The benefits of forest bathing
Homo sapiens did not evolve in noisy and crowded cities made of concrete, but in nature, surrounded by meadows, hills, lakes, mountains, rivers, plants and natural sounds. It is no wonder then that our two most archaic brains, the reptilian brain and the limbic brain, feel much more comfortable in nature than in cities. It would therefore be a remnant of human evolution to react positively to nature.
Additionally, terpenes – volatile molecules emitted by trees; negative ions in the forest air; the sounds of nature; fractals; the sun which has an impact on our serotonin and vitamin D levels… all have a beneficial effect on the often overstimulated humans that we are.
Over time, those who engage in Shinrin Yoku on a regular basis will feel more relaxed and better able to deal with stress, with a calming of the mind. They will have more vitality, better immunity, more self-confidence and a better relationship with others.
Some of these benefits have been the subject of scientific studies, including by the Japanese.