My morning ritual is to meditate for about 25 minutes and say a grateful prayer of thanksgiving for all I have: My breath of life and everything I have experienced in that life. I am praying for Peace on Earth and Goodwill for all beings. Next, I always walk in the forest on trails I made 20 years ago. There is an Interesting story about the creation of these trails. I had a group of Tibetan monks who came from India and were touring the U.S. I was lucky that the monks were staying at the Vietnamese monastery nearby. At that time, I was having my usual breakfast with the monastery monks and visiting my friend Tre. I met the seven Tibetan monks and asked them if they wanted to come and walk my new trails and bless them. Surprisingly, they accepted! They all loaded into a small van with their arms and legs sticking out the window and the van doors! Once we arrived, the monks began to chant musically down the paths as birds commenced singing back. Other wildlife was peaking through the forest brush. This chanting produced an altered state where enchantment ruled the forest. Once we made it to the end of the path, we were at where the Shack would be. The monks started singing a blessing. A blue jay landed above them and began singing, and then they all stopped and listened to the jay. Time seemed to stop; everything became silent. I was exhilarated and proceeded to pass water around to my guest. The driver, a British man guiding the monks across the U.S., told me, “You just experienced Shinrin-Yoku.”
Shinrin-Yoku is a Japanese word that means “forest bathing," a form of reconnecting with nature that has increasingly become appreciated in Western culture as a well-researched wellness practice that improves body and mind health. "Bathing" in the forest is a time to reconnect with nature, by slowing down and taking it all in, with conscious focus on your senses, feelings, emotions and body. You simultaneously bathe in your immediate surroundings, the environment, the energy of the forest, and your own self awareness.
According to Susan Abookire, assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, Shinrin-yoku started in Japan in the 1980s during a national health crisis as increasing technology jobs and other industrial work seemed to be triggering stress-related illnesses. Research connected stress reduction, improved mood, immunity, and attention span with time spent in nature. Continued stress and high cortisol play a role in high blood pressure, heart disease, headaches, and other changes in health and research has shown cortisol levels decrease after a walk in the forest. One Japanese study also showed an increase in immune cells and their health maintenance in people who spent three days and two nights in a forest, compared with people who took a trip to a city. This benefit lasted for more than a month after the forest trip! But a more recent study of 20,000 people in the United Kingdom showed that spending just three hours a week in nature improved self-reported health and well-being. Taking our relationship to nature further, one study has shown patients recovering from gallbladder surgery in a room with a window opening to a view of nature healed faster than those with a window view of a brick wall. Another older study compared people who recovered from gallbladder surgery in a room with a window with a nature view needed less pain medication, and had faster recovery, than people with the same surgery in a hospital room with a view of a brick wall. Here's the link to this fascinating article with more on the healing aspects of connecting to nature:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/can-forest-therapy-enhance-health-and-well-being-2020052919948
Since understanding the effects of Forest Bathing, when I have guests, I jokingly tell them: Let's take a bath! Of course, they are startled, so I explain to them about Forest Bathing.
From the Little Shack: Try a forest bath and see how refreshing it can be!