Forest bathing helps you relieve stress. Did you ever think that a simple walk in the forest would be considered a form of bathing?
From a very young age, I always enjoyed the forest. Walking through the woods just for the sake of walking and sitting on a log to enjoy my surroundings has always been a fun thing for me to do.
Even in my pre-teen years, I found it a place where my imagination could just take off and I felt very happy there.
I had no idea that this was therapy or that it lowered my cortisol levels which is your stress hormone.
It wasn't until I learned about holistic nutrition that this forest therapy or forest bathing came up as a part of the lifestyle protocols I was to give my clients.
The Benefit of Negative Ions
What happens when you just take in the surroundings of the forest?
There are ions in the forest called negative ions. These ions help to counteract all the positive ions that we pick up when we are surrounded by machinery and computers.
You may not realize how all this equipment and the power lines above your home affect your health, immune system and energy and stress levels.
One day when I was really stressed while preparing for my board exam, I went for a walk in the woods. It was so helpful that I actually cried the stress out while I was touching a tree. Can you believe that!
I was so positively charged that I needed to be grounded to release the stress. Let me know in the comment section below if you have had this experience.
Forest bathing is not hiking. It is a whole experience in the forest using all your senses.
Just that act of slowing down and paying attention to the surroundings of nature is very calming and strengthening to your immune system.
If you have a chance to do it sometime, I highly recommend it.
Let me know if you have had this experience and what you think about forest (bathing) therapy.
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