Shinrin - Yoko Forest Therapy
It is no secret that we all feel better after being immersed in Nature! My favourite places are the woods and the beach and the cleansing effects are measurable! I am so lucky to have beautiful woods, natural water springs and amazing coastlines living in Norfolk, and as an Energy Worker and someone who is very sensitive to energy, as I even enter the canopy of the woods I can feel such a beautiful lift of energy and cleansing effect within my aura first and then my complete body.
It is very tangible, and I walk barefoot daily in the woods and also by the seaside and waterways to cleanse myself, ready to do energy work on others. It is so very Grounding - the beautiful Greens, all the various Ferns and Huge Trees, the Light dancing on the Floor, the Sounds of Birds singing, the Seasons! Woods/Forests are a very Healing Place and are valuable to our well being, they bring Life, are Oxygen rich and show us Mother Nature at her best.
Shinrin - Yoko means "Forest Bathing" - it is immersing yourself and becoming one with Mother Nature. The text extract below is from http://www.shinrin-yoku.org/shinrin-yoku.html and explains a little more about what Shinrin - Yoku is about :
"Shinrin-yoku is a term that means "taking in the forest atmosphere" or "forest bathing." It was developed in Japan during the 1980s and has become a cornerstone of preventive health care and healing in Japanese medicine. Researchers primarily in Japan and South Korea have established a robust body of scientific literature on the health benefits of spending time under the canopy of a living forest. Now their research is helping to establish shinrin-yoku and forest therapy throughout the world. The idea is simple: if a person simply visits a natural area and walks in a relaxed way there are calming, rejuvenating and restorative benefits to be achieved. We have always known this intuitively. But in the past several decades there have been many scientific studies that are demonstrating the mechanisms behind the healing effects of simply being in wild and natural areas. (some of this research is available here). For example, many trees give off organic compounds that support our “NK” (natural killer) cells that are part of our immune system's way of fighting cancer.
"You didn't come into this world. You came out of it, like a wave from the ocean. You are not a stranger here." Alan Watts
Below is a Video from Association of Nature and Forest Therapy, and it explains why Forest Bathing or Wood Bathing - or even just seeking a Park if you don't have access to a wood or forest - can be so beneficial to your health.
Thankyou for reading and I truly hope you can find a Wood or Waterway or Park near you to just sit under a Tree and chill :) It's very easy and so good for the soul!! Namaha - Lisa X
