About 6 months ago, I became obsessed with a concept called forest therapy. Forest therapy (or shinrin-yoku) was originally developed in Japan by Dr. Qing Li, and it’s defined as “bathing in the forest atmosphere, or taking in the forest through our senses”. Before I knew much about it, my understanding was that forest therapy combines two of my passions, nature and mental health. From a very early age, I was raised to appreciate natural beauty and respect the environment. I’ve been fortunate enough to hike in most of our country’s most famous national parks and the idea of learning about how to incorporate nature in to my work with clients really appeals to me.
Benefits of Forest Therapy
In dedicating his career to studying the effects of nature on human life, Dr. Li found that just spending time in forests offers significant health benefits, including reduced blood pressure & blood sugar levels, increased anti-cancer protein production and an improved immune system, to name a few. As a therapist, I was most interested in the mental health benefits, and there are many. Dr. Li has found that spending time in forests lowers the stress hormones adrenaline & cortisol, suppresses our ‘fight of flight’ system, reduces anxiety and improves positive thoughts. Spending time in nature can boost problem- solving skills and creativity by 50%. People who spend as little as two hours in a forest may see a 15% improvement in sleep. One study even showed that people who live on streets with more trees have a reduced rate of prescriptions for antidepressant medication.
My Experience
All of that is really cool, but I didn’t know how you actually DO it. So I signed up for a two-hour, lead forest therapy walk and decided to find out for myself. Some skeptics (such as my friends and family, who are tired of hearing me talk about it) wondered what kind of person would actually pay someone to walk in the forest with them (besides me). As it turns out, there were 15 others who were just as interested as I was. Well, maybe not as interested, but still, I felt validated.
Anyway… so what was it like?
The session was lead by a certified forest therapist who offered us what she called “invitations” to notice things. As she started inviting us to engage our senses and notice different experiences, I realized that we were basically just practicing mindfulness, which is something I try to do anyway. She asked us to close our eyes and notice the feeling of the sun and wind against our skin, the aroma of the trees (one of my favorite smells on earth), to touch and notice the texture of plants and to focus our sight in a variety of different places in order to simply observe the color of the leaves or the movement of a bird. It may sound corny, but it’s backed up by tons of research, so give credit where credit is due. It’s science, people!
I left the session feeling like I had gotten what I wanted out of it; to spend a little time in nature and learn about forest therapy and how to possibly incorporate it in to my work with clients.
The Lasting Effects
Luckily enough, I had a trip to Colorado planned just a few weeks after the workshop. On a sunny 70 degree day, I set out alone for a long hike up to a beautiful lookout spot. Without thinking about it ahead of time, I realized that my experience with forest therapy was influencing how I was engaging with my surroundings. I caught myself stopping to notice the atmosphere a lot more, instead of just powering through the hike. The sky was an incredible color of blue, the trees smelled as good as ever and I couldn’t stop staring at the mountains. For me, spending time in nature always improves my mood and I know how it important it is for my mental health.
I’m working on thinking of ways to incorporate the benefits of forest therapy in to my practice with clients. In the meantime, I challenge everyone to try to prioritize spending time in nature every now and then.
Reference: Shinrin-Yoku: The Art and Science of Forest Bathing by Dr. Qing Li