Shinrin Yoku

It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men’s hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air, that emanation from old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit. —Robert Louis Stevenson

        

Nature-based therapy is nothing new, at least in the East. But the Japanese have now developed this into a critical part of the Japanese health and wellness system.

The term Shinrin Yoku, is not really ancient, it was developed in the 1980's by the Director of the Japanese Forestry Agency, initially as a means to market and make popular the forests. But studies have now shown that a thirty minute trek in the forest had a significant impact in terms of decreased negative feelings, stress, anger, fatigue, anxiety, confusion and such, and it actually results in improved cognitive skills. 

Yakushima was chosen because it is home to Japan’s most heralded forests. The area contains some of Japan’s most pristine forests, including those of select cedar trees that are over 1,000 years old. Miyazaki reported that a level of physical activity (40 minutes of walking) in the cedar forest equivalent to that done indoors in a laboratory was associated with improved mood and feelings of vigor. This in itself is hardly a revelation, but he backed up the subjective reports by the findings of lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol in subjects after forest walks compared with those who took laboratory walks. It was the first hint that a walk in a forest might not be the same as a walk in a different environmental setting.

This brought back to me something I've always said, but I guess with ratification now.......that when in the countryside I just feel more in my own element, that direct connect, not only with nature or the outside, but actually with myself. 

There is a harmony and alignment in forests which just seeps into you. Through our daily lives, there are so many little things and at times big things that sap your energy. We manage, but it's mostly like running on a treadmill...unless you make a conscious choice.

It helps to identify and connect with sources that replenish.

One way..... go find some trees :)