Lessons in Energy Balance from Forest Bathing/Shinrin Yoku

It’s been a tough day, month, year, coupled with a feeling that your energy has been depleted. How can you restore and balance your energy?

What is Forest Bathing/Shinrin Yoku?

Shinrin Yoku/Forest bathing might be just what you need to heal and reconnect with nature. Despite its English moniker (which we will use interchangeably), it does not entail running around in the forest naked, as I have had to explain more than a few times to people, also there is no water involved.

Forest bathing is immersing oneself into the energy of the forest without distractions, including cell phones, or cameras in order to be fully present. Let’s start with the emergence of forest bathing as a wellness technique coupled with its growth as an official scientifically studied practice.

Nature Therapy

Seeking nature for its restorative qualities has always been a human quest, like going out for some fresh air, or walking barefoot on the beach.

The government of Japan introduced Shinrin Yoku in the 1980’s as a national health program, to cope with elevated stress levels the population was experiencing during the country’s post war urban development. The mass exodus from rural areas left communities fractured and people isolated.

Two thirds of Japan is covered in forest, and this may explain why it is also the home of animistic beliefs such as Shinto, Buddhism and Shongen, which have strong nature based rituals. The rapid transition to urban based living happened so fast people did not have time to readjust in a way that would cause the least stress.

The Types of Energy

The universe as energy is a theme in many ancient religions, and science seeks to understand what that means for human consciousness. For many, the symbiotic aspects of this knowledge leads to balance and well being.

Performance psychologist, Dr. Jim Loehr, proposed the theory of four types of energy which work syn-chronically with each other. Forest bathing can be layered onto these types of energy.

• Physical Energy: The body’s ability to perform activities depends on the physical health of the body. A person’s ability to walk or move through the forest requires an expenditure of physical energy.
  
• Emotional Energy: Emotions can be both positive, like pleasure and hope, or negative, as in stress or anxiety, which drains the body if it becomes the dominant emotion. Moving through the forest is an invitation to the forest to elevate the positive emotions and minimize the negative ones.
  
• Mental Energy: The cognitive abilities are required to process information. Forest bathing requires the full attention of the participant, including the ongoing processing of information received via the senses, which are discussed below.
  
• Spiritual Energy: This relates to beliefs about our place in world, and what we believe our connection is to things unseen. This is our relationship to universal energy. This dimension relates to our sense of purpose, meaning, connection to something larger than ourselves, and overall life satisfaction. 

Dr. Loehr believes these energies are interactive and if balanced within the individual’s capacity will bring about optimum results.

Balanced Energy in the Forest

When Shinrin Yuko/Forest Bathing started everyone experienced its beneficial effects, but there was no scientific data to back up the results. It was Dr. Qing Li, the founding member of the Japanese Society for Forest Medicine, and the world’s leading expert on forest medicine, who first conducted scientific research in 2004.

His research showed the physical and mental benefits of the practice. Although Shinrin Yoku is not used for the management or prevention of diseases, it was found to help with imbalances associated with living in high density cities.

The Physical Benefits of Shinrin Yoku

Dr. Li conducted a study which measured certain reactions in the body before and after exposure to the forest environment. What he found was:

• Reduced Blood Pressure
  
• Improved Inflammation
  
• Improved Cardiac and Pulmonary Function
  
• Improved Oxidative Stress and Antioxidants

One enters the forest mindful of the smells and sounds which gently embrace the internal and external body stimuli. This is forest bathing, with each step you are aware of your feet making contact with the forest floor. The earth is covered with leaves, shoots, and natural debris from the teeming life within the eco-system.

The Sources of Energy in the Forest

Your senses play an important part in the practise of Shinrin Yoku. As they say, where your attention goes, your energy flows. So by reciprocating with the forest using the five senses, you increase your ability to reflect and intergrate the energy you receive:

1. Visual – First you want to feel comfortable and secure about your space in the forest, therefore you visually scan your surroundings. Gradually, you pick up on the subtleties of the forest whilst allowing the energy of the forest speak to you. Notice the trunks of old trees, plants and insects.
   
   
2. Sound – The sounds of the forest are like an outdoor orchestra, with a cosmic conductor. As you do more Forest Bathing/Shinrin Yoku, you become accustomed to the nuances of the forest sounds. Sounds are frequency, and frequency is energy. Gradually, you can discern the individual sounds of birds, insects and other forest relations.
   
   
3. Smell – A personal favorite, as this requires deep breaths to take in the scents of the forest. Just like the animals, you are sharpening your awareness of smells which can be sweet or pungent, and can also make you feel safe or scared. For this reason, there is much to be gained from the smells in a forest.
   
   
4. Touch – It is important to touch the forest. This can be done via grounding, where the Earth’s energy comes in contact with your skin. You are also encouraged to connect with a tree via touch, after you seek permission through an offering or a request.
   
   
5. Taste – There are many gifts to excite the taste buds in the forest. Take care before you touch or put anything in your mouth. Make sure you know it is safe, as I can tell you from experience, poison ivy is no fun. Fruits, flowers and even the taste of the morning dew around certain trees will work its magic on the tongue.

How Energy is used and Transferred

Forest bathing allows the participant to experience a connection to all living things with all the types of energy, within us as well as without, in a natural setting. Research shows energy supports our brain to yield consciousness, as well the necessity for energy balance within the individual. It is through invitations and ceremony conducted in the forest that communion is created with the energy and space.

Although forest bathing uses a combination of ways to transmute energy, continual inquiry is a core component, which means an individual can always experience new insights.

Energy transfer is achieved through two of the most important sensing techniques: mirror sensing and heart sense, together with tree communication. Even if you participate with a group, the energy journey is yours alone, as no two people will experience the same thing.

Final Thoughts…

There are many aspects to forest bathing which are not mentioned here. You now have a portal to engage with the continual inquiry of Forest bathing/ShinrinYoku through the seamless flow of energy while you practice.

If you want to embrace further lessons in energy balance from forest bathing, you can read the beautiful book authored by Dr. Li, Forest Bathing: How Trees Can help You Find Health And Happiness, to prepare yourself, or to just enjoy the photographic meditations on the forest.