Forest Bathing

I was reminded of the idea of "Forest Breathing" in this short PBS Urban Nature episode.

In the early 1980s, Japan developed a wellness program in nature, shinrin-yoku, as a healing practice meant to curb the country’s mental-health crisis. Translated, this is forest bathing, meaning immersing all of your senses in the healing forest. Forest bathing is now a common practice in Japan and a growing practice in many other countries, including the United States.

Forest bathing incorporates several elements. The guide will present invitations—suggestions to participate in various activities designed to deepen your connection with the forest. You may choose to accept the invitation or not. There is no right or wrong. Participants are asked to follow what feels right. There is time to be alone and time to share thoughts with other participants, and the walk ends with a tea ceremony with tea plants foraged from the land.

Invitations (from Chicago Botanic Gardens)

1. Pleasures of Presence

Standing in a comfortable position, take a moment to look around you. Notice where you are and what is around you. Close your eyes and notice your breath entering through your nose.

2. What’s in Motion

Take time to observe what is in motion around you.

3. Forest Friend

Pick up a rock or any other item that calls to you. This friend is happy to hold any worries you may have while we are on this walk, or for as long as you like.

4. Bent

Look up. Which trees are bent and which are straight? Think about the different paths of the trees. What did you notice?

5. Other Senses

Turn your attention to senses other than vision. What can you smell, feel, taste, and hear?

6. Breathe with a Tree
Trees and people both need oxygen and CO2. Go find a tree and “breathe with it.” What did it feel like?

7. Family, or Lean on Me

In a forest family, trees take care of each other. Take time to observe how this family helps each other. Does this relate to your life in any way?

8. Up

Use a mirror to look up. You can put the mirror under things to see what it might be like to be a bug or use it to see the sky. How was this experience for you?

9. Looking Up

Explore what’s above us. Let your eyes be drawn upward along the trunk of a tree to the branches and then move from treetop to treetop like a bird or squirrel might. What did you notice?

10. Sit Spot

Find a comfortable place to sit for 15 to 30 minutes and just notice what you notice. If possible, return to this spot at least once a week. This can also be a good time to sketch or journal if you like.

Here's a slightly different overview of the steps from Utne Reader online:

1. Have a firm intention to forest bathe.
2. Begin with a threshold to ceremonially mark the start of the forest bathing walk and set it apart from other experiences. This is called the Threshold of Connection.
3. Stay in one place for at least fifteen minutes, using your senses to explore here, now. The standard invitation for this is “Embodied Awareness.”
4. Walk slowly for twenty minutes, noticing what is in motion around you.
5. Choose one to three invitations that are a good fit for the place, the weather, the people, the mood. This part of the optimal flow is called “Infinite Possibilities,” because the forest offers many choices. This part can last up to two hours.
6. Sit spot for twenty minutes.
7. Hold a tea ceremony, with snacks and conversation.
8. End with the Threshold of Incorporation, marking the end of the forest bath and your return to ordinary experiences.