Forest Bathing
Last year in Crystal Club we shared and talked about a practice called Shinrin-Yoku, translates as ‘Forest Bathing’. I first read about this practice in a book called Ancient Wisdom for Modern Living but Jane Alexander. Side note: it’s a great book, easy to read and covers some great information about seasons, ancient wisdoms and some really nice practices.
Jane shares: ‘modern research show that trees really do have healing powers quite outside their natural majesty and beauty. Going into the woods can help boost your immune system and lower your blood pressure, heart rate and stress hormones. It’s been shown to increase energy and good mood, while reducing anxiety, depression and anger.’
When I think about this time of year and what it means for our connection to the seasons and the wheel of the year: October is about Nature, it’s about fairies, creativity, goddess rituals, small seeds of ideas falling into fertile soil. I don’t think there is a better practice for us at the moment.
At a time when many of us have been isolated, locked down, working from home, unable to get out into nature. This practice is needed more than ever. And it can be simple and sacred. A time to disconnect from the busy, the static, the thought congestion and the to do lists, the must do’s, the should do’s. Lets make this a time to connect, or reconnect even, back into the deeper system: that of Mother Earth, the wild, the raw, the wonder, the quiet. Where the only sounds are of sweet birdsong, trees talking to each other and the streams flowing.
So what can this look like for you?
It can be as simple and sacred as heading into your nearest bushland, forest, beach or field, and breathing in the air. It can be taking your shoes off and mindfully taking step after step, feeling the ground beneath you, beneath each toe, the ball of your foot all the way to your heel. When you’ve connected in with your body, and the walking, and your breath has lengthened/softened. I take in my surroundings: I look around with more interest and wonder. I inhale through my nose, taking in all the smells and notice the difference at the tip of my nose: whether it be the smell of the damp, the sweetness of the flowers, a change in the temperature as I continue to walk.
I love from Janes book she talks about: ‘Is one particular tree calling to you? I once spent several years communing with a young oak in a nearby wood. I can honestly say that tree became as dear to me as a friend. Yes, hug your tree too. In fact hug lots of trees. I used to lean back against my tree feeling his (yes, I think he was a he) strength and solid timeless love.’
Find a place to sit. At a tree, on the sand, on the grass, and open your ears: listen, and close your eyes, and listen more.. it could be quiet, but know there is the music of nature surrounding you. It could be tumble of the waves, the rustling of lizards in the fallen leaves.
No phones, no artificial noise, no rush. Just you and mother nature. The only distraction is what catches your attention now that you’re open to finding it.
