Forest bathing: The Japanese natural healing method
Gentle rustling of leaves, the scent of damp moss and somewhere in the distance a brook babbling – the very idea of it awakens a deep longing for untouched nature. The fact that the forest actually has a health-promoting effect on physique and psyche is proven by a Japanese natural healing method: forest bathing.
What is forest bathing?
“Shinrin-Yoku” means “bathing in the forest” in Japanese. In Japan, forest bathing has long been an effective health trend. Forest bathing means immersing oneself in the forest with all of one’s senses and absorbing its stillness and pristine nature. To perceive the rustling of the trees, the scent of earth, the play of light on the forest floor, the bark under the fingers. Forest bathing is an incomparable way to relieve stress and finally pause for a moment.
Why Shinrin-Yoku is so healthy?
Forest medicine has been researched for decades at Japanese universities. The central question is: What influence does the forest have on body and soul??
Scientists:inside found out that a forest bath has positive effects on respiration, pulse and blood pressure of humans. Forest bathing protects preventively against burnout, depressive thoughts and even cardiovascular disease. Spending time regularly in the forest ensures that the immune system is also strengthened in the long term. For example, the forest air stimulates the production of natural killer cells. These track down cancer cells and help to combat them.
Among other things, the messenger substances produced by the trees, the terpenes, are responsible for these positive effects on our mental and physical well-being. The organic oils can be absorbed through breathing and the skin.
How does forest bathing work?
Forest bathing is not about reaching a certain goal or working out. The focus is on deceleration. To let oneself fall and drift. You can walk around aimlessly in the forest, balance over tree trunks, or simply sit down and enjoy your walk. The point here is to focus on your feelings instead of your thoughts. Meditation and mindfulness exercises are also integrated.
It is important to turn off the cell phone and other distractions while bathing in the forest. Make sure you are dressed weatherproof and have provisions and enough liquid with you. If you also want to feel nature with your feet, you should also pack a towel.
Forest bathing works wonderfully on its own. But it works just as well in groups: workshops and guided tours for forest bathing are becoming more and more common.
Forest bathing with the sound of the sea
On Usedom in the Baltic resort of Heringsdorf, according to its own information, the first European spa and healing forest was created. In the immediate vicinity of our Travel Charme Strandydill Heringsdorf there is green forest as far as the eye can see. And behind it: the deep blue, purifying sea. The healing and spa forest is specifically designed for forest bathing – to clear all the senses and cleanse the body. The incomparable combination of forest and coastal climate can also be felt in our Travel Charme Strandhotel Bansin – green sea breeze that invigorates and strengthens body and soul. Come and see for yourself.