Seeing Green

When was the last time you took some time out for a walk in the woods or had a short break away in bush surrounds? Turns out, this isn’t just a good way to unwind or unplug, it has huge health benefits. 

In her illuminating book, Phosphorescence, Julia Baird says that a love of nature is ‘coiled within our bones, laced in our marrow and steeped in our blood.’ She goes on to say that ‘soon, more and more of us will become deprived or starved or nature, will spend days and months without glimpsing an expanse of green, a stretch of blue or an uninterrupted horizon, and will surely experience, as a result, a kind of unidentified ache or restlessness.’ 

This absence from nature may resonate with you after prolonged pandemic lockdowns – days upon days within our own four walls, uneasy with the amount of time in front of screens and restricted movement. Plus, with more of us residing in sprawling urban cities with fast-paced, plugged-in lifestyles we are increasingly suffering from fatigue, poor sleep quality, forgetfulness, physical pain, and sore throats which also increase the risk of infection and reduces the capacity of the immune system.

But there’s a simple way to regain some well-being and balance in our physical and mental health. It’s called ‘forest bathing’. 

‘Forest bathing’ (Shinrin-yoku) was a term coined in 1982 by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan. It speaks to a therapy that awakens the five senses (vision, hearing, touch, smell and taste) that is found when someone spends time ‘soaking’ in nature. 

When you spend time ‘seeing green’, surrounded by towering trees, catching the scent of eucalyptus, or pine, hearing the crackling of the undergrowth beneath your feet, listening to birdsong and feeling the rough wood of an aged gum against your palm, something extraordinary takes place within you. 

Exposure to a forest environment has been found to produce wonderful benefits including, enhancing immunity, supporting the treatment of chronic disease, regulating mood and reducing anxiety and depression. And if you want to take it further, exercise and meditation in a green environment enhance these advantages as well. 

So next time you’re planning a little getaway, consider a location off the beaten track and immerse yourself in the beauty of nature. Promise you, that it will do wonders for you, body and soul.